Yes. Every alarm system in a Winnipeg residential or commercial building needs an alarm permit under By-law No. 4676/87, the Alarm By-law, according to the City of Winnipeg’s permits page. As that page quotes them, section 5(1) of the by-law bars keeping an alarm system without a valid and subsisting permit, and section 7(1) makes that an offence that may be subject to a fine. The page states no fine amount.
- Which alarms:Every alarm, monitored or not (City of Winnipeg news release, 11 March 2026).
- Fee:$32 for residential, $43 for commercial (same release).
- Renewal:Every four years (City of Winnipeg permits page).
- Bought the building or moved:You need a new permit, because a permit cannot be transferred to a new address or owner (Winnipeg Police Service alarm permit site, as archived on 19 May 2026).
- How to apply:Apply, renew and update permit information online (same release); for a paper application, contact 311, email wps-alarms@winnipegpolice.ca or call 204-986-4291 (City of Winnipeg permits page).
- History only:The Police Service’s alarm permit FAQ, as archived on 31 October 2022, gave fees of $27 residential and $38 commercial, with a $27 renewal; it said a new owner must complete a new permit, and that the decal should be displayed where police can see it, usually near the front door. Those fees are not today’s.
City of Winnipeg and Winnipeg Police Service pages read 26 October 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm them on those pages before relying on a figure.
Your alarm permit is how first responders know whom to contact. Whether your alarm is monitored or not, the City of Winnipeg says to register it so first responders know who to contact when an emergency occurs while the building is unoccupied (news release, March 11, 2026).
- First responders:
- Registering lets them find up-to-date keyholder information and nullify the alarm, which the City says “keeps emergency responses streamlined, limits neighbourhood disruptions, and saves you from financial penalties” (March 11, 2026).
- Key holder:
- The Winnipeg Police Service’s alarm permit FAQ, as archived in October 2022, defined a key holder as a person who does not live at the monitored address and who is called by the monitoring company or the police when the alarm is activated and the owner cannot be contacted. That FAQ asked for two key holders for an audible alarm. The City’s current pages speak only of keyholder information.
- Monitoring company:
- For a monitored alarm, the 2022 FAQ asked for the monitoring company’s name on the permit application.
- You, the permit holder:
- You must have an alarm permit and renew it every four years; it is attached to the location and to you, and cannot be transferred to a new address or owner (Winnipeg Police Service alarm permit site, May 2026).
None of the City’s or the Police Service’s alarm pages we read says when police are sent to an alarm. Ask the Police Service’s alarm unit or your monitoring company before you rely on a police response.
Read together, these texts are about reaching people once an alarm goes off; none of them says anyone watches the property’s cameras.
That gap is what Remote Guarding covers: trained agents watch your cameras live while the building is empty.
None of the City’s or the Winnipeg Police Service’s alarm pages we read in October 2026 states what a false alarm costs, how many false alarms are allowed, or whether police ever stop responding. The Police Service’s alarm permit site shows that it sends letters, invoices and false alarm notifications to alarm accounts. By-law 4676/87 may set those terms, but we could not read its text, so ask the Police Service’s alarm unit for the figures that apply to your account.
| Published by the City and the Police Service | Not published in the texts we read |
|---|---|
| A permit for every alarm system, monitored or not, under By-law 4676/87 | A false alarm charge |
| $32 residential or $43 commercial, renewed every four years | A limit on false alarms |
| Not transferable to a new address or owner | Any stop to police response |
| Keeping an alarm without a valid permit is an offense that may bring a fine (sections 5(1) and 7(1)) | The amount of that fine |
| Letters, invoices and false alarm notifications to alarm accounts | The rule for when police are sent to an alarm |
Published by the City and the Police Service
- A permit for every alarm system, monitored or not, under By-law 4676/87
- $32 residential or $43 commercial, renewed every four years
- Not transferable to a new address or owner
- Keeping an alarm without a valid permit is an offense that may bring a fine (sections 5(1) and 7(1))
- Letters, invoices and false alarm notifications to alarm accounts
Not published in the texts we read
- A false alarm charge
- A limit on false alarms
- Any stop to police response
- The amount of that fine
- The rule for when police are sent to an alarm
Sources: City of Winnipeg, Permits page, and news release of 11 March 2026; Winnipeg Police Service alarm permit site, Internet Archive capture of 19 May 2026; read 26 October 2026.
The Alarm By-law (4676/87): What the City’s Record Shows
The City of Winnipeg’s record lists By-law 4676/87 (Alarms) as passed on August 20, 1987, effective April 1, 1988, and active.
The same record names the Winnipeg Police Service as the department responsible for it and lists twelve amending by-laws, the latest 137/2022.
Your Alarm Account and Whom to Ask
If you have received a letter, invoice or false alarm notification, the Police Service’s alarm permit site says you already have an account there. Open it with the account or permit number on your notice and the invoice or reference number. For the figures behind a notice, ask the alarm unit at 204-986-4291 or wps-alarms@winnipegpolice.ca.
