ManitobaTwo PC MLAs are accusing the NDP government of not making good on promises to end chronic homelessness, and they’re calling on the premier to oust the current minister of homelessness after she said that the province’s homeless strategy was “right on track.”MLA says homelessness in Manitoba worse than it’s ever been, calls for cabinet shuffleDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Sep 02, 2025 8:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoA cyclist rides past a tent near Waterfront Drive in Winnipeg. Two PC MLAs are accusing the NDP government of not making good on promises to end chronic homelessness. (Prabhjot Lotey Singh/CBC)Two PC MLAs are accusing the NDP government of not making good on promises to end chronic homelessness, and calling on the premier to oust the current minister of homelessness after she said that the province’s homeless strategy was “right on track.””I don’t know what track the minister is actually talking about, and the premier is obviously backing her up,” Manitoba PC MLA for Lac du Bonnet Wayne Ewasko said at a Tuesday press conference, referring to NDP Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith. “I don’t even know what kind of track they are talking about, because they are definitely on the wrong track of getting this stuff done, and for the ultimate safety of Manitobans.”Manitoba PC MLA Wayne Ewasko is accusing the NDP government of failing to keep promises they made to end chronic homelessness in Manitoba. (CBC News)Last Tuesday, End Homelessness Winnipeg released results from a survey that found an estimated 2,469 people were experiencing homelessness in the city on Nov. 5, 2024 — the highest number since the organization began surveying the city’s unhoused population in 2014.In January, the NDP government introduced the Your Way Home homelessness strategy, with the aim to end chronic homelessness in Winnipeg by 2031. Part of the plan involves moving people out of encampments and into housing.Last week, the province announced it’s been able to get 77 of an estimated 700 Manitobans living in encampments into housing since the launch of the strategy in May.”We’re right on track to where we want to be,” Smith said at a media conference last Thursday where the survey results were introduced. Ewasko said he believes the province and the minister are failing at their homelessness strategy, and that the PCs now believe it is time for some ministers, including Smith, to be shuffled out of their positions.”When looking at ending homelessness, that was one of their key pillars in the election, in addition to fixing health care, in addition to fixing crime,” Ewasko said. “We think it’s time to start shuffling some of their cabinet ministers, because things are absolutely getting worse just in the two years since they’ve formed government.”PC MLA for Portage la Prairie Jeff Bereza says the NDP have shown an ‘absolute lack of action’ on homelessness since taking office. (CBC News)PC MLA for Portage la Prairie Jeff Bereza, who also spoke at Tuesday’s media conference, said the NDP have shown an “absolute lack of action” on homelessness.”The NDP committed to ending chronic homelessness in two terms,” he said. “Two years into that and the problem is worse than it has ever been. In a statement sent to CBC News, Smith accused the PCs of taking steps while previously in power to exacerbate the homelessness issue in Manitoba. “The previous PC government sold off housing, fired dozens of front-line Manitoba Housing staff and left Manitobans to live in tents,” Smith said. “The PCs thought bus shelters were appropriate homes. We don’t agree, which is why we’ve housed 77 people from encampments since the launch of Your Way Home in January.”We are rebuilding Manitoba’s social and affordable housing stock, and moving folks from tents to housing with wraparound supports.”Manitoba’s Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Bernadette Smith is defending the work of the NDP government to combat homelessness, after two PCs MLAs said the province isn’t doing enough to deal with the issue. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)Smith said the province also stands by its promise to end chronic homelessness by 2031. “We promised Manitobans that we would end chronic homelessness in two terms,” Smith said. “We know there’s more to do and we’re committed to getting that work done.”In an interview on Tuesday with CBC’s Information Radio, Premier Wab Kinew said he believes the province’s strategy to combat homelessness is working, with more than 70 people now moved from encampments to housing. “If you look at people who are only sleeping in tents, it’s about 700,” Kinew said. “So we’ve moved the needle by about 10 per cent.”Again, that’s nowhere near where we want to get. All of us drive by encampments and stuff and we know that there’s so much more that needs to be done. But in terms of getting off to a start, we’ve left the gates — we’ve left the harbour.”ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.
NDP government breaking promises on ending homelessness, PCs claim
