Ottawa pumps $47M into housing for Manitoba communities

The federal government is pumping $47 million into secure rental units in Selkirk, Winkler, Flin Flon and Cross Lake.

“We’re not just building homes, we’re building communities,” Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand told a small outdoor gathering at The Forks, saying the need is dire.

“When I look at this from the big picture, it’s obviously not enough housing, but it is a start,” the northern Manitoba MP told the Free Press. “It releases the pressure valve.”

The government announced the location of 133 secure rental units: 49 in Selkirk, 25 in Winkler, 25 in Cross Lake and 16 in Flin Flon (16). The remaining units will be built in Manitoba’s north. The funding comes from the federal Affordable Housing Fund.

Seniors, people in transitional housing, women and people who require supportive housing are the targeted demographics.

Alongside the units, $12.1 million has been earmarked to decommission and replace the landfill on the York Factory First Nation with a properly engineered facility.

York Factory Chief Leroy Constant said the work is “long overdue” and will support 250 units in the community and protect the environment.

“The land is not just where we live, it’s what keeps us alive,” he said.

Grand Chief Garrison Settee, of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said more housing is needed in the northern region, which he said has been “forgotten and neglected.”

He welcomed the funding, saying it fills his heart, as housing is interconnected to many aspects of the community.

“A lot of the health issues we face are because of a lack of adequate housing,” he said, citing overcrowding and addictions.

It’s these factors the new units hope to address, Chartrand said.

“Housing is public safety,” she said.

The housing fund has doled out $14.4 billion to build or repair accessible units across the country since December 2025.

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca