Tree rules in Winnipeg: permits, protected trees and fees
What the City of Winnipeg pages say about elm wood storage and movement, the April 1 to July 31 elm pruning window, the emerald ash borer regulated area, boulevard tree pruning priorities and who deals with private trees.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It restates four City of Winnipeg pages as read on October 8, 2026: the tree protection page, the Dutch elm disease page, the emerald ash borer control page and the tree pruning service page. Winnipeg's tree pages lead with pest rules and public tree service, and none of the four describes a permit for removing a tree on private land. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest Canadian cities.
Elm wood: storage, movement and pruning window
The Dutch elm disease page opens with two prohibitions. It is illegal to store elm wood unless at least one of four things is done: all bark is removed, the wood is kiln-dried to a moisture content of 18 percent or less or heated to 56 degrees C for at least 30 minutes, it is chipped to less than 5 cm in all directions, or written permission is obtained from the Province of Manitoba. It is also illegal to move elm wood for any reason other than disposal. The page gives the reason: the beetle that carries the disease lays eggs in intact wood, so moving infected wood spreads it.
The City inspects all elm trees on both public and private property each year between June and September. It tags infected trees with an orange dot and removes them within one year. It says it does not prune elms from April 1 through July 31 and lists the same window as a way for owners to slow the spread. City removals run January to April and September to December, and can happen year round. For a suspected infection on private property the page says the City will inspect within a month and remove an infected tree at no charge. The page also names disposal routes: remove the tree to ground level and debark the stump, chip on site, take chips straight to the Brady Road Resource Management Facility without leaving the Regulated Area, or burn on site, which needs a burn permit.
Ash trees and the regulated area
The emerald ash borer page says Winnipeg is a regulated restricted area and that no part of an ash tree may be moved out of the city. That covers logs, branches, wood chips, ash nursery stock and trees, and firewood. The City first detected the borer in 2017 and runs a program to slow ash mortality: it injects healthy ash trees and those with minor infestations, marking them with a grey dot, and cuts down trees that cannot be saved, marking them with a purple dot. It states that it removed 22 infected trees between 2017 and 2025 and found a new group in early 2026. A treatment round was announced to begin on July 6, 2026 in seven numbered insect management areas, Monday to Friday between 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The City says it does not treat or remove ash trees on private property and that owners are responsible for them. Its suggestions include hiring a qualified, licensed and insured professional arborist for removals, and reporting a suspected beetle to 311 or the hotline at 1-866-463-6017.
Boulevard and park tree pruning
The pruning service page, last updated May 17, 2021, describes the City's program for boulevard and parkland trees and its priority ratings. Priority 1 is work done as soon as operationally possible for high risk of injury or damage, such as a tree blocking a stop sign, signal or intersection visibility, encroaching on a street or sidewalk, a hazard tree with a major broken branch, or branches too low to mow under safely. Priority 2 is work completed within 2 to 3 years, such as trees blocking street lighting, encroaching on a dwelling, or suckers obstructing a block. General pruning is not carried out: that includes trees on private property, requests over leaves, seeds, shade, views or honeydew, aesthetics and satellite dish reception. The page points residents who want that work to hiring a private contractor at their own expense under the City's guidelines for maintaining City owned trees using a contractor.