Canada and Manitoba Allocate $80 Million to Expedite Lake St. Martin Flood Protection Channels

WINNIPEG, MB — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and federal ministers announced an expedited $80 million capital allocation to advance construction of the Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin Outlet Channels Project in Manitoba's Interlake region.

Permanent Flood Mitigation for Indigenous Communities

The 23-kilometer engineered drainage channels connect Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin to Lake Winnipeg, providing controlled water diversion capacity to prevent catastrophic overland flooding that previously devastated Dauphin River First Nation, Lake St. Martin First Nation, and Little Saskatchewan First Nation during historical flood surges. The joint funding package accelerates bridge construction and channel excavation while finalizing Indigenous environmental monitoring agreements.

Premier Kinew stated that completing the Lake St. Martin outlet channels fulfills a binding moral commitment to protect Interlake First Nations communities from climate-driven flood disasters.

Interlake Tribal Leadership and Environmental Cooperation

Interlake Tribal Council chiefs welcomed the infrastructure progress, ensuring local community members lead fish habitat and wetland restoration along the outlet route.

Heavy civil excavation contracts will require 35% local Indigenous workforce participation.

Construction Milestones

Excavation on Reach 2 of the Lake St. Martin channel will begin in October 2026, targeting full flood diversion readiness by 2028.