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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4422083_web1_260723-Bernadette-Smith-00107.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith says the province has housed 249 people since launching the program in early 2025.<\/p>\n
As for the others: \u201cWe don\u2019t give up on people,\u201d she said. \u201cWe continue to work with them, and when they\u2019re ready to be housed, we will be there to ensure there is a pathway back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said the province is on track to meet its first-term target despite Winnipeg\u2019s worsening drug toxicity crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re focused on the individuals,\u201d she said, noting that of a cohort of 26 people who moved into one building in the past few months, 16 have chosen treatment and recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Service providers) are doing incredible work\u2026 in terms of making sure people are successfully tenanted, that they have some goals, that they\u2019re moving in a direction, whether it be getting their kids back or getting into an employment program, or whether that\u2019s just getting their mental health under control. A lot of these folks didn\u2019t have access to primary health care and were unhoused for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said the biggest obstacle remains the lack of adequate housing, which is paired with supports to ensure they can succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere just isn\u2019t enough,\u201d she said, adding more than 100 people are waiting for units.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that housing is the first place for people to get stabilized,\u201d she said. \u201cThen we triage and figure out what their needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister\u2019s update is the first in five weeks because of the communications blackout imposed during the The Pas-Kameesak byelection. The NDP handily won Tuesday\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n
The crisis has continued to deepen. End Homelessness Winnipeg estimated 8,248 people were homeless in March, including 4,463 who are considered chronically homeless, which is defined as being homeless for at least six months in the past year or repeatedly over several years.<\/p>\n
The provincial strategy targets people who live in encampments. Main Street Project counted 227 people in encampments in June, though similar reports from other outreach agencies will push the total number higher.<\/p>\n
Smith said 352 people have been moved directly from hospitals into Manitoba Housing units since the NDP took office in October 2023, which has helped to prevent patients from being discharged and immediately having no place to live.<\/p>\n
The government is banking on increasing the housing supply. Last week it approved the retail housing construction incentive that offers tax credits of up to $8,500 per rental unit, plus $5,000 for affordable units built by non-profit organizations and private developers.<\/p>\n
So far, the program has supported the construction of 151 market rental units and is projected to help deliver another 2,355 affordable housing units through $81.6 million in tax credits.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re all working in the same direction\u2026 to make sure Winnipeggers are supported. We all want the same outcome\u2019\u2013Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith<\/p>\n
Smith said her government works with the City of Winnipeg to tackle the wide-scale problems of housing and addictions. She wouldn\u2019t address criticism, made by residents of West Broadway, that the city has passed the buck to the province in terms of the response to the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all working in the same direction\u2026 to make sure Winnipeggers are supported,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all want the same outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pointed to provincial investments in overdose response, including a dedicated ambulance, additional funding for outreach organizations such as Siloam Mission and 1JustCity to expand hours and services, and keeping seasonal overnight shelter spaces open in the summer.<\/p>\n
The province expects to fully open its first supervised consumption site next month after newly hired staff is trained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a pathway for people to build relationships, to get primary health care and to get an access point into treatment and recovery,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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The minister, who hadn\u2019t commented on the Winnipeg Police Service\u2019s recent 10-day drug enforcement operation, said there is \u201cno tolerance\u201d for criminal behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we need to make sure we\u2019re not criminalizing trauma,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Manitoba would consider a managed encampment while more housing is built, Smith echoed comments made by Premier Wab Kinew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re focused on building housing, and housing is our biggest barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Scott Billeck Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade\u2019s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.\u00a0 Read more about Scott<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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