In the late 1990s, issues such as providing
Shoal Lake water to nearby municipalities and allowing
exurban housing growth beyond Winnipeg became more important. At the time, Mayor
Susan Thompson voiced the idea of a regional
planning authority to mediate such issues. In June 1998, former
Great West Life President
Kevin Kavanagh was appointed by
Premier Gary Filmon to chair the
Capital Region Review Committee. The panel looked at
land-use planning and
economic development between the City of Winnipeg and surrounding municipalities. Thompson along with the mayors and
reeves of the 14 municipalities adjacent to Winnipeg began to meet on a regular basis starting in October 1998, thus forming the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. Due to a change of government in
September 1999, however, creating a regional planning authority took longer than originally foreseen. The Capital Region was originally defined in 2006, through
The Capital Region Partnership Act, to include 16 municipalities. In October 2019,
Dentons released a speech and discussion document,
For the Benefit of All: Regional Competitiveness and Collaboration in the Winnipeg Metro Region, which sought to reform regional planning. Upon publication, Premier
Brian Pallister and Winnipeg Mayor
Brian Bowman spoke in favour of creating a new entity to manage development and transportation in the Winnipeg Metro Region. ==Membership==