Source: City of Winnipeg, Decision Making Information System, record of By-law 4676/87, Internet Archive capture of 11 July 2026; Winnipeg Police Service, Alarm Permit Application and Renewal Site (police.winnipeg.ca/alarms/), Internet Archive capture of 19 May 2026; City of Winnipeg, Permits page (winnipeg.ca/police/services/permits), read 26 October 2026.
The Winnipeg census metropolitan area’s police-reported Crime Severity Index was 113.4 in 2025, against 75.0 for Canada, according to Statistics Canada. A census metropolitan area typically comprises more than one police service, so the figure describes the area as a whole.
Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily, July 22, 2026, Table 4.
Statistics Canada, released July 22, 2026
Crime in the Winnipeg area is higher than in Canada as a whole: Statistics Canada put the Winnipeg census metropolitan area’s 2025 Crime Severity Index at 113.4, down 9% from 2024, against 75.0 for Canada, and its crime rate at 7,899 per 100,000 people, against 5,585. Both figures are also higher than Edmonton’s, Calgary’s and Toronto’s.
| Area | Crime Severity Index 2025 | Change from 2024 | Crime rate per 100,000 | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg | 113.4 | -9% | 7,899 | 0% |
| Edmonton | 95.6 | -7% | 7,463 | +2% |
| Calgary | 61.7 | -3% | 5,038 | +5% |
| Toronto | 55.0 | -7% | 3,950 | -5% |
| Canada | 75.0 | -5% | 5,585 | -2% |
Statistics Canada notes that a census metropolitan area typically comprises more than one police service, so these figures describe the Winnipeg area, not your neighbourhood or your property.
Source: Statistics Canada, Police-reported Crime Severity Index and crime rate, by census metropolitan area, 2025, The Daily, Table 4, released July 22, 2026.
A security guard in the Winnipeg Region earns a median wage of $17.55 an hour (low $16.40, high $26.71), according to Job Bank’s figures for security guards (NOC 64410), updated November 19, 2025. Job Bank puts Manitoba’s median at $18.50 (low $16.40, high $29.00), and Canada’s at $21.00.
Staffing a guard post every hour of the week takes 168 hours: $2,948.40 a week in wages alone at Job Bank’s Winnipeg Region median, before employer costs, the guard company’s margin and cover for breaks and absences.
Enter the hours your property stands empty each week to see a guard’s wages for those hours, at the low, median or high wage.
168 hours × $17.55 (Winnipeg Region median) =$2,948.40a week in wages
Job Bank’s figures are what guards earn, not what a guard company bills.
Source: Government of Canada, Job Bank, Wages for Security guards and related security service occupations (NOC 64410), Labour Force Survey 2023–2024, updated 19 November 2025, read 25 October 2026.
Every alarm rule, crime figure and wage figure on this page comes from the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Police Service, Statistics Canada or Job Bank, each listed here with the date we read it.
- City of Winnipeg, Permits page: winnipeg.ca/police/services/permits, read 26 October 2026
- City of Winnipeg news releases: 11 March 2026 and 8 January 2025, read 26 October 2026
- Winnipeg Police Service, Alarm Permit Application and Renewal Site: police.winnipeg.ca/alarms/, as archived 19 May 2026, read 26 October 2026
- Winnipeg Police Service, Alarm Permits FAQ: as archived 31 October 2022 (historical), read 26 October 2026
- City of Winnipeg, By-law 4676/87 record: dmis.winnipeg.ca, as archived 11 July 2026, read 26 October 2026
- Statistics Canada, The Daily, 22 July 2026, Table 4: police-reported 2025 figures for the Winnipeg census metropolitan area, read 25 October 2026
- Job Bank, security guard wages (NOC 64410): updated 19 November 2025, read 25 October 2026
The Alarm By-law’s own text and the Police Service’s alarm FAQ PDF could not be read, so this page states no rule from either; sections 5(1) and 7(1) appear only as the City’s Permits page quotes them.
If you find a figure out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
This is general information about municipal alarm rules, not legal advice.
To compare Winnipeg with other cities, see video surveillance across Canada and the Canadian verified response database.
We assess your property in or around Winnipeg remotely, from satellite imagery and the cameras you already have.
Then we send you a written security plan for it, yours to keep whether you hire Blinkless or not.
- You tell us where the property is, in or around Winnipeg, and what needs watching.
- We assess it remotely using satellite imagery and your existing cameras. No site visit is required.
- You receive a written security plan: what needs monitoring, during which hours, how intruders and break-in attempts would be handled, and who gets alerted. The plan is yours to keep, whether you hire Blinkless or not.
In most cases, we can work with the cameras you already have. If you have no cameras yet, say so on the form. We still assess the property using satellite imagery.
You can also call (212) 470-2511.
When our detection technology flags activity on your cameras, a trained Blinkless agent is alerted and reviews the live feed. If the agent judges the person a trespasser or a threat, we order them to leave with a live voice-down over your speakers, not a recording. We notify authorities when required and send you instant alerts with footage. Blinkless says its average response time is under 30 seconds. See How remote guarding works.