2014 Winnipeg Civic Election

An Open Democracy Manitoba Resource

2014 Winnipeg Election Archive

IMPORTANT: The information below is from the 2014 Winnipeg Election.

Visit www.WinnipegElection.ca for Open Democracy Manitoba's latest Winnipeg Election voter resource.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions


How are the latest news stories collected?

Articles are automatically gathered from Google News by searching for the full names of the candidates in the upcoming Winnipeg municipal election. The search location is set to Winnipeg using the advanced search properties.

If a specific news article is not showing up in our system it is either because the article is awaiting moderated or because the article has not been index by Google News. In order to treat all candidates equally, our news gathering is an automated process and we will not manually add news stories to a ward or candidate page; this prevents us from introducing subjective judgement calls.

Articles that mention more than one candidate show up automatically on the site. Articles that mention only one candidate are flagged for moderation by ODM members. Moderation prevents incorrect news articles from being listed for candidates with common names.


How can candidate information be updated?

Candidates can send us updated photos and information via email: [email protected]

Emails should be sent from the email address we have listed for a candidate or the address listed in their election registration/nomination papers.

We will do our best to process all updates within 24 hours of their receipt.

After October 21th we will no longer be accepting candidate updates. Updates received after this date will not be posted to our site. This deadline exists to ensure that our site remains accurate and consistent during the week of the election.


How do you decide what candidate information to list?

Email Addresses and Phone Numbers were found using Google or supplied by candidates. Phone numbers are only listed if they are for a campaign office. Found email addresses are only listed if they are obviously election related (e.g. [email protected]) or if they were found on the candidate's election website or election Facebook page.

Websites: Sites must be election related. Sites have been found using Google or supplied by the candidates. Councillor websites are also listed on the incumbents page.

Twitter and YouTube Accounts: Found using Google or supplied by the candidates.

Facebook Pages: Found by searching Facebook or supplied by candidates. In most cases we will link to candidate "fan pages" created specifically for the election. If no fan page exists we will link to Facebook profiles where the wall and info sections are publicly available. Private profiles will be linked to only by candidate request.

Photos: Many were supplied to us directly by candidates. Some photos were found on candidate election websites or public Facebook pages.


How can a debate or forum be listed on your calendar?

Debates and forums can be brought to our attention via email: [email protected]


How can a blog or website be added to your online resources section?

Email us your election related blogs or websites: [email protected]

Our criteria is the following: A significant proportion of the blog entries, or a specific section of the blog or website, must relate to information relevant to the Winnipeg civic election. Further, the blog or website will not promote intolerance or hateful views to any identifiable group, or exist solely to promote or discredit a single candidate.


How did you make this website?

The website is powered by the following technologies:


Are the operations of your website transparent?

This website was created in the spirit of openness, community, accountability and communication.

The source code that powers this website is available on github.

The source code and website data are released free and unencumbered into the public domain.

See our source code license for more information.

The development of this website was funded in part by a Community Investment grant from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).


What process will you follow for the candidate questionnaires?

We will send a questionnaire to all all mayoral, council and school trustee candidates after the nomination period closes on September 16, 2014. After this point, no new candidates may be listed on the ballot. All candidates of each election category (mayor, councillor, school trustee) will receive their questionnaires on the same day and will be given the same number of days to reply.

All questionnaires willl be sent by email. If a candidate does not have an email address, attempts will be made to contact the candidate by phone in order to get the email address before questionnaires are sent out.

Five questions were selected related to the candidates' intent, experience, and ideas. Candidates were limited to 200 words per question.

After October 19th we will no longer be accepting questionnaire responses or updates. This deadline exists to ensure that our site remains accurate and consistent during the week of the election.


What questions were on your candidate questionnaire?

The following questions were sent to all candidates for our 2014 questionnaire:

  • Why did you decide to run in the 2014 Winnipeg Civic Election?
  • What experience will you bring to compliment your role as Mayor?
  • What are some issues that you would like to stand for in your role as Mayor and why are these issues important to you?
  • What is one thing in particular that you appreciate about the ward you wish to represent?
  • Do you have any other comments regarding your candidacy?

Council and School Trustee candidates were sent a similar questionnaire with the word Mayor replaced accordingly.