Province putting $8M into safe space for Thompson Indigenous women and families
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An $8-million provincial investment in the Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag Northern Lodge in Thompson fulfils the NDP’s 2023 election promise to establish three new 24-7 safe spaces for Indigenous women and their families in that city, Winnipeg and Brandon.
The lodge is expected to be up and running in 2028, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, who is also responsible for women and gender equity, said at a news conference in Winnipeg. It builds on a 2025 investment of $3.5 million to establish a first-of-its-kind 24-7 safe space for Indigenous women and their children in Winnipeg, and a 2024 investment of $500,000 to support the creation of Franny’s Place, a new 24-7 safe space in Brandon.
The Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag (Anishinaabemowin for “all women doing well”) Northern Lodge will operate as a community of care, offering culturally grounded supports that help individuals and families heal, stabilize and rebuild lives at risk of violence.
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Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine announced Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag Northern Lodge, a new safe space for Indigenous women and their families, will be created in Thompson.
It will include 10 short-term private studio suites, a communal kitchen and living area, counselling and program space, laundry facilities and a dedicated child-minding area with Indigenous cultural teaching and play-based learning. Residents will have access to trauma-informed supports, cultural programming, parenting supports, peer support and supported connections to housing, health, education, employment and legal services.
The project pairs the Infinity Women Secretariat’s expertise in Indigenous women-led violence prevention, healing and stabilizing initiatives with the Ma-Mow-We-Tak Friendship Centre’s decades of experience delivering housing, wellness and family support in northern Manitoba.
“This transitional housing in Thompson will give Indigenous women and their children a safe and supportive place to stay when they need it most,” Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook said in a news release. “The Ma-Mow-We-Tak Friendship Centre’s community ties and experience building social housing projects will be a big asset to getting this new facility up and running.”
Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse residents of Thompson and surrounding northern communities experience disproportionately high rates of gender-based violence, Fontaine said. They also contend with geographic isolation, limited access to services and a lack of housing that also contributes to heightened risks of violence, sexual exploitation, human trafficking and other continued harms linked to the MMIWG2S+ crisis.