On June 30^th, 2026, leaders from Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities met with the Honourable Tracy Schmidt, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, accompanied by her Legislative Assistant, Mr. Tyler Blashko, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagimodière, to discuss municipal priorities related to education and early childhood learning. The meeting, organized by the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM), focused on ways to support the sustainable growth of Manitoba’s bilingual communities, strengthen intergovernmental collaboration, and explore innovative approaches to meeting the growing demand for education, childcare, and municipal infrastructure. These efforts are essential to fully realizing the benefits of Manitoba’s bilingual advantage.

With the school year now complete, this time of year provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on progress in education and childcare while identifying the municipal priorities that will help shape the next phase of development in Manitoba’s bilingual communities.

The AMBM represents 16 bilingual municipalities across the province, including 15 rural municipalities and the City of Winnipeg. Together, these communities are home to the majority of Manitoba’s French-language schools, including 13 schools within the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM) located in the AMBM’s rural member municipalities, as well as more than 40 early learning and childcare facilities, roughly one-third of which offer services in French.

This significant educational footprint is accompanied by strong demographic growth. Between the last two censuses, Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities experienced average population growth of nearly 8 per cent, compared to an average provincial growth rate of approximately 5 per cent. This growth is placing considerable pressure on existing infrastructure and services, creating urgent needs in several areas, including new and expanded schools, additional childcare spaces, recruitment of qualified bilingual staff, modernization of community infrastructure, and improved coordination among the organizations responsible for planning and service delivery.

School Infrastructure Under Pressure

In several communities, schools have already reached—or are rapidly approaching—their maximum capacity, raising concerns about their ability to meet the future needs of families.

For example, in the Town of Ste. Anne, the local school is currently at full capacity. Spaces originally intended for other purposes, such as the library and kitchen, have been converted into classrooms. The Town is eagerly awaiting the opening of the new vocational school, which is expected to help address growing enrolment pressures and support anticipated population growth driven by ongoing residential development.

Similar concerns were raised in the Rural Municipality of De Salaberry, where the local school is also operating at full capacity. In the Rural Municipality of Ritchot, elected officials emphasized the need to begin planning now for a new French-language high school in Île-des-Chênes to avoid overcrowding at the existing secondary school as the municipality continues to grow.

In the Village of Saint-Pierre-Jolys, the use of portable classrooms at several schools highlights the shortage of permanent space and the need for investments in modern school infrastructure designed to meet current realities. Municipal leaders also noted that school expansion priorities should reflect the unique realities of bilingual communities. This perspective, shared by both the Village of Saint-Pierre-Jolys and the Rural Municipality of Ritchot, underscores the importance of strengthening educational infrastructure throughout the region’s bilingual municipalities.

In the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, residents have also expressed a desire to see a local high school established within the community to better meet the needs of local families.

Overall, discussions highlighted the need for greater anticipation of population growth in bilingual municipalities and for provincial investments to be aligned accordingly so that school infrastructure does not become a barrier to community development. This proactive approach aligns with the Municipal Maturity Model (3M), a regulatory framework designed to equip bilingual communities with the tools needed to forecast future needs, prioritize strategic investments, and support sustainable growth.

Limited Access to Childcare and Early Learning Services

Access to childcare remains one of the most pressing concerns raised by municipal leaders. In many communities, childcare centres are operating at full capacity, while waiting lists continue to grow. In the Town of Ste. Anne, many families are still waiting for childcare spaces, while in Saint-Pierre-Jolys, more than 140 children remain on a waiting list. Similar challenges were reported in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot, the Rural Municipality of De Salaberry, the Town of Powerview-Pine Falls, and elsewhere across the AMBM network.

Participants emphasized that early learning and childcare centres play a critical role in attracting families to a community. Beyond supporting children, they serve as a key driver of economic development by enabling parents to remain in or return to the workforce. Without sufficient childcare capacity, some communities risk limiting their own growth and reducing their ability to attract and retain new families, as highlighted in the Prosperity Framework for Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities.

Municipal leaders also called for innovative, rural-focused solutions to accelerate the creation of new childcare spaces. Several participants pointed to successful early learning and childcare projects that have involved municipalities directly in their development and operation. This innovative model has enabled some municipalities to respond more effectively to rapidly increasing demand. Elected officials expressed a desire to see similar approaches replicated elsewhere in Manitoba, particularly in bilingual communities, to strengthen French-language childcare services and support long-term demographic and economic growth.

Recruiting and Retaining Bilingual Staff

Municipal leaders also raised ongoing challenges related to the recruitment and retention of qualified professionals in both education and early childhood learning. Several participants highlighted the shortage of bilingual early childhood educators, which often limits the ability of communities to expand services in French.

Concerns were also expressed regarding the recruitment of French-language teachers, particularly at a time when schools must respond to growing enrolment and increasingly complex educational needs. Several participants also noted a shortage of specialized staff needed to support students with exceptional learning needs. To address these challenges, municipalities encouraged the provincial government to explore new recruitment and retention strategies, including enhanced efforts to attract Francophone and bilingual economic immigrants.

Strengthening Intergovernmental Collaboration and Planning

Discussions also highlighted the importance of stronger coordination among municipalities, school divisions, and the provincial government to ensure more effective planning of infrastructure and services.

In the Town of Powerview-Pine Falls, for example, a strong working relationship has developed between municipal leaders and school trustees. Together, they collaborate to anticipate community needs and plan future investments. Participants presented this approach as a promising model for supporting growth while ensuring public resources are used efficiently. It is also consistent with the Municipal Maturity Model (3M), a planning framework adopted by all of Manitoba’s bilingual rural municipalities to guide community development, prioritize investments, and align decisions with local needs.

Within this context, several participants voiced support for the concept of community schools that bring together educational facilities, childcare services, libraries, and other community resources under one roof. Such an approach would maximize the use of public resources while strengthening schools as central hubs of community life.

Participants also identified several opportunities to improve alignment between different levels of governance and funding. These included better coordination between municipal boundaries and school division boundaries, as well as stronger collaboration between municipal elected officials and school trustees.

A number of municipalities also raised concerns regarding public perceptions of school taxes. While municipalities are responsible for collecting school taxes on behalf of school divisions, those taxes fall under the authority of school divisions, not municipal governments. Because residents receive school and municipal taxes together, overall increases are often attributed to municipal administrations. Municipal elected officials therefore find themselves responding to concerns about decisions over which they have no direct authority, while lacking the tools or resources to mitigate the impacts.

In closing, Minister Tracy Schmidt thanked municipal representatives for their commitment to their communities and for their contributions toward building a truly bilingual Manitoba. She demonstrated a strong willingness to listen to the issues raised by municipal leaders and expressed her desire to continue working with municipalities on challenges specific to their local realities.

The discussions reinforced the importance of ongoing dialogue between Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities and the provincial government to ensure that investments and policies in education, early learning, and municipal infrastructure effectively respond to the needs of growing communities.

The AMBM reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Learning, as well as with all of its partners, to identify practical solutions tailored to the realities of Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities and the needs of the families they serve.

About the AMBM

The AMBM is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 16 municipal governments committed to offering services in both official languages to their residents. Together, these municipalities represent the majority of Manitoba’s population. Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership also leads the AMBM Group, a consortium of three organizations with complementary mandates: the AMBM, the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, or CDEM) and Eco-West Canada (EWC), which specializes in the green economy. Complementing each other, these three organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) and the province as a whole.

Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, bcdd-oceo@ambm.ca.