Manitoba MMIWG2S+ fund receives $10M donation from Shoppers Drug Mart

The Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health announced a $10 million donation to Manitoba’s MMIWG2S+ Healing and Empowerment Endowment Fund on Feb 14, 2024. (Glenn Pismenny/CTV News Winnipeg)

The single largest donation from a foundation connected to Shoppers Drug Mart will be used to help the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S+).

The Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health announced a $10 million donation to Manitoba’s MMIWG2S+ Healing and Empowerment Endowment Fund on Friday.

“This significant contribution from Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health is an example of how corporations can answer the call to this work – by actioning their commitment to reconciliation with real, tangible supports to community, families and survivors," said Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine in a statement.

The fund was created last year with an initial $15 million investment. It will be used to provide healing and empowerment support for MMIWG2S+ families.

Jeff Leger, president of Shoppers Drug Mart and the chair of the Women’s Health Foundation, said the donation was the largest single donation the foundation has made.

“This agreement is a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to furthering equity and ensuring the well-being of women across Canada,” Leger said in a news release.

The first round of funds from the fund will be made available later this year, the province said.