Peguis First Nation in Manitoba preparing for evacuation as day of flood nears
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WINNIPEG – One of Manitoba’s largest First Nations is finalizing its evacuation plan as the community prepares for a flood.
Peguis First Nation’s Chief Stan Bird says in a video posted online Saturday that his community, located about 180 kilometres north of Winnipeg, will certainly see the nearby Fisher River rise in the coming days.
He says the severity of flooding is dependent on how hot temperatures get and that the First Nation is declaring a state of emergency.
He is asking locals to not panic and be prepared, and says an evacuation plan has been developed and is being finalized to avoid chaos.
The First Nation has more than 10,000 members and roughly 3,800 live on the reserve.
Bird says this year’s flooding could be like the one the community saw in 2022, when roughly 2,000 residents were forced out and hundreds of homes were damaged.
He says volunteers have been working tirelessly to prevent damage to roughly 225 homes in the looming flood.
“This is important because we had grandmothers and grandfathers that braved the cold and the long hours to ensure our community — your community — was protected. I believe our eldest was 86,” Bird said in the video.
“That’s incredible. It has been a total team effort right from the cooks to the various crews that showed from places like the United States, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario … It’s been a massive effort thus far, but the hard work must continue.”
He asked locals to keep an eye out for updates.
On Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew visited the community to help with sandbagging.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.