Encampments

Winnipeg, like many Canadian cities, is suffering from a lack of affordable housing units.

The City of Winnipeg is committed to working with partner agencies to find long-term solutions for supporting unsheltered Winnipeggers. 

As a municipal government, we take a people-first, housing-focused, and safety-conscious approach to encampments

  • We partner with all levels of government, service providers, and community-based organizations on issues related to housing and encampments.
  • We’re participating in the Provincial Your Way Home strategy.
  • We increasingly fund housing support services and safe spaces and the development of affordable housing.
  • We provide financial support to many community partners, including a 24/7 Safe Space and Stabilization Hub at 604 St. Mary's Road operated by St. Boniface Street Links, and also pay a partner agency to provide 24-hour mobile outreach service.

We must balance the safety and wellbeing of individuals living in encampments with our management of public spaces.

Encampment management in public spaces

City by-laws prohibit camping on public property, including in public parks and on streets and walkways.

The City must balance its responsibility to maintain safety and order in public spaces with its responsibility to protect people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. 

In 2019, we worked with our outreach partners to develop a formal process to guide encampment monitoring, management, and enforcement.

Since that time, we have evaluated and adjusted this process as lessons are learned and conditions change. We continue to collaborate with outreach partners to assess and improve our shared approach.

If/when an encampment is observed by City staff, reported by the public via 311, or flagged by a local outreach agency:

  • The site is added to a central repository of known current encampments
  • Outreach agencies monitor known sites and provide supports as required and/or possible
  • If/when it is determined to be vacant or abandoned, we dispatch crews to remove abandoned materials and remediate the site

We also:

  • Vacate encampments if the conditions or circumstances at that site pose a safety risk to those residing in it or the general public (such as an active uncontrolled fire) 
  • Use machinery to remove materials from encampments that have been damaged by fire

There is a misconception that we have deviated from this process.

But we have not – to date – gone into a site to remove peoples’ belongings, tear down makeshift shelters, or disassemble an active encampment.

The process itself hasn’t inherently changed.

We’ve just added some additional steps and clarity.

What’s new: the policy and protocol

 In late 2025, City Council approved a policy mandating that the public service enforce existing bylaws in targeted areas.

The Policy directs us to ensure people are not camping in areas:

  • Within 50 metres of the perimeter of playgrounds, pools, spray pads or outdoor recreational facilities designed for children, families or seniors
  • Within 50 metres of the perimeter of schools, daycares, or adult care facilities
  • Where a hazard or obstruction to vehicular or pedestrian traffic exists
  • Within a median or traffic island
  • Within 30 metres of a transit shelter
  • Within 30 metres of bridges, docks, or piers
  • Within 50 metres of a rail line or crossing
  • Where life safety issues exist

It also outlines that encampments are only allowed in all other public spaces from one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise. 

Encampment Coordination Table & Response Protocol

This policy is guiding our work to balance the needs of people to shelter overnight while also ensuring Winnipeggers can safely use public spaces and infrastructure for their intended purposes.We are implementing the policy using a new Encampment Response Protocol.

The protocol is our operational guide to addressing non-emergency issues related to encampments. It is put into practice by an Encampment Coordination Table.

The Encampment Coordination Table includes representatives from:

  • Community Development
  • Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service
  • Winnipeg Police Service

Through the Encampment Coordination Table, we have integrated existing processes with clearly articulated procedures for engagement, assessment, prioritization, and coordinated response to encampments.

While some of the steps are new, the protocol does not fundamentally change our role as a City.

It also doesn’t change what we’re relying on partner agencies for.

We are responsible for outreach, enforcement, and remediation.

This includes:

  • Engaging partner agencies and working together to identify encampments in public spaces
  • Assessing whether an active encampment affects how Winnipeggers can use the public space
  • With our partner agencies, prioritizing spaces where we would like to lessen this impact
  • Our role in the coordinated response at a prioritized site:
    • Posting signage at the site reminding people that camping is prohibited
    • Liaising with partner agencies to ensure people camping are offered support and alternate shelter
    • Ongoing conversations with partner agencies to ensure we are aware when individuals camping at a prioritized site have relocated from the site
    • Attending a vacated site to remove leftover material and remediate the public space

Our partner agencies – particularly the organizations we contract to conduct mobile outreach – are responsible for:

  • Engaging people living unsheltered
  • Assessing their needs
  • With us, prioritizing spaces and providing support at prioritized sites
  • Their role in the coordinated response at a prioritized site:
    • Offering shelter to those camping at a prioritized site
    • Supporting voluntary moves
    • Ongoing conversations with us to ensure a common understanding of the status of a prioritized encampment
    • Working with individuals to help them become housing-ready

The Province of Manitoba is responsible for:

  • Provision of housing units

As a City, our objective is to maintain public spaces while connecting unsheltered Winnipeggers with the agencies that can support them.

Updates

We presented a monthly enforcement update to the Standing Policy Committee on Community Services on December 5, 2025.

As of December 17, we had remediated 11 former encampments in public spaces.

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