Springfield passes vote to leave Capital Planning Region

The Rural Municipality of Springfield has voted to withdraw from the Capital Planning Region.

A motion to file the request to Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard was put forward by Ward 1 Coun. Glen Fuhl and passed with a four to one vote during a Jan. 20 council meeting.

Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien, the lone vote against leaving, said a decision needed to be made so it wouldn’t drag into the October municipal elections this year.

“I’m a very big proponent of regional planning, but I do accept democracy,” he said.

Therrien said he respects any municipality’s decision to stay or leave the plan. He sees himself as a strong believer for regional planning, and the federal government gives funding on a larger scale for development projects. He said regional planning has been around for many years before the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region was formed.

“Regionalization is here to stay,” he said. “It’s a way to work together at the table.”

Ward 2 Coun. Mark Miller, who seconded the motion, was thrilled to see the motion passed.

“We’ve been in it for three years, and we’ve yielded no substantial benefit for the RM,” he said.

He said Springfield spent up to $18,000 annually while on the board, and the meetings also cost the mayor time and travel expenses.

If the motion wasn’t made, Miller said he was considering moving it. He said both him and other councillors spoke with Selkirk CAO Duane Nicol about Selkirk’s rationale for leaving in June 2025.

Miller said there wasn’t enough public consultation in the creation of the Capital Planning Region.

“There wasn’t enough buy-in from the public. There wasn’t enough stakeholder engagement,” he said. “So we felt that the public in the RM of Springfield were kind of trapped into a scenario where they didn’t have any input.”

The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region is composed of 14 municipalities, as opposed to the 18 that were mandated to participate. In the Southeast, the board consists of the RMs of Springfield, Tache, and Ritchot and the Town of Niverville. The region contains two-thirds of Manitoba’s population and its GDP. Springfield will remain until Simard approves the withdrawal request.

The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region reset its planning approach to address the concerns raised by municipalities and board members, the Winnipeg Free Press previously reported.

It’s now required to submit a new regional plan to the province by Jan. 1, 2027, and development is underway.

In December, The Carillon previously reported that the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region released a survey for stakeholders, municpalities and the general public to give feedback on regional planning.

Winnipeg Metropolitan Region board chair Michael Moore or executive director Jennifer Freeman didn’t respond to The Carillon’s interview requests.

-With files from the Winnipeg Free Press