What Winnipeg can learn from Toronto’s housing model

By Toni De Guzman Global News

Posted November 9, 2026 7:04 pm

1 min read

A new mental health and addictions hospital and 2,000 housing units will be built in Winnipeg replicating a housing project based in Toronto that saw a decrease in ER visits and millions of savings.

Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to end homelessness across the country within a decade, at a news conference at Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn on Friday. Winnipeg is set to receive $1 billion to build a Winnipeg Centre for Mental Health and Addictions and transitional homes, according to the 2026 federal budget.

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The location for the housing and hospital has not been determined.

Dunn House, the housing project in Toronto that Winnipeg will , reported a 52 per cent reduction in emergency room visits and more than $2 million of savings, according to the budget.

“There is a huge cost to the status quo. The status quo is not working,” said Kinew. “We’re gonna get it done right, and we’re gonna get it done quick — and the housing similarly for us to stand up 2,000 housing units and get people settled in by 2031 means we’re going to be looking everywhere.”

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The housing units will have rooms, medical offices, and shared spaces like the kitchen and community room, said Doug Rollins, the City of Toronto’s executive director housing secretariat.