Could Winnipeg keep public outdoor swimming pools afloat by taking Calgary's approach?

Michelle Berger and Gary Tessier want more time to find ways to save the Happyland public outdoor swimming pool in the St. Boniface neighbourhood from a planned demolition, and they're looking to Calgary for inspiration.

Berger and Tessier are members of the Winnipeg-based group Communities Raising Concerns for Liveability. Berger says their goal is "to buy us some time to find long-term solutions" and keep Happyland open.

In March, the City of Winnipeg amended a plan in its preliminary 2024 budget to close three outdoor pools — Eldon Ross, Windsor Park and Happyland. Instead, the city said it would keep the Eldon Ross Pool in Brooklands and Windsor Park outdoor pool in St. Boniface for a little longer, but Happyland is still expected to close.

The three pools need significant repairs and have low attendance, according to the city.

Berger says her group is interested in looking into models from other cities that kept public swimming pools open, including one that was introduced in Calgary about two decades ago.

In 2002, Calgary's city council recommended closing four public swimming pools that it said were not cost-effective to keep open, according to former Calgary city councillor Brian Pincott, who now lives in Winnipeg.

He says a non-profit organization, the Calgary Outdoor Swimming Pools Association, formed soon after to save the facilities and now operates a total of eight pools across the Albertan city.

"Either way, it was a city not wanting to pay for swimming pools anymore: here in Winnipeg, [the problem is] the infrastructure itself. In Calgary, it was the operation," Pincott told Radio-Canada.

"We're not at this point because of a single budget decision. This is an accumulation of budgetary decisions over a couple of decades."

Calgary model complicated but 'doable'

Käthe Lemon, board chair of the Calgary Outdoor Swimming Pools Association (COSPA), says her association took over management of the outdoor swimming pools from the City of Calgary, which are open about 80 days a year.

"There was major concern from citizens, which I think happens quite often when citizens see services being pulled back," she said.

The City of Calgary still owns the properties where the pools are located, but leases them out to COSPA and provides a certain amount of money to operate the pools, Lemon said.

Her advice to Winnipeggers wanting to pursue a similar model to save city pools is to know why they're doing it in the first place.

"Know what you're getting into — these are not easy facilities to operate."

There are also many questions to "dive into" before deciding to open a non-profit like COSPA, she said.

"If the pools aren't being used, why are they not being used? Are they open at the wrong times of day? Have they already aged out of their usefulness? Are they not pleasant to be in?" Lemon said.

"I think that there's often this idea that the problem is just a money problem, and often it goes much deeper than that. Find out what the primary problem is and address that. Don't assume that it's just a city funding problem."

However, when it comes to money, Lemon says COSPA has to be very careful in how it stewards its funds, as it's not always clear how much the city will contribute to certain projects.

"It can be complicated, but I think it's doable and it's a way to ensure that there can be that longevity in access to pools in the city."

The city did not answer a question about whether it would consider a model like COSPA.

"Council adopted the 2024-2027 multi-year budget on March 20, including the direction to close and demolish the pool," a city representative said in a Tuesday emailed statement.

Pincott says COSPA is not the perfect model and the City of Winnipeg must not shirk its responsibilities if such a non-profit were to form in Winnipeg to operate its outdoor pools.

"It still needs the city's budgetary support. We've seen that in Calgary," he said.

"The city has to make the decision as to whether these are community assets that are important for the people who live there or not."

Tessier with Community Raising Concerns for Liveability says the group wants to ensure that Happyland can remain open.

He says Happyland has been making St. Boniface residents happy for decades, but the public pool has been cutting hours and operating much less in recent years.

"It's a place for people to come and relax, to cool off in the summertime, and it's accessible for people who don't have access to cars out at the beach or don't have a cabin out at the lake."