Oraye St. Franklyn

January 30, 2026

WINNIPEG, MB — End Homelessness Winnipeg welcomes the City of Winnipeg’s newly announced pilot initiative to expand affordable housing through partnerships with social enterprises and community developers. The initiative reflects a practical shift toward unlocking underused assets to address the city’s worsening housing shortage.

This development follows End Homelessness Winnipeg’s January 15, 2026 public statement calling on governments to act decisively on derelict and vacant buildings as part of Winnipeg’s housing and homelessness response. In that statement, End Homelessness Winnipeg warned that continued reliance on enforcement and crisis response leaves Winnipeg trapped in a cycle of danger and loss, where derelict and abandoned buildings repeatedly become sites of preventable fires, displacement, and risk, and called on authorities to shift toward conversion, rehabilitation, and reintegration of these properties into the housing system as a matter of public safety and housing stability.

Jennifer Moore Rattray, Chief Executive Officer of End Homelessness Winnipeg, said,
“We commend the City for advancing a model that brings social enterprises and community partners into housing development. What matters now is speed. These units must move quickly from concept to construction to occupancy. The current conditions are too fragile for slow timelines and delayed delivery,” she continued, “Every derelict building that remains untouched is a missed chance to stabilize someone’s life. Governments must align planning approvals, financing, remediation, and development processes so these properties can be brought into use faster and at scale. Housing is the foundation of safety, health, and dignity. Without it, every other response remains temporary.”

While a number of affordable units have been approved by the City of Winnipeg, an important first step, End Homelessness Winnipeg continues to see the greatest need in transitional and supportive housing for people experiencing or exiting homelessness. The 2024 Winnipeg Street Census recorded 2,469 people experiencing homelessness, up from 1,256 in 2022, representing an increase of approximately 96 percent in just two years.

At the same time, the loss of existing low-cost housing through closures, fires, and buildings being taken offline continues to reduce the options available to people with the fewest choices. Together, these conditions highlight the need for steady delivery, clear pathways into stable housing, and sustained investment in rent-geared-to-income housing models combined with the supports people need to rebuild stability and maintain housing over time.

End Homelessness Winnipeg is calling on all orders of government to treat derelict and abandoned buildings as immediate housing assets rather than long-term redevelopment projects, supported by fast-tracked regulatory approvals and timely remediation funding. In the face of ongoing housing pressure, End Homelessness Winnipeg emphasizes that the conversion of vacant and derelict buildings remains one of the most direct and practical pathways to increasing housing supply and expanding access to safe, stable housing for people in need.

End Homelessness Winnipeg remains committed to working with municipal, provincial, and federal partners, non-profit organizations, social enterprises, the private sector, direct service staff, and community stakeholders to ensure that unused spaces are transformed into permanent homes that restore stability, dignity, and safety.

About End Homelessness Winnipeg

End Homelessness Winnipeg coordinates systems, policies, and investments to prevent and end homelessness in Winnipeg and works to create a world where everyone has a home and the supports they need to belong.

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Media Contact

Oraye St. Franklyn

Manager Communications & Community Relations

End Homelessness Winnipeg

Phone: 431-323-8896

Email: ofranklyn@endhomelessnesswinnipeg.ca

END HOMELESSNESS WINNIPEG APPOINTS JENNIFER MOORE RATTRAY AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Winnipeg, MB — January 29, 2026 — End Homelessness Winnipeg (EHW) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Moore Rattray, as its new Chief Executive Officer, following a comprehensive search process.

Jennifer is a nationally respected public sector leader, proud citizen of Peepeekisis Cree Nation, and a recognized champion of systems change, equity, and reconciliation. She brings extensive leadership experience across government, education, and the non-profit sector.

Nationally, Jennifer served as Executive Director of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and as Ministerial Special Representative to Canada’s Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations focused on advancing the creation of a National Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsperson.

As an Assistant Deputy Minister with the Province of Manitoba, Jennifer worked to challenge systemic inequities and improve outcomes for marginalized people. At The University of Winnipeg, she served for more than a decade as Associate Vice-President, leading efforts to expand access to post-secondary education for Indigenous, newcomer, and low-income students.

“Jennifer is an exceptional leader with a deep understanding of the systems that contribute to homelessness and the courage to help transform them,” said Samantha Brown, Board Chair of End Homelessness Winnipeg. “Her values, experience, and record of results make her uniquely suited to lead End Homelessness Winnipeg at this critical time.”

Jennifer began her career as an award-winning journalist, holding governments and public institutions to account and strengthening public understanding of complex social issues.

