The federal government announced on Jan. 23, 2026, that the Canadian Armed Forces mission to Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba is complete, with all deployed members leaving by the end of Friday. More than 1,300 homes were damaged and at least 4,000 people evacuated after a power outage froze the community’s water systems.
Mission declared complete
A joint statement from the ministers of national defence, Indigenous services and emergency management said all Armed Forces members deployed to Pimicikamak are to leave by the end of Friday. The specialized team of engineers and technical experts deployed on Jan. 9 — after repeated calls from the community’s chief — to assess infrastructure and help community leaders plan repairs.
The damage followed a days-long power outage that began in late December when a power line broke, cutting electricity to the community about 520 kilometres north of Winnipeg in bitter cold. When power failed, critical infrastructure failed with it: pipes burst, crawl spaces filled with icy water and sewage backed up, forcing at least 4,000 people from the community of roughly 7,000.
“We know this has been an incredibly difficult and exhausting time for all residents and families,” the joint statement said. “We will continue to work alongside (Pimicikamak Cree Nation) and all partners, listening to the community and supporting recovery every step of the way, for as long as it takes.”
The government said support for evacuees remains in place in Winnipeg, Thompson and Norway House, where displaced residents are receiving accommodation, meals, health services and financial supports until it is safe for them to return home.
A community still counting the damage
The military’s departure does not mark the end of the emergency. Manitoba Hydro reported finding firearms damage on the power line whose failure led to the outage — a detail that added a police dimension to what began as a weather-and-infrastructure disaster — and the work of assessing more than 1,300 homes, many not yet inspected, continues.
Chief David Monias had pressed Ottawa for nine days before the deployment was approved on Jan. 9, at a point when at least 200 homes were already considered unlivable. The assessment the military came to perform has now produced its own difficult conclusion: within days of the troops leaving, Monias said the assessments determined that residents of 79 more homes would have to leave, with evacuations organized with the Canadian Red Cross to Winnipeg or Brandon.
“Basically the scope of the military was conducting technical and engineering assessments of the power outage impacts, mainly to the water and sewer treatment systems,” Monias said. “The military came to assess, right, they didn’t come to fix. We are left with broken, damaged homes still and damaged systems and basically unsafe living conditions.”
It is not the first time the community has been emptied out: just last spring, wildfires forced another evacuation of Pimicikamak, underlining how often its residents are pushed from their homes by failing infrastructure and a changing climate.
For Pimicikamak, then, the end of the military mission closes only the first chapter: the assessment is done, but the repairs to homes, water and sewer systems — and the return of thousands of evacuees — remain ahead, on a timeline measured in months rather than days.
