‘State of emergency’: Northern Manitoba town faces crisis as residents consider leaving

Leaf Rapids residents face empty shelves, wildfire damage, and failing services, as some are offered relocation options. Alex Karpa reports.

LEAF RAPIDS, Man. — “The Co-op in Leaf Rapids is closing.”

Those were the devastating first words in a letter Sylvia Smith received from the provincial government. A message sending shockwaves and confusion through the community, which is about 1,000 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

“Oh my gosh, the Co-op is closing,” said an emotional Smith, who was reading the note for the first time.

The notice was sent to residents receiving Employment and Income Assistance (EIA), warning the closure of the community’s only grocery store could make it even harder for people to access basic necessities.

Smith’s longtime partner, Kelly Spence, receives $220 a month through EIA. Neither expected to receive a letter suggesting they consider leaving their hometown.

According to the notice, Manitoba Housing and EIA staff are available to help residents relocate to other communities if they choose.

“If you would like to talk about moving, please contact your Case Counsellor in the Thompson office,” part of the letter reads. “Manitoba Housing offers subsidized housing in many communities across the province. Availability depends on the location and the type of house needed.”

Smith grew up in Leaf Rapids, briefly leaving before returning 17 years ago. She says she does not want to leave.

“It’s really frustrating,” she said. “Where else am I going to be able to go?”

“The Co-op’s been a big issue with no food coming in at all. You’ve seen the cupboards are just basically canned dry goods right now. Even flour, we can’t even make bannock, and that’s starvation food.”

CTV News visited the Leaf Rapids Co-op and found nearly empty shelves.

According to acting-general manager Jacqueline Brayley, the store owes more than $1 million to its parent company, Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL), after years of mounting debt.

“We had a monthly payment plan arrangement with them,” she said. “They basically pay for a lot of our services. They pay for certain things that we order to them, and what we’re supposed to do is send them a certain amount every month to cover that fee, but it’s been delayed a lot.”

Brayley says they have until June 30 to figure things out with FCL but she is unsure how that will turn out.

“If it doesn’t get paid off, we basically have no other option than to close the store and relocate,” she said. “Everybody would either have to move out of town, or try and shop in Lynn Lake or Thompson, but not a lot of people have their own transportation, and we don’t have a taxi service either.”

A spokesperson for Glen Simard, the municipal and northern relations minister for Manitoba, said “the province continues to work with the local community to address issues of administration in Leaf Rapids.

The Employment Insurance Assistance branch of families has begun engaging with community members to address their needs and provide them with options and the department of municipal and northern relations will continue to work with the residents of Leaf Rapids who’s well being remain our top priority.”

Decline of Leaf Rapids

Leaf Rapids thrived in the ‘70s as a hub for the nearby Ruttan copper-zinc mine, located about 23 km west of town.

At the height of the mine’s operation, there were around 1,500 people who called Leaf Rapids home.

Longtime resident Lianna Anderson remembers a different town.

“You had the arena, the curling rink, a full-fledged mini hospital, even a neonatal unit here,” Anderson said, who also remembers a movie theatre, a hotel and several restaurants.

“It was a booming town,” she said. “There was so much going on here, but you look at it now and it’s a fragment of what it was.”

When the mine shut down in 2002 due to low market prices, the town’s decline began.

Businesses closed, health-care services were reduced and the amenities Anderson spoke about quickly dwindled away, leaving the residents with a lack of resources.

Today, Leaf Rapids faces a long-term boil water advisory, aging roads and buildings, limited employment opportunities and widespread vacancies throughout the community.

Much of the town centre now sits empty, with no sign of new businesses moving in.

In 2019, the town’s mayor and council dissolved, leaving administration to a provincially appointed consulting firm.

There were discussions with First Nations leadership and the federal government to turn Leaf Rapids into an Indigenous urban centre, but nothing came from it.

Advocates say Leaf Rapids is becoming a test of whether human rights apply to Northern and remote communities in Canada.

“The legal and moral issue is whether governments can knowingly allow a community to exist without reliable access to safe water, food and essential medical care,” said Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, who has family in Leaf Rapids and is also president of the National Family and Survivors Circle in Canada. She argues conditions of this nature would trigger an immediate response in most southern Canadian communities.

“The people of Leaf Rapids may have grounds to argue that Manitoba and Canada have failed to provide equitable public services necessary to protect life, health, and human dignity,” she said.

‘Willing to fight for this town’

For longtime resident Raymond Meunier, the lack of local leadership has only deepened the crisis.

“We want to have a mayor and council again, so that we may decide our own fate through our decisions,” he said. “The town cannot afford to fix the houses they own. Leaf Rapids is in a state of emergency.”

Today, only 200 to 250 people remain in Leaf Rapids, a decline from the roughly 350 residents from just one year ago.

Last year’s devastating wildfires, which were among the worst in Manitoba’s history, forced the entire community to evacuate, sending many residents to Thompson and Winnipeg. Some never returned.

Many homes now sit boarded up or abandoned, with no plans for repairs.

Despite the uncertainty, many residents, including Meunier, say they are determined to stay.

“We’re willing to stick it out. We’re willing to fight for this town, our place, our North. This is our way of living,” he said.

A sentiment shared by many who remain in Leaf Rapids – residents fighting, not for an ending, but for a future.