Sherri Rollins is no longer running to secure a third term as councillor for Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry. Rollins confirmed to CTV News she has withdrawn her candidacy for the 2026 election this fall. “Although I won’t be seeking another term, my job isn’t over. I remain fully committed to serving residents until the new council on inauguration day this upcoming November,” she said in a statement. “Local government has always been my favourite level of government because it is where ideas become slower speeds, sidewalks, park improvements, housing, recreation, transit, daycare spaces, and safer communities. It is practical. It is personal. And at its best, it brings people together. That belief has not changed.” Rollins was first elected to council in 2018 and served on the executive policy committee until 2025, when she resigned from the role. In her statement, Rollins referenced a change in the operating environment of Winnipeg’s government, citing a “concentration of authority” from the mayor. “The gradual erosion of the role played by council and the professional public service—the reasons I left executive policy committee—remain a concern.” She said elected officials need to respect the independence of the public service, adding when that doesn’t happen, policy fails. “Public servants should not have to compete with a mayor’s office that increasingly sidelines them, displaces them with political staff, and provides them with an executive leadership team that values compliance and not fearless advice. The mayor picks his team, and in some cases that includes members not even qualified to serve on all committees and boards of the city,” her statement reads. “As a councillor, I have come to believe that I can no longer do this work in the way I think it should be done.” She thanked the residents of her ward who voted for her, saying this has been one of the greatest privileges of her life. Rollins joins the growing number of incumbent councillors who are not seeking re-election. John Orlikow, Janice Lukes, Brian Mayes and Markus Chambers had all previously announced they would not be running in the municipal election. Winnipeg’s election is set for Oct. 28.
