Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham names 5 councillors for his inner circle

Posted November 4, 2026 2:35 pm

1 min read

1:57 City council sworn in

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has selected five city councillors who will make up his inner circle following last week’s civic election.

City councillors Jeff Browaty, Evan Duncan, Sara MacArthur, Lara Meseman and Vivian Santos were appointed to the Executive Policy Committee (EPC), Gillingham announced at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

This combination of veteran councillors, with Browaty, Duncan and Santos, alongside newcomers, Meseman and MacArthur, will allow the committee to provide fresh ideas that are grounded in the reality that council operates under in the coming term, the mayor said.

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“I thought it was important to have the experienced councillors remain because they’ve all done really, really good work in the roles that they had been given,” the mayor said.

“The opportunity to bring some of the new voices to the table, when I looked at that, that was important to me as well.”

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He said the executive committee is an element of the city council’s work, but not the final decision maker, noting that the formation of an EPC is mandated in the City of Winnipeg Charter Act.

“All councillors will have a voice. All councillors will have input at various committees,” Gillingham continued. “I look forward to working with everyone.”

The mayor said he decided which councillors to appoint to his inner circle after meeting with the newly-elected officials to determine priorities ahead of them taking the Declaration of Office earlier this week.

Browaty, the representative for North Kildonan, will also serve as the city’s deputy mayor.

The councillor for Point Douglas, Santos, was selected as the acting deputy mayor.

The City of Winnipeg said additional appointments to other city committees, boards and commissions will be made at an organizational meeting on Tuesday.

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