Winnipeg is set to receive $1 billion for a new mental health and addictions hospital and 2,000 transitional housing units, drawing on a Toronto project that reported fewer emergency room visits and substantial savings.

According to reporting by Global News’ Toni De Guzman, the 2026 federal budget provides the funding for the Winnipeg Centre for Mental Health and Addictions and the housing. Locations for the hospital and homes have not been determined.

The plan takes inspiration from Toronto’s Dunn House. The federal budget cites a 52 per cent reduction in emergency room visits and more than $2 million in savings associated with that project, Global News reported. Those are reported results from the Toronto project, not established outcomes for Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg plan aims to have people settled in the 2,000 housing units by 2031. Doug Rollins, executive director of Toronto’s housing secretariat, told Global News the housing will include rooms, medical offices and shared spaces such as a kitchen and community room.

At a Friday news conference at Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn in Winnipeg, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to end homelessness across Canada within a decade.

Sources