Looking at the new faces who will be part of Winnipeg city council

Wednesday night’s municipal election results are still settling in for councillor-elect Evan Duncan.

“It’s an overwhelming feeling of joy. I’m so proud of this community I’ve called home my entire life,” Duncan told CTV News on Thursday afternoon.

He is one of three councillor-elects who will be different compared to the council that sat from 2018 to 2022.

Duncan grabbed more than half of the votes in Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood. He’s replacing Kevin Klein, who opted to run in Winnipeg’s mayoral race.

Duncan credits an extensive door-to-door campaign for his success.

“As we knocked on doors, 8,000 of them in our ward through Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, the common theme was that they wanted a representative from their area that’s working for their area,” Duncan explained. “Someone they can trust and someone they know, and I’m a familiar name in the area.”

He hopes to take on an active role at city hall to help address Winnipeg’s socioeconomic problems.

“I want to make sure we are tackling the homelessness issue around addictions, poverty, and mental health. We need to work with the province and I’m going to bring my experience from Manitoba Justice to hopefully take an active role in that for council and for mayor-elect Gillingham.”

The rookie councillor is the lone ‘new face’ at city hall, but he doesn’t expect he’ll have any first-day jitters.

“I’m excited. It’s going to be a new challenge, a new chapter in my life and my family’s life here. We’re turning the page here in Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood.”

Duncan joins 12 incumbent councillors who were re-elected on Wednesday.

The other two new councillor-elects, Shawn Dobson and Russ Wyatt, are returning to office - both having filled council seats in the past.

“The first time was a learning curve. The second time, I think, I can get a lot more done. I think I’m ready to go,” Shawn Dobson, councillor-elect for St. James, told CTV News.

Dobson defeated four other candidates to claim the council seat left vacant by now mayor-elect Scott Gillingham.

He previously represented the former St. Charles ward from 2014 to 2018.

He lost to Gillingham when that ward merged with St. James in the 2018 election.

“I’ve learned a lot from the past. We’ve got a great mayor now in Scott Gillingham and I’m certain the two of us can do wonders for this city,” Dobson said.

He says that starts with getting the city budget under control.

“We’ve got to get transit up and running a little bit better than it is. We got to get it back to the pre-COVID numbers. That will help our budget.”

Meantime, Transcona councillor-elect Russ Wyatt is also returning after an absence.

This is Wyatt’s second time being elected in the ward. He represented Transcona from 2002 to 2018, but stepped down in 2018 due to personal reasons.

Wyatt beat incumbent Shaun Nason by 976 votes.

The new councillor-elects and their colleagues will be sworn in Tuesday at city hall.