Glen Murray looks to become Winnipeg's mayor once again

Glen Murray has confirmed he has entered the race to become Winnipeg's mayor again.

On Wednesday, Murray officially registered as a mayoral candidate after months of rumours that he would seek to reclaim his old job. Murray said the decision to run is one he does not take lightly as it takes a toll on family, but he said he ultimately decided to run after speaking with members of the community.

"I love this city, we are going to get stuff done quickly," he said.

Murray said he will be releasing his platform shortly with policies he plans to run on.

"It will all show a green city that uses less energy, that uses land more affordably, that is highly walkable – a city that is Canada's electric city," he said, adding he has plans to listen to younger generations. "If we don't listen to people, if we don't listen to the 15-year-olds and the 25-year-olds, and we don't do those things, we're stuck in the past."

Murray was Winnipeg's first openly gay mayor, serving from 1998 to 2004, as well as serving three terms before becoming mayor as the city councillor for Fort Rouge. However, that was not his only foray into politics.

He served as a Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario with the Liberal Party between 2010 and 2017, including four years as the province's Minister of Environment and Climate Change. He also ran for leader of the federal Green Party in 2020, but lost to Toronto's Annamie Paul.

Murray is now the eleventh candidate to enter the race to be Winnipeg's next mayor. The other candidates include Jenny Motkaluk, Don Woodstock, Christopher Clacio, Rick Shone, Scott Gillingham, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Shaun Loney, Idris Ademuyiwa Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, and Desmond Thomas.

Election day in Winnipeg is Oct. 26, 2022.