Manitoba spending $3.3 million to help enhance rural crime response

The province’s justice minister says the addition of new officers to a specialized police unit will help combat rural crime.

The Manitoba government will spend more money to tackle crime in rural and northern Manitoba.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced $3.3 million in new funding to double the RCMP’s emergency response team Tuesday afternoon, which was previously announced in the 2025 budget.

“We will not cede any ground when it comes to public safety, and we’ll be tough on crime,” he said.

The new funding will increase the number of full-time positions on the team from nine to 18.

“The emergency response team fulfills a critical role, using specialized training and equipment to resolve high-risk situations,” he said, citing serious violent crime, search warrants and hostage situations as examples.

Wiebe said he had visited many rural communities in Manitoba during his time as justice minister to help learn what they needed for law enforcement.

“What I heard, loud and clear, was that specialized police units like this one are crucial to addressing violent crime, guns and gang activity in rural and northern Manitoba,” he said.

The news conference comes two days after a brazen break and enter at a farm near MacGregor was caught on camera. Multiple suspects were seen on surveillance cameras holding what appeared to be firearms when the incident occurred.

The government believes the addition of more officers will help increase response times in rural areas.

“Inherently, the addition of the nine additional full-time units will enhance their capacity to respond,” said Owen Fergusson, assistant deputy minister of public safety with the Manitoba government.

Wiebe said the funding will be ongoing.

Tory justice critic Wayne Balcaen said the announcement was a distraction from the government’s failures to combat crime in rural areas.

“Manitobans didn’t need another funding announcement today. What they needed was an arrest of the individuals responsible for the crime that happened in the MacGregor area and put these people behind bars,” he said.