Thompson says finding hotel rooms for evacuees 'difficult' as Manitoba mulls invoking emergency powers

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 8:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The City of Thompson says moving wildfire evacuees from its congregate structure to edifice lodgings should beryllium "a apical priority," but that uncovering accommodations is hard this clip of the year.

Premier Wab Kinew said Thursday pursuing a sojourn to the structure acceptable up for evacuees astatine the city's determination assemblage centre that edifice operators should step up and voluntarily unfastened rooms for those who fled the fires, dangling the possibility of utilizing exigency powers to get them to bash truthful aft seeing immoderate with "parking tons that are empty."

On Friday, the premier specifically referenced hotels successful Thompson, which is astir 650 kilometres northbound of Winnipeg arsenic the crow flies.

"I would invitation you oregon anyone other to spell Google Thompson edifice rooms close now. You'll spot that you tin publication immoderate rooms for the adjacent week," helium told reporters astatine an unrelated lawsuit Friday.

"You got families with young, young kids. You know, I invitation immoderate parents retired determination to deliberation astir trying to rise a four-month-old and a four-year-old sleeping connected a cot … going into time 18."

WATCH | Premier calls connected Thompson edifice operators to measurement up:

The state said 180 evacuees were still at the Thompson congregate structure arsenic of Friday, much than 2 weeks since the state declared a authorities of emergency.

In Winnipeg — which was expecting the largest fig of evacuees — fewer than 90 radical were staying astatine the Leila congregate structure arsenic of then, the authorities said.

The City of Thompson said successful an email connection Mayor Colleen Smook spoke with Kinew about the request to determination the evacuees retired of the congregate structure rapidly during the premier's sojourn to that metropolis and the wildfire portion astir Flin Flon Thursday.

"Unfortunately, edifice rooms successful Thompson tin beryllium hard to find successful the outpouring and summertime owed to operation projects employing galore out-of-town workers," the connection said.

Hotel country availability a analyzable situation: manufacture association

More than 21,000 radical person evacuated their communities due to the fact that of the fires raging successful the province.

Manitoba Hotel Association CEO Michael Juce said there's lone astir 15,000 edifice rooms successful Manitoba — immoderate of them successful places that are inactive nether evacuation orders.

"This is simply a truly large challenge," Juce said. "Everyone travels for a intent and sometimes those radical are staying successful a edifice for aesculapian reasons oregon aesculapian stays.… It's a truly analyzable issue."

WATCH | Kinew tours bluish wildfire zone:

Juce said the manufacture has been successful changeless dialog with the state passim the crisis.

"This is … a monolithic logistical undertaking," helium said. "We're conscionable doing our champion to stock accusation arsenic champion we tin and enactment our chap Manitobans."

Kinew said a ample assemblage of the edifice manufacture has been precise adjuvant successful dealing with the situation, and helium hopes the state doesn't request to edifice to invoking exigency powers to escaped up rooms.

"It's not foundation we're asking for. You're getting paid for those rooms," helium said Friday. "It's not going to beryllium open-ended. We're talking astir possibly different week."

Find the latest wildfire accusation astatine these sources:

• Canadian wildfire map
• Province of Manitoba occurrence bulletins
• CBC's wildfire tracker
• Communities nether evacuations successful Manitoba

Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anyplace successful Manitoba oregon email [email protected].