Hello,
Welcome to my blog space for the 2026 campaign as I run for the first time in the River Heights Fort Garry ward of Winnipeg City Council!
People need to get to know me more, and one of the ways I wish to do so is through blogging, some fun social media things, and maybe even get some long form video content! I am in the 'soft launch' phase of the campaign as I get the chess board set for the 'hard launch' in the coming weeks!
Prior to deciding to take on this challenge I was serving on the Executive and Bargaining Committee for my workplace union (Shout out CUPE 104). Prior to that I wasn't a union guy and my knowledge of politics was headlines at best, but really only scandal made it my way. I've always had a firm position on were I stood in the grand scheme, but didn't understand the value in engaging in any of it.
I started my career as an Emergency Dispatcher in 2018, and finally found my calling. It was the first job that I felt like matched my energy, and also finally found my "people." It takes a unique individual to withstand the constant calls varying from minor gripes to life and death situations. While many people have what it takes to do that, not many can also handle the 24 hour schedule. Shift work also has it's own niche of people that can handle it. The center of that Venn diagram is a very small area. I was lucky to make it through the door and find myself serving the public 8 years later. It is a job I love even to this day!
Like all love affairs and relationships, my relationship with work had a rocky patch too. The Liam-Neeson 'very specific set of skills' makes for a challenge to have a full compliment of staff. There has been many places all over North America in the Emergency Services world sounding this alarm, but as someone who was in the thick of it with only a handful of people, I wanted to find ways to make working there better than it was. Then I found my union.
I was elected as the Chairperson covering workplaces in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and here in Manitoba. I got the pleasure of serving these areas until the start of this year. The position had me travelling to Ottawa to negotiate our first Collective Agreement with the Treasury Board of Canada. I would have meetings with members and management. I went through grievances, and disciplinary matters. I learned a great deal in that time. What I also learned was how important it is to support and foster strong democratic systems. This is where my political interest started to grow.
The media (social and otherwise) has been an onslaught of things that people are constantly scratching their heads at (at best, losing their minds completely at worst). To see erosion in the systems that are designed to keep society free and prosperous hasn't sat lightly with me. The times have inspired me to become more active and leave passive in the past. I learned that we aren't subjects of our Government, we are the shareholders. Many of our fellow shareholders have trusted the system to do it's job, and for some their needs are reflected in the current state. But I would suspect that the majority is not happy with the way things are. Some of life is an external force that we can't control, but if we aren't making sure our elected officials are making the best decisions with the things they can control, then we are all culpable.
I know the role of a city councilor isn't going to dictate international policy directly but if we as a ward work together on strengthening our community then that strength can build itself into other levels as well. I commit to be accountable to you, and to include you. Representing this ward isn't to do what is best for me, it is to do what is best for all of us!
So with that introduction out of the way, and the understanding of where I am coming from, I very much would love to hear my fellow Ward neighbors thoughts on things. Let's chat!
Randy McDonald
Your 2026 Councilor
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