Winnipeg School Support Staff Aggression 2026: Student Attacks Up 188 Per Cent in Three Years

Winnipeg education news: Support Staff Aggression toward Winnipeg School Division support workers has jumped 188 per cent in three years, and the people taking the hits say classrooms cannot keep absorbing this alone.

By Maplestime Winnipeg Desk | Winnipeg, Manitoba | October 22, 2026

Sources: CityNews, CBC, Winnipeg Free Press | Last updated: October 22, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Student related aggression incidents by students with additional needs reached 932 last school year, up from 650 the year before and 333 two years earlier, an increase of 188 per cent.
• Total incidents across the division rose 118 per cent: from 884 in the 2022/23 school year to 1,925 in 2025/26, according to data the MGEU obtained through freedom of information.
• Educational assistants absorb 99 per cent of it: 1,908 of the 1,925 incidents in 2025/26 involved EAs.
• Hitting was the most common form of aggression. Between September 2025 and June, a student hit a staff member at least 855 times, up 224 from the previous year.
• MGEU, which represents more than 1,900 division support staff, blames EA staffing churn and is asking the province to guarantee safe staffing levels with proper training.

Support Staff Aggression By The Numbers

The numbers land hard. In the 2025/26 school year, Winnipeg School Division support staff logged 1,925 incidents of aggression, compared with 884 in the 2022/23 school year. Most involve students with additional needs: 932 incidents last year, against 650 the year before and 333 the year before that.

Educational assistants carry nearly all of it. Of those 1,925 incidents, 1,908 fell on EAs, the staff who work one on one with the students who need the most support. Clerks, secretaries and library technicians, also MGEU members, make up the rest.

Hitting Tops The List

Hitting was the most common type of aggression. In the ten months from September 2025 to June, a student hit a staff member at least 855 times, 224 more hits than the year before.

MGEU president Kyle Ross did not soften it: “You don’t need to teach math to see the numbers are going the wrong way.”

“It was really eye-opening for me to see this data and see it continue to grow,” Ross said, “it’s not a good situation for the students, the teachers, the support staff.”

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The Staffing Link

The union says this wave of Support Staff Aggression is not a mystery. Recent funding and placement changes mean students with additional needs keep losing the consistent, steady EA relationships they depend on. New faces cycle in, trust breaks down, and the fallout lands on the staff in the room.

MGEU wants the province to ensure safe staffing levels with the right training, not patchwork coverage that leaves the most vulnerable students and the people who support them exposed.

Division Did Not Respond

CityNews asked the Winnipeg School Division for comment on the report and did not get a response. The MGEU report itself was released October 16 and built on division data the union obtained through a freedom of information request.

Behind every one of those 1,925 incidents is a worker who showed up the next morning anyway. That loyalty should count for something. Winnipeg’s classrooms need enough trained staff that support work is not a contact sport.

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Should Manitoba fund more trained EAs now, or will Support Staff Aggression keep climbing until our classrooms break? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Winnipeg parent, educator and taxpayer who needs to see what is really happening in our schools.