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News Releases

(The following news release was issued by the City of Winnipeg)
City of Winnipeg in Negotiations with Canada Post. Potential Purchase of the Canada Post Property

March 27, 2009

The City of Winnipeg has entered into negotiations with Canada Post Corporation regarding the potential purchase of Canada Post property.

Negotiations relate to the property at 266 Graham Avenue. The building is currently the home of the Canada Post mail processing plant. Canada Post will move its operations to a location near the James A. Richardson International Airport starting in the summer of 2010.

The property, if acquired by the City, would be a replacement for Winnipeg police headquarters which are currently in the Public Safety Building.

Should an agreement be reached, a 120-day period of due diligence would follow for the City. During this period, the City would examine the property for its suitability for the intended purpose, cost/benefit analysis relative to conversion for use as a police headquarters, and other relevant factors.

If the study of all these factors were to result in an administrative recommendation to purchase the property, a report would go to for Council for consideration.

"With all City departments working in collaboration, we are working to improve public safety and provide a new, cost-effective home for the Winnipeg Police Service in the heart of our downtown," said Mayor Sam Katz. "I am pleased that by working together with Canada Post, we have an opportunity to utilize an existing downtown building as Canada Post continues to expand and invest in our city."

The relocation of police headquarters to a facility in the heart of downtown would provide many tangible and intangible benefits to the public, business and police. These include:

  • Higher presence of assigned foot patrols and itinerant officers on streets and in covered walkways, potentially resulting in reduction of crimes of opportunity and a higher perception of public safety.
  • Ability to move core functions into one central location for better coordination of service delivery (e.g., criminal investigation bureaus, stolen auto, crime analysis, organizational development, evidence stores, community relations, museum, human resources, specialty units.)
  • Easier access to Law Courts complex, allowing for reductions in transportation-related costs for members attending court.
  • Ability to accommodate current and anticipated needs of the Police Service.

"The Public Safety Building is not able to house all our core functions," said Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill. "The ability to bring these units together would greatly improve our efficiency. A downtown location would allow us to increase our visible presence on the streets and in covered walkways and add to our ability to build relationships with merchants, workers and visitors to the downtown."

"Canada Post has always been confident that a creative use for 266 Graham Avenue would be found. We are pleased to be in negotiations with the City of Winnipeg because we believe housing the Winnipeg Police Service is a great fit for the property and for downtown Winnipeg," said Bill Davidson, General Manager & Senior Lead, Western Canada Deployment, Canada Post.