Risky business: ever-present threat of violence at the till has store owners rethinking life in Winnipeg

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This article was published 03/03/2025 (579 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rarely a day goes by that someone doesn’t try to steal snacks or drinks from Tony Ahn’s convenience store in Winnipeg’s North End, the frustrated business owner told the Free Press.

Shoplifting has become more common since he took over the store about 10 years ago, according to Ahn, who said he’s been robbed at gunpoint and was once hit with a baseball bat with nails protruding from it.

“Every day,” he said of the frequency of thefts. “Chocolate bars, ice cream, chips and other items.”

“I can’t sleep well because I worry about break-ins. I sleep next to my phone every night.”–Tony Ahn

After 12 years in Winnipeg, crime is part of the reason he is ready to get out of the retail business and return to his native South Korea.

“I didn’t know that Canada was a very dangerous country (when I moved),” he said. “Here, there are so many break-ins, so many robberies, so many killings.”

Ahn has spent thousands of dollars on security cameras, an alarm system, a magnetic door lock that allows him to control access to his store, and sheets of durable plastic that create a shield between him and customers at the counter.

All those measures haven’t eased his fears of being victimized.

“I can’t sleep well because I worry about break-ins. I sleep next to my phone every night,” he said.

Concerns about a rise in retail thefts and violence in Winnipeg triggered a new enforcement campaign, plus other efforts, about a year ago.

Reports of shoplifting under $5,000 increased year-over-year by about 75 per cent in the 12 months ending Aug. 31, according to the most recent data on a Winnipeg Police Service online dashboard.

7-Eleven is one of the companies that has taken a significant hit. Officials told the Winnipeg Police Board last Friday that 7-Eleven stores in Winnipeg are losing up to $600 per day to theft, board chair Coun. Markus Chambers said.

The company has closed at least six stores in the city since the summer, when 10 locations were on a list of potential closures.

“A lot of these shoplifting events are now escalating into armed robbery where somebody is coming in with a weapon to steal things,” Chambers said. “It’s about the safety of staff and the loss of inventory on a daily basis that is not sustainable.”

Some thieves are selling stolen goods, he noted.

7-Eleven officials indicated they want to avoid further store closures, Chambers said. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Company representatives met with Mayor Scott Gillingham in January, and some city councillors in August. A since-closed store at Salter Street and Flora Avenue in the North End experienced more than $300,000 worth of theft.

Chambers said the police board has met with other retailers or business associations in the past to discuss concerns and crime-prevention efforts.

“We want to hear from those that are experiencing these issues so we can inform police and come up with strategies that will help reduce crime in our city and, ultimately, keep workers safe,” he said. “We’ve got to figure this out because it’s adding costs to normal consumers.”

“We want to hear from those that are experiencing these issues so we can inform police and come up with strategies that will help reduce crime in our city and, ultimately, keep workers safe.”–Coun. Markus Chambers

The Retail Council of Canada, which has described shoplifting as underreported, estimates about $200 million worth of goods is stolen in Manitoba each year.

An anti-retail theft program involving the Manitoba government and Winnipeg police launched as a temporary initiative in the spring of 2024. The program, which includes foot patrols, has focused on the Exchange District, Osborne Village and West End.

The province has said funding for 24 more officers will help make the program permanent. The government hosted a summit in October to discuss how to tackle shoplifting and underlying causes, including drug addiction and poverty.

A WPS spokesperson encouraged businesses to report all thefts to help identify where problems are emerging and allocate resources to the area.

Officers who are involved in anti-theft initiatives have ongoing discussions with people in the retail sector, the spokesperson said.

A man who manages a convenience store near the boundary of the West End and downtown Winnipeg said he once fought off a knife-wielding robber while his young child was present.

The manager, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration over repeat thieves and the justice system.

“There are no consequences,” he said. “Something has to change. Don’t let them out if they commit the crime. Letting them out doesn’t help because they just do it again and again.”

The store where he works had an interior door installed — creating a vestibule, essentially — to control access. If the person trying to enter is known for thefts, staff will not let them in, the manager said.

He, too, expressed a desire to move his family out of Winnipeg, given the crime he has experienced.

“If the system doesn’t change logically and drastically, people will be gone,” he said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

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