Feel free to change the text below to personalize the message. Send the letter by email to the Minister of Finance (minfin@manitoba.ca) and CC the Minister responsible for housing (minhah@manitoba.ca) and the Premier (premier@manitoba.ca). BCC provincial@righttohousing.ca
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The Honourable Adrien Sala, M.L.A.
Minister of Finance
103 – 450 Broadway
Winnipeg, MB R3C 0V8
Dear Minister:
As the Manitoba government deliberates on the 2026 provincial budget, I am writing to show my support for investments in social housing along with necessary supports.
I am concerned for the thousands of low-income households in Manitoba who don’t have access to safe and good quality rental housing they can afford. Investments in social housing will help meet this need and are critical to fulfilling your government’s commitment to end chronic homelessness within two terms.
While the 2024 and 2025 budgets demonstrate that your government is on the right path, bolder investments are needed going forward to prevent us from falling further behind and to ultimately address housing insecurity and homelessness across Manitoba.
In Budget 2024, The Right to Housing Coalition identified the need for the Manitoba government to add 1,000 new social housing units and to invest $150M to maintain in the existing social housing supply each year for the next 10 years. The Province has not fully met these annual targets, which means larger annual investments are needed in future budgets to get us back on track to meeting the need by 2034.
I support The Right to Housing Coalition’s recommendations for Budget 2026:
- Add 1,980 rent-geared-to-income social housing units in 2026/27 owned by public, non-profit, and co-op housing providers, as part of a long-term commitment to add 10,000 social housing units by 2034.
- Protect the existing social housing supply by investing $311.2M into a capital maintenance fund and by investing in an operating subsidy fund. This will ensure no social housing units are lost due to disrepair or lack of operating subsidies.
- Invest in funding to ensure social housing tenants can access highly trained addictions, mental health and primary care professionals as well as community support workers to stabilize tenancies and achieve other goals.
There are clear ways to address housing needs in Budget 2026. I strongly urge the Manitoba government to support the recommendations put forward by The Right to Housing Coalition, which have been endorsed by more than 90 organizations across Manitoba.
Yours sincerely,
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CC:
The Honourable Bernadette Smith, M.L.A., Minister of Housing, Addictions, and Homelessness
The Honourable Wab Kinew, M.L.A., Premier of Manitoba