“I am honoured to step into this role with End Homelessness Winnipeg,” said Jennifer Moore Rattray. “Ending homelessness requires partnership, accountability, and a shared commitment to dignity. I look forward to working alongside community and government partners to advance solutions that create meaningful change for our unsheltered relatives. This work is urgent, there is a humanitarian crisis on our streets every day, and together we can and must do better.”

Jennifer is a Trudeau Foundation Mentor and serves on several national boards and regional councils. She was also a founding board member of End Homelessness Winnipeg. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond and Jubilee Medals in recognition of her leadership and contributions.

About End Homelessness Winnipeg
End Homelessness Winnipeg coordinates systems, policies, and investments to prevent and end homelessness in Winnipeg and works to create a world where everyone has a home and the supports they need to belong.

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Media Contact

Oraye St. Franklyn

Manager Communications & Community Relations

End Homelessness Winnipeg

Phone: 431-323-8896

Email: ofranklyn@endhomelessnesswinnipeg.ca

End Homelessness Winnipeg on the Manwin Hotel fire and Winnipeg’s housing emergency

End Homelessness Winnipeg extends our deepest concern and solidarity to everyone impacted by the January 14, 2026 fire that destroyed the Manwin Hotel on Main Street. Our thoughts are with those displaced, nearby residents and businesses, and the first responders who acted swiftly under dangerous conditions.

We also recognize the direct impact of this fire on Main Street Project, whose operations were disrupted and whose shelter guests were evacuated as a precaution. In response, houseless-serving sector partners moved quickly to support Main Street Project, ensuring continuity of care and demonstrating the strength of collaboration across Winnipeg’s homelessness response system. The disruption affecting a core emergency response organization like Main Street Project places immediate pressure on the city of Winnipeg’s already overstretched homelessness response system.

The 2024 Winnipeg Street Census identified 2,469 people experiencing homelessness, the highest number recorded since the census began in 2015. This number reflects a system operating beyond capacity, where the loss or disruption of any shelter or housing resource reverberates citywide.

A recurring and preventable pattern

The destruction of the Manwin Hotel must also be understood as a symptom of a broader and deeply concerning pattern. Winnipeg continues to experience a high number of fires in vacant properties. Reporting based on Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service data shows 274 vacant building fires in 2024, following more than 150 vacant building fires in 2023, with 166 additional vacant property fires recorded in 2025 as of October 31.

At the same time, the City of Winnipeg Housing Needs Assessment 2025 – At a Glance reports that, as of September 2025, there were approximately 535 empty residential buildings under active Vacant Building By-law orders. These buildings represented about 980 housing units before they became vacant.

The same Housing Needs Assessment 2025 reports that in 2020, 34,425 households in Winnipeg were in core housing need, representing 11 percent of all households. This underscores the scale of housing instability in the city, indicating a need for better funding and policies to protect and improve our existing housing stock.

Vacant buildings must be part of the housing solution

Winnipeg’s housing crisis cannot be addressed through new construction alone, though new builds remain essential. There is an opportunity to view our city’s vacant and underused buildings as a pivotal part of the solution, through rehabilitation, conversion and if necessary, acquisition to increase our stock of  affordable and supportive housing.

The City of Winnipeg Housing Needs Assessment 2025 also reports that the city’s rental vacancy rate fell to 1.7 percent in 2024, down from 5.1 percent in 2021. Low vacancy rates drive rent increases and reduce options for low-income households, increasing the risk of homelessness.

What is required now

End Homelessness Winnipeg is calling on the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, and the City of Winnipeg to move quickly and in a coordinated manner toward solutions that make a measurable dent in homelessness.

This must include:

• A rapid conversion program for vacant and underused buildings, prioritizing deeply affordable and supportive housing that can be brought online quickly.
• Expanded supportive housing supply, with integrated health, mental health, and harm reduction supports, particularly for people experiencing chronic homelessness.
• Stronger homelessness prevention measures, including rent supports and eviction prevention, to reduce inflow into homelessness.
• Targeted supports for homeowners and small property owners, including rehabilitation financing, grants tied to affordability commitments, and technical assistance, to prevent properties from becoming vacant or falling into unsafe conditions.
• Clear shared accountability across all stakeholders, including governments, Indigenous partners, direct service providers, property owners, landowners, and the private sector, supported by transparent targets and public reporting.

Ending chronic homelessness requires collective action. No single order of government or sector can solve this alone.

The Manwin Hotel fire is yet another stark reminder that housing is safety. Winnipeg cannot accept a reality where buildings sit empty, fires repeatedly consume vacant properties, houseless-serving organizations like Main Street Project are forced to respond under crisis conditions, and thousands of people remain without a home.

End Homelessness Winnipeg remains committed to working with all partners to accelerate solutions that restore housing, stability, and dignity.

End Homelessness Winnipeg

January 15, 2026