Manitoba premier says proposed supervised consumption site will be changed

Premier of Manitoba Wab Kinew speaks to media prior to the First Minister’s Meeting in Saskatoon on Monday, June 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is changing the planned location of its first supervised consumption site after facing stiff opposition from area residents.

The province, in partnership with the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre, submitted a licensing request with Health Canada last November for a site at 200 Disraeli Freeway, in the core area of Winnipeg.

The idea quickly ran into opposition from many local residents, who said the location is too close to schools, a child-care centre and some homes.

Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday the province will look for a new address.

“We will be bringing a new location forward for people to consider,” Kinew told reporters.

“Basically, what we’re going to do is just draw a 250-metre radius around the potential sites that are under consideration and see if there’s any (schools or child-care centres) in the area, and then take it from there.”

The supervised consumption site would allow people to inject drugs, with staff on hand to respond to overdoses and guide people toward treatment. The centre wouldn’t supply drugs but offer a space for supervised use.

The province had planned to have the site up and running this year but now says it will open later and after more public consultation — sometime before the next provincial election in October 2027.

The site at 200 Disraeli Freeway would still offer other health and social services, Kinew said, and a supervised consumption site elsewhere would provide much-needed support.

“We have too many Manitobans dying from overdose ... so this is one tool we can use to improve things in Manitoba.”

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives said the 200 Disraeli location was still listed on a Health Canada website Wednesday as an open application.

“Now the premier needs to answer, where is he opening the site?” Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said in a written statement.

“His minister has promised a drug consumption site will be operating within two years. Manitobans deserve to know where the NDP are planning to open it.”

Earlier this year, the Ontario government closed nine supervised consumption sites near schools and daycare centres. They were to be converted into homelessness and addiction recovery treatment facilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press