Winnipeg, Man. fire fighters are celebrating a historic victory for public and fire fighter safety in the wake of a months-long, IAFF-supported campaign to increase staffing in the city.
On Dec. 17, the Winnipeg City Council passed an extremely rare budget amendment to doubles fire fighter hiring in 2026 and 2027. As a result, 80 new fire fighters will be brought on to protect the chronically understaffed city, in addition to normal hiring to replace retirements.
Winnipeg Local 867 President Nick Kasper was elated by the victory, calling it an extremely important step for both public and fire fighter safety in the city. Winnipeg, which is home to 854,000 residents, averages 400 to 600 arsons annually and often leads the country in life and property loss from structure fires each year.
“We’ve got room to go obviously, we’ve had decades of austerity here in Winnipeg that’s left us very, very short of frontline personnel,” Kasper said. “But this is a big step in the right direction, especially given that our union has been fighting the staffing ratio battle for a long time unsuccessfully. It’s great to see this movement.”
Winnipeg has fewer fire fighters and fire trucks today than it did in 1975, despite the fact that the city’s population has nearly doubled since that time. Due to chronic understaffing, the city spends around $10 million in overtime annually, negatively impacting both the city’s resources and fire fighter readiness.
In a survey of nearly 1,000 Local 867 members earlier this year, 98% reported unsafe psychological conditions at work. The same percentage stated that job-related burnout is a significant concern, and that their home life suffers because of work stress.
Kasper noted that it was the first time in more than 20 years that a budget amendment was moved by councillors outside of the Executive Policy Committee – widely viewed as the city’s inner core of legislative power – was passed. He said it’s also the first time Winnipeg has meaningfully increased the fire fighter-to-public staffing ratio, despite the issue being raised by Local 867 during every city budget process for decades.
Kasper said he is grateful to General President Edward Kelly and the IAFF, including 13th District Vice President Fred LeBlanc, Assistant to the General President Carmine Santoro, and Kent Grosse and Marc Sanders from the union’s Strategic Campaigns team.
The IAFF backed Local 867 through a sustained social and traditional media campaign over the past several months, including helping place nearly a dozen op-eds authored by UFFW in the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun.
It also featured months of billboard advertising, a no-confidence vote on the city’s proposed budget – which passed by 98.5% – and months of behind-the-scenes political engagement and advocacy.
This is a great win for Winnipeg and a perfect example of what this union is about… Ensuring our members have the resources they need to safely and effectively protect their fellow citizens is job number one for this IAFF.
IAFF General president edward Kelly
“I don’t think a campaign like this would have been possible without the support, encouragement and guidance of the IAFF. There’s been a lot of strength and solidarity there,” Kasper said, noting he also gained encouragement from local leaders engaged in staffing battles in other Canadian cities.
Kelly said Local 867’s win was a result of its relentless advocacy and the IAFF’s continued focus on advancing safe staffing levels nationwide.
“This is a great win for Winnipeg and a perfect example of what this union is about,” he said. “Ensuring our members have the resources they need to safely and effectively protect their fellow citizens is job number one for this IAFF.”
