Manitoba will start moving people from encampments into housing in 2025, balance budget by 2027: Kinew

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says his government will start moving people out of homeless encampments and into housing in the new year, while sticking to its timeline for a balanced budget — despite a projected deficit for this year that's grown by half a billion dollars.

Kinew said in a year-end interview that 2025 will be when "you, as the average Manitoban, start to see big steps on homelessness."

Within the first few months of the year, the province will move people living in tents into new housing units the government is opening up, he said.

"I think what we're going to do is move camp-by-camp," he said.

"It's actually going to start at that level … of, like, a few dozen people at a time. Let's move them into housing, let's make sure that the camp gets cleaned up, and then let's make sure that it doesn't get set up again, because people have been successful in their new housing.'"

Kinew wouldn't offer details around the number of people who will be supported or the number of units opening up, but he said the new homes would be available for people at all stages of the housing process.

He likened these stages to a ladder, where the bottom rung is basic shelter, followed by social housing, Manitoba Housing and then the private rental market.

"It's taken time for us to get those units together, to get the relationships with the private sector so that when somebody's been in Manitoba Housing for five years, we could transfer them over into an apartment," he said.

"But now that we have that ladder in place, 2025 is the year where we go out and start moving people into more dignified living conditions."

The NDP promised in the 2023 election campaign to end chronic homelessness within eight years of taking office. It's now aiming to connect individuals who've been without shelter for six weeks or longer with housing and mental health supports. 

During its first year in office, the NDP said it housed 1,100 people who were living in encampments, shelters and transitional housing — though the issue of homelessness is rampant along streets, riverbanks and bus shelters, particularly in Winnipeg.

WATCH | Premier on NDP's approach to homelessness, balancing budget:

The province's 2024 budget included $116 million to build 350 social and affordable housing units and repair more than 3,000 units.

Kinew said the government would devote more money into addressing homelessness in next year's budget, but he didn't specify how much.