Canada will contribute C$500 million to the final phase of Winnipeg’s wastewater plant upgrade, while separate federal-provincial agreements allocate C$698.3 million to Manitoba as the city projects capacity could run out between 2030 and 2032.
The federal contribution, announced Oct. 30, covers phases 3A and 3B of Project 3 at the North End Water Pollution Control Centre. The Build Communities Strong Fund is financing the work through its Direct Delivery and Provincial and Territorial streams. The project is designed to remove nutrients and add treatment for wet-weather flows.
Two other federal-provincial agreements allocate C$479,823,370 over 10 years for housing and post-secondary infrastructure and C$218,470,630 over three years for health infrastructure. Together, the allocations total C$698.3 million. Manitoba also has C$82.3 million allocated for local infrastructure priorities in fiscal 2026-27 through the fund’s Community stream.
The Provincial and Territorial stream requires provinces to match funding. The federal announcement said Manitoba committed not to raise fees or taxes in ways that could hinder housing supply under the housing and post-secondary agreement.
The federal announcement also said Manitoba had announced a C$500 million contribution to the wastewater project in August. Winnipeg’s 2026 budget identifies C$500 million, plus debt and financing charges, as the city’s one-third share of Project 3. The city says it will use long-term debt to finance its share.
Winnipeg projects that growth could push demand beyond the plant’s treatment capacity sometime from 2030 through 2032. In a February 2026 update, the city said the North End facility processes about 70% of Winnipeg’s wastewater. Canada estimates the final phase will cost about C$1.5 billion; Winnipeg’s update listed Project 3’s budget at C$1.57 billion. The city expected full construction to begin in 2028.
