NDP ‘step up’ with $500K for housing co-op

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This article was published 10/07/2025 (259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is providing $500,000 to a Brandon housing co-op for long-needed repairs.

The Spruce Woods Housing Co-op on Braecrest Drive has been looking for funding for years to maintain its buildings and keep rents low amid rising costs, manager Eva Cameron said during a press conference at the facility on Thursday.

Now, she said, “we won’t have to look at increasing our rent by 100-plus dollars a month, or even just give up on providing affordable housing altogether. Our premier and his government have stepped up for us.”

Housing Minister Bernadette Smith, who made the funding announcement at the co-op site on Brandon’s North Hill, said the benefits will be long term.

“We want to ensure that safe and affordable housing stays safe and affordable … for families, for seniors and for those in this region for years to come,” Smith said.

Cameron said that’s exactly what the funding is going to be able to do.

“All of our people living here are low to middle income,” she said after the press conference. “If you add $100 in rent on a single parent, where does that $100 come from? Does it come from your food? Yeah, most likely, because you still have to pay your rent, you still have to pay hydro.”

The half-a-million-dollar total doesn’t match the $2.5 million in funding the co-op is looking for, but it will help repair multiple sections of buildings.

“We could get another seven or eight of our units redone. We can likely get all of the remaining energy-efficient windows installed,” she said. “There’s a lot of options there, it’s just kind of looking at where we’re going to go first.”

The energy-efficient windows were bought last year, but have been sitting in a sea can as there wasn’t any funding for them to be installed.

Smith said the province will continue to fund affordable housing across the province.

“When the PCs were in government, they didn’t maintain housing, they boarded up,” Smith said. “We’re taking the boards off. We’re investing in getting more housing online.”

Cameron said her organization has been looking for funding for a while, having been turned away by the previous PC government and by the City of Brandon.

Ward 1 Brandon City Coun. Heather Karrouze declined to speak to the Sun after the event, but responded to emailed questions.

“Maintaining existing affordable housing is crucial to ensure that residents have a safe and comfortable place to call home,” Karrouze wrote. “This benefits residents of Ward 1 and the wider community as well.”

She said it’s not the responsibility of the city to help with affordable housing.

“While housing is a provincial responsibility, at the municipal level, we can lobby and advocate to encourage a provincial response. Mayor (Jeff) Fawcett works tirelessly to advocate for our community. I am grateful to have had my own voice heard by both Minister (of Municipal and Northern Relations Glen) Simard and Minister Smith.”

Karrouze didn’t respond to follow-up questions about what she’s done to lobby the province, or why the city can’t help with funding.

Simard, the MLA for Brandon East, said after the press conference that funding the co-op will help the city.

“We know that not everyone can afford rent at market price, and the more units like this that are built in a way that is stable for the future goes a long way,” Simard said.

Cameron said she will continue to fight for funding from all three levels of government, and that Thursday’s announcement from the NDP “is a huge start.”

“We’re certainly not going to stop pushing.”

The previously held Progressive Conservative riding of Spruce Woods — where the complex is located — has been vacant since March. The PC party wasn’t immediately available for comment.

» alambert@brandonsun.com