When Chloe Wowryk Bakker talks about education, she speaks less like a politician and more like a parent who has watched school life unfold from the front row.
As a candidate for school trustee in Ward 4 of the River East Transcona School Division, Bakker says the decision to run began with her three children. “I want to have a bigger role in how their education goes,” she told Winnipeg Votes 2026 host Graham McDonald.
Her platform combines four priorities: student engagement, staff satisfaction, communication with families, and responsible spending. Yet throughout the interview, one issue surfaced repeatedly: keeping students actively connected to learning.
Bakker is particularly concerned about how artificial intelligence could affect younger children. “Children have this beautiful draw to creating,” she said. “If we don’t harness that and allow them to create without running it through a machine, they will lose that desire to do so.”
Rather than rushing AI into elementary classrooms, she argues students should first develop social skills, critical thinking, reading habits, and confidence in their own abilities. The concern is not technology itself, but dependency on it before foundational learning takes root.
The conversation also touched on inclusion policies. Bakker voiced support for existing protections that help students feel safe at school, emphasizing privacy and protection from psychological harm. “This policy is very, in my opinion, very well written,” she said.
Beyond policy debates, she returned again and again to communication. She believes trustees should remain visible after elections, attend parent meetings, maintain direct contact with residents, and actively seek feedback from families.
One story stood out. Describing newcomer students arriving with little or no English, Bakker recalled watching classmates step forward to help. “You’re coming with us,” she said, describing the attitude of young students who welcomed new arrivals despite language barriers.
For voters in Ward 4, Bakker presents herself as a candidate focused on engagement, accessibility, and preparing students for the future without losing the human side of education.
Disclaimer: As part of U Multicultural’s 2026 Winnipeg Municipal Election Coverage, candidates were invited to share messages with our audience. The views expressed in this article are the candidate’s own, and this article does not constitute an endorsement by U Multicultural.
Yuliia Kovalenko, U Multicultural Journalism