True North, former Canada Life CEO’s family foundation invest $7M in affordable-housing trust fund to address ‘deplorable’ crisis

Calling Manitoba’s homelessness crisis “deplorable,” one of the city’s most prominent business leaders is putting his money where his mouth is, stepping up with millions in private investment to help turn the tide.

True North Sports & Entertainment — the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets and Canada Life Centre — is investing $5 million in the Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust, joining Paul and Anne Mahon, who are contributing $2 million through the Mahon Family Foundation. The initiative — which also received $10 million in provincial seed funding last fall — aims to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in new affordable housing by leveraging private, public and philanthropic funds.

True North executive chairman Mark Chipman told a news conference Tuesday that Manitoba’s level of homelessness is deplorable and unacceptable.

“We are at an inflection point. I really believe that. I’m not saying that to be dramatic, I just believe we’re at a crossroads,” Chipman said. “I’ve remained hopeful because our premier is highly invested, like he has shown in this program. I think our mayor is highly invested. The business community is highly invested. The social service network in this community is incredibly invested in this.”

Chipman said that hope has given him the financial confidence to invest in such projects.

“We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think there was a real possibility of turning this around,” he said, adding he’s seen examples of people in other cities coming together thoughtfully to make a significant impact.

“We’re never going to solve homelessness and eradicate it entirely, but chronic homelessness and the exacerbation of it with the drugs on our streets right now, that’s something we can take on, and we’re just obligated to do that.”

“We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think there was a real possibility of turning this around.”

The CHAR trust, developed by the Business Council of Manitoba, was first announced in October 2024.

“You cannot have a successful economy, you cannot have a successful business without a healthy community, and that’s really what the membership wants,” said Bram Strain, president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba. “The membership wants a healthy community, and this to me, is putting your money where your mouth is. This is putting action. This is doing something.”

While CHAR has not yet announced any specific projects, commitments are being formalized for two developments that would provide 48 transitional housing units, including one new build and the other an existing building, Paul Mahon said.

Details and locations were not disclosed, but Mahon, a former CEO of Canada Life, said much of Tuesday’s meeting with the business community focused on education, both about the scale of the problem and how companies can contribute to solutions.

“How can I help either with my charitable dollars? How can I help by investing in the real estate investment trust? Or how could my business or my profession help with doing this on a lower cost basis?” he said.

The 48 transitional units are expected to be completed and ready for residents in early 2026.

Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, Premier Wab Kinew’s senior adviser on ending chronic homelessness, said the units will fit within the province’s Your Way Home strategy, which aims to end chronic homelessness by 2031.

The housing will support people who have been living long-term in shelters or who are leaving correctional facilities, providing transitional homes with wraparound supports to help them stabilize.

“Two early partnerships were identified, and are going to be housing that is a part of the broader solution, and a part of the broader ecosystem that Your Way Home is supporting,” she said. “What’s really important to understand is that there’s a diverse need across those experiencing homelessness, and so there’s going to be a diverse need of response.”

“What’s really important to understand is that there’s a diverse need across those experiencing homelessness, and so there’s going to be a diverse need of response.”

CHAR’s long-term goal is to develop housing across a continuum, beginning with deeply affordable units to help people currently stuck in shelters move into stable housing.

Mahon said the initiative will span several years.

“At any given point in time, there’s 3,000 Manitobans looking for housing, and there’s 100 units coming up,” Mahon said. “So how do we actually close that gap? And it will take multiple years to close that gap. But if we don’t start now, we’re going to be in dire straits, so we have to be focused on getting started.”

Over time, Mahon said, he hopes CHAR will help fund hundreds of projects, focusing on bridging financing gaps and supporting organizations with tenant needs, funding stacks, and construction management. The trust will also assist in securing federal support from partners such as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

“It’s that last mile that’s critical,” Mahon said. “CHAR can help with dollars, and it can help with capabilities.”

CHAR president and CEO Shawn Alwis said the organization is currently reviewing a dozen projects.

He noted growing excitement within the business community, emphasizing how just five per cent equity from investor and donor dollars can help leverage 20 times that in new housing.

“Basically, if we raised $30 million, for example, in equity, with the funding model and the leveraging structure that we have, either through federal opportunities or through traditional financing, we could take $30 million in equity and support $600 million in affordable housing projects based on that leveraging structure,” he said.

Alwis added that Tuesday’s commitment from True North and the Mahon family represents a turning point for affordable housing in Manitoba, signalling that the business community recognizes its role and is ready to step up.

“This is about much more than financial support,” he said. “It is a signal of confidence in CHAR’s mission and a reflection of our collective belief that safe, affordable housing must be within reach for all Manitobans.

“The leadership shown by True North Sports & Entertainment and the Mahon Family Foundation reflects the very best of Manitoba — a community willing to step forward, work together and invest in lasting change.”

An expression-of-interest process for not-for-profit organizations will launch in the coming months to identify new housing opportunities.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca