Brandon Minute: Issue 113

Brandon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Brandon politics

📅 This Week In Brandon: 📅

• There is no City Council meeting this week. The most recent Regular Council meeting was May 19th, and the next is scheduled for Monday, June 1st, 2026 at 7:00 pm at City Hall. No agenda has been posted for that meeting yet. Based on what was before Council on May 19th, items likely to return at June 1st include second and third readings of the bylaw authorizing the road opening to support the new Manitou Drive and 34th Street roundabout, and potentially further action on the interim Brandon Police Board appointment. 
  
  
• Brandon School Division released new renderings of the Brookwood K-8 school currently under construction near 34th Street and Richmond Avenue. The school is being built to serve a growing residential area in southwest Brandon and is expected to open this fall. Board Chair Linda Ross commented that research supports smaller class sizes for younger students, and the K-8 model is designed with that in mind. No construction cost or total project budget figure was included in the available reporting. The school is one of the more visible signs of residential growth in that part of the city.
  
  
• A Manitoba-based developer has purchased Brandon's long-vacant McKenzie Seeds complex for $3.25 million and announced plans to convert it into a senior housing development with a proposed budget of $20 million, to be funded entirely through partnerships. Blackbird Housing president Paul Souque said the project will use two connected buildings - the historic seven-storey McKenzie Seeds structure, built in 1910 and designated a provincial heritage site in 1988, and a five-storey newer building of similar square footage linked by skywalks. The newer building will house approximately 130 suites, while the heritage building will contain health-care businesses and common spaces, and the complex includes a rooftop deck of more than 10,000 square feet with a nearly 360-degree view. Blackbird purchased the property from Brandon Fresh Farms. The building has sat vacant for approximately 14 years after a series of failed proposals that included luxury condos, rental units, and a vertical farming operation. Blackbird has also partnered with a health technology company to deploy non-invasive monitoring systems - including fall detection and heart rate tracking - in all suites, and construction is expected to begin later this year, though no firm completion timeline has been announced.
  
  
• The City of Brandon will plant approximately 800 trees this year, with 470 going to the Canada Packers Sports Complex and the remainder distributed downtown, in the Willowdale Crescent area, and in new developments. The City is spending about $32,000 on the planting effort, with grant funding covering the sports complex portion of the work. An Arbour Day public event is scheduled for Saturday, May 30th, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Keystone Centre, featuring tree planting, a climbing demonstration, free seedlings, live music, face painting, and a kids zone - and admission is free. The push comes after a difficult stretch for Brandon's urban canopy. Last September the City removed 71 black and Manchurian ash trees downtown due to limited root space, drought, road salt, and a jumping tree lice infestation, and cut roughly 300 trees overall in 2025 through the Dutch Elm disease program, sidewalk rehabilitation, and storm damage. Parks chargehand Stephen Clark said the City is shifting to more diverse species mixes and improved planting practices to support long-term canopy development.
  
  
• Premier Wab Kinew was in Brandon this week to defend his government's free youth transit program against calls to restore the 50-50 provincial-municipal transit funding model that the Progressive Conservatives eliminated in 2017. Kinew described the free youth transit approach as "smarter" than restoring the cost-sharing formula, and hinted that a successful rollout could be followed by expanding free transit to seniors. The provincial budget earmarks $10 million for the five Manitoba municipalities that operate transit systems - Brandon, Winnipeg, Selkirk, Thompson, and Flin Flon - with the program set to launch in the fall in time for the school year. Provincial funding for Brandon Transit has been frozen at just over $2 million since 2016, while the City's own contribution has risen to $5.2 million. Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the City will continue pressing for 50-50 restoration but acknowledged Brandon is already asking the province for "an awful lot of things." Transit union president James Van Gerwen called the $10 million "not even close enough to cover the costs" and said the union would keep advocating for the old funding model, pointing to reductions in route frequency and the elimination of Sunday and holiday service since provincial funding was frozen.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

The City of Brandon is accepting applications for five citizen positions on the Brandon Police Board - the civilian body responsible for overseeing the Brandon Police Service.

Applications are due by 4:00 pm on June 1st, 2026, at the Legislative Services Office at City Hall. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residency, and must reside, work, or have a business interest in Brandon.

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