Manitoba government announces $1.2M to end pause on rent top-up program for low-income residents

The Manitoba government says it's spending another $1.2 million to end what it previously called a "temporary pause" on a program that hundreds of people at risk of homelessness count on to pay their rent.

The province had in recent weeks paused new applications to the youth and homelessness streams of the Canada-Manitoba Housing Benefit, which it said in a letter issued to some community organizations last month was because of "unprecedented demand" for the program.

The bump in funding announced Thursday will bring this year's total for the program to $10.8 million in benefits, Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said in a news release.

The extra cash, which is being provided immediately, is expected to help 550 families, Smith said. Application intake for the program has now resumed, with applications already received being addressed first.

More families will be able to apply for the program until the new funds have been used, the release said.

Housing advocates previously said the benefits provided rent top-ups of up to $422 a month, and that the pause in new applications was communicated to them on Aug. 30.

Single individuals on Employment and Income Assistance only receive $638 a month to spend on their accommodations, which is why the rent top-up program was so critical, Codi Guenther, executive director of New Journey Housing, previously told CBC News.

The province said it has supported 1,600 new families and individuals with rental costs through the program from October 2023 to June 2024, more than doubling the 1,500 that were receiving the benefit before the NDP took office.

It approved another 282 recipients in August, with steps to support those applicants underway, the release said.

The housing benefit, jointly funded by the province and the federal government, had a budget of approximately $8.6 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year, a provincial spokesperson previously said.