Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba faces extensive damage after a Dec. 28, 2025, power outage froze pipes across the community, Chief David Monias said Jan. 6, 2026. About 35 homes are uninhabitable, water is shut off at the school, arena and youth centre, and hundreds of homes need inspection.
“We’re actually on life support”
Chief David Monias says residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, are dealing with cracked floors and overflowing sewage after a power outage caused pipes to freeze in homes across the community of roughly 7,000 people.
It is unclear how many of the more than 1,300 homes will require repairs, because the First Nation lacks the resources to inspect them all. At least 200 homes have had their water shut off to prevent leaks and further destruction, and about 35 homes are now uninhabitable. Water has also been shut off at the youth centre, the arena and one of the schools, and the health centre is operating on an emergency basis only, with limited access to water.
“We don’t have enough people to actually go and fix the problems that are leaking right now,” Monias said. “So the best thing we can do is (turn) off the water in those areas and some of those neighbourhoods.”
In the meantime, the community has been relying on duct tape and plumber’s glue for some repairs. “We’re actually on life support,” Monias said.
How a broken line froze a community
Power was knocked out on Dec. 28 when a 300-metre-long power line running between two islands in the Nelson River broke. Manitoba Hydro took about four days to fix the break because of safety concerns in reaching the line, and power was fully restored on Friday. The Crown corporation supplied a large generator to restore power to the water treatment plant, as well as generators to power eight heavy-duty heaters for the community’s use.
The damage kept compounding after the lights came back on. Monias said water seeped into the electrical sockets of some homes, and there have been at least four fires in the community since the outage.
Calls for soldiers, and Ottawa’s answer
Monias has been calling for the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces for emergency logistical support, including water delivery and sanitation work — a request the Manitoba government supports. In a letter sent Monday to federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, the province asked Ottawa to focus on the immediate assessment, repair and restoration of critical infrastructure.
The federal government said it has sent technical teams to the First Nation to assess the damage and plans to support initial repair work. “We know this has been an incredibly difficult situation for families in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, and our focus is on supporting recovery and ensuring residents can return home safely,” said Soraya Lemur, press secretary to Olszewski. A delegation of federal, provincial and First Nations leaders was expected to tour the community Wednesday.
Monias, meanwhile, urged governments to restore the sewage and water plants immediately, and said the First Nation desperately needs plumbers, home inspectors and electricians to assess the damage.
Ottawa answered the call for soldiers three days later: on Jan. 9, Olszewski and Defence Minister David McGuinty approved a specialized Armed Forces team to provide assessment and advisory support on water treatment and sewage systems, power generation, project management and logistics. The military mission was declared complete on Jan. 23, by which time more than 1,300 homes had been damaged and at least 4,000 people displaced — with federal support for evacuees in Winnipeg, Thompson and Norway House continuing until it is safe for them to return home.
