{"id":813139,"date":"2026-07-20T00:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/813139\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T00:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:21:15","slug":"winnipeggers-swelter-in-heat-as-apartment-ac-barely-blows-a-kleenex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/813139\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnipeggers swelter in heat as apartment AC barely blows a Kleenex"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Some residents in a Winnipeg apartment complex say their nearly non-existent air conditioning has left them languishing in stifling heat.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s very concerning, especially for a lot of elder people that live here. For everybody that lives here, it\u2019s hot,” said Kelly Forsyth, who lives at 60 Whellams Lane in the Edgewood Estates in the city’s North Kildonan neighborhood.<\/p>\n

“Unless you\u2019re a lizard, you\u2019re not going to enjoy it.”<\/p>\n

Edgewood Estates has nearly 600 rental units across its complex of buildings, including 50, 60, and 70 Whellams Lane.<\/p>\n

Forsyth has lived there for eight years and says the air conditioning has never properly worked, yet the property manager, Devonshire Properties, lists it as having central air. <\/p>\n

“They shouldn’t advertise that. I guess there is central air, but it does not work,” said Forsyth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The winter’s fine, we seem to get the heat from that, but just not the AC. If you hold a Kleenex there it\u2019s hardly even blowing.”<\/p>\n

CBC News has reached out to Devonshire Properties for comment but has not yet heard back.<\/p>\n

\"TwoEdgewood Estates on Whellams Lane in Winnipeg\u2019s North Kildonan neighborhood has nearly 600 suites across its complex. (Katie Lambe\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Winnipeg is under a yellow heat warning from Environment Canada.<\/p>\n

The temperature reached 30 C on Saturday with a humidex level that made it feel more like 38. On Sunday, the high hit 31 C with a humidex level of 39.<\/p>\n

The forecast calls for the temperatures to dip back to the mid-20s for Monday and Tuesday before rebounding back into the 30s for the end of the week and weekend.<\/p>\n

To beat the heat, Forsyth has dark curtains on her windows and umbrellas blocking the sunlight from her balcony. She also has multiple portable air conditioners in her suite.<\/p>\n

“I have friends here that don’t have one in their bedroom and they say it’s unbearable to sleep. I have one in my bedroom, so I’m thankful for that,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"AKelly Forsyth holds a Kleenex tissue next to the air vent of her cooling unit to show how little the air moves it. (Katie Lambe\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“I wouldn’t live here if I didn’t have portables. But not everyone can afford portables to put in their suite.”<\/p>\n

Some people leave their apartment doors open in the hallway to try and get a cross breeze into their suites, Forsyth said.<\/p>\n

Douglas Nickerson and his wife have lived in Edgewood Estates for four years but are now thinking about moving.<\/p>\n

“You can\u2019t breathe, you\u2019re literally dry heaving at night, like [it’s] that bad. You’re waking up three times a night just because you\u2019ve got dry throat and you’re like literally coughing like nonstop because it’s that dry in the apartment,” he said.<\/p>\n

The couple had to buy a window air conditioner unit this year for $397.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re spending so much money just on rent and they don’t even have necessities,” Nickerson said.<\/p>\n

There are four large HVAC units outside the building, each with multiple fans, and none were moving on Sunday.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s nobody working on it. It’s disgraceful, really,” said Marguerite Longstaff, who has lived there 26 years and says this year “has been really awful.”<\/p>\n

“I feel sorry for the older people, people that don’t have a car [to go somewhere else] or for the babies. I don’t know how they’re surviving it. I don’t understand what’s going on, really,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"AMarguerite Longstaff says none of the HVAC units are operating at Edgewood Estates. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s hot as hell. I imagine hell would be pretty hot, too.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leigh Benne, who had to find a shady spot outside in order to escape the heat of her suite, echoed her concern, like many others, for the seniors.<\/p>\n

“They shouldn’t have to live in a heated apartment in the summertime,\u201d she said. “It’s unbearable. It’s very hot. It’s like sitting in the sun on the beach in \u2026 34, 35 degrees.”<\/p>\n

\"ThreeEdgewood Estates residents including Leigh Benne (centre) and Ken Dyck (right) spend time outside to get a break from the heat in their suites. (Santiago Arias Orozco\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Ken Dyck, a 17-year resident, said management has said nothing about the situation, and posted nothing to explain to residents what is happening. <\/p>\n

“I wish that things would get fixed ASAP. It shouldn’t take as long as it has so far,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But we’ll get by. It too shall pass, and it’s better than \u201330 C.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":813140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-813139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}