Water damage, electrical issues force more residents from Manitoba First Nation

WINNIPEG — More residents are being asked to leave a northern Manitoba First Nation dealing with a water crisis brought on by a power outage, as crews continue to fix damaged houses and buildings.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias says contractors have identified 73 more homes needing extensive repairs and that roughly 200 people are joining about 4,400 who have already been displaced.

He says the additional homes are uninhabitable due to electrical issues and drywall and insulation damage from flooding and frozen pipes.

Roughly 1,300 homes in the community of 7,000 people were damaged after a days-long power outage in December led to the failure of critical infrastructure.

The military was brought in for about two weeks to assess infrastructure and help community leaders with a repair plan.

Monias says he’s supposed to meet Tuesday with the federal government to address next steps in fixing the community’s sewage and water treatment plants.

A team of engineers and technical experts left the First Nation over the weekend, after drafting a report for the federal and provincial governments and Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro, Monias said Monday.

“Their job is basically to come assess, analyze and to provide recommendations of what needs to happen with the water and sewer plants,” he said.

“Did we want more from them? Yes, we did. But this particular group … came with particular qualifications and expertise in certain areas, and that’s all they could do.”

He said the report includes a recommendation from the military that the community, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, have new sewage and water treatment plants.

One of its damaged water treatment plants is now producing water as a result of some short-term fixes, said Monias, but that won’t last.

A temporary, portable water treatment plant was brought into Pimicikamak. It’s not large enough to address the needs of the growing First Nation and is being used to provide water that can be trucked to homes, Monias said.

The chief met Monday with the provincial government and Manitoba Hydro to discuss the community’s longtime power concerns.

The First Nation previously asked hydro to move the power line that broke, causing the outage, from above the Nelson River to a nearby road.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2026.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press