Government of Canada invests in crime prevention in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, MB, April 24, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, announced $95,000 in federal funding to the City of Winnipeg for their pilot project, "Winnipeg Collaborative Street Safety Centre", through Public Safety Canada's Crime Prevention Action Fund (CPAF).

This project aims to strengthen leadership on mental health, addictions, and homelessness in partnership with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, Community Safety Officers, the Winnipeg Police Service, and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. The collaboration between partners will help them to respond to incidents more effectively and to better understand emerging trends in downtown Winnipeg.

The project will also create the Collaborative Street Safety Centre, which will bring together federal, provincial, and municipal partners, Indigenous organizations, non-profits, and private sector groups to collaborate and to share information.

The CPAF supports evidence‑based projects that address known risk factors associated with crime among vulnerable people, focusing on people aged 6 to 30 and high-risk offenders.

Quotes

"Building safer communities depends on strong collaboration and shared insights across all levels of government and community partners. This initiative reflects that commitment. Winnipeg's new Collaborative Street Safety Centre will bring partners together to strengthen supports for people facing challenges related to mental health, addictions, and homelessness."

-- The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety

"This investment supports the work we're doing through the Safe Winnipeg Initiative to build a more coordinated and proactive approach to public safety in Winnipeg. It will help us bring data from the Winnipeg Police Service and other agencies into one system, giving us a clearer picture of what's happening and helping us direct resources where they can have the greatest impact."

-- Scott Gillingham, Mayor of Winnipeg

Quick Facts

• The CPAF is part of the National Crime Prevention Strategy, which supports evidence-based interventions to address known risk and protective factors associated with crime among vulnerable populations, particularly children and youth.
• This investment through CPAF is part of the Government of Canada's comprehensive approach to combat crime and strengthen community safety, which also includes:
  • Investing $1.5 billion over the past 10 years to strengthen law enforcement and gang prevention programs, most notably the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun Violence, and the planned renewal of the Building Safer Communities Fund for up to $157.5 million over the next three years, to help stop gun crime and gang violence before it starts.
  • Introducing legislation to disrupt criminal networks, provide law enforcement with more tools to keep our borders secure, combat transnational organized crime, illegal fentanyl, extortion and illicit financing. These include the newly introduced Bill C-22, an Act to keep Canadians safe, the recently passed Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12), and the proposed Bail and Sentencing Reform Act (Bill C-14), which would make bail harder to obtain and impose tougher sentences for extortion-related offences.
  • Investing $1.7 billion (Budget 2025) to strengthen the RCMP's response to transnational organized crime, financial crime, and money laundering, while enhancing intelligence and national security capacity.
  • Hiring 1000 additional Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) personnel to strengthen border management and enforcement capacity, and 1000 new RCMP personnel to increase federal policing capacity across Canada to combat crime – including online fraud, money laundering, online child sexual exploitation, and organized criminal networks that threaten Canada's economic and national security.
  • Establishing a new Financial Crimes Agency to be Canada's lead enforcement agency against financial crimes.
  • Combatting firearms-related crime and violence including through the implementation of the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) which will remove dangerous, assault-style firearms from Canadian communities, implementing mandatory licence refusal for those suspected of domestic violence or stalking, restricting access to handguns, and launching a comprehensive review of Canada's firearms classification regime.
  • Hosting summits on extortion in Surrey, B.C. and Brampton, Ontario, bringing together federal, provincial, and municipal leaders, along with law enforcement partners, including the CBSA and RCMP, to strengthen coordination and advance integrated efforts to disrupt cross‑border criminal networks and protect local businesses and residents.

Associated Links

• Crime Prevention Action Fund
• Building Safer Communities Fund
• Prime Minister Carney announces new measures to strengthen border security and keep Canadians safe
• Prime Minister Carney announces new measures to combat crime, protect Canadians, and build safer communities

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SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC)

Contacts: Simon Lafortune, Deputy Director of Communications and Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Gary AnandasangareeMinister of Public Safety, [email protected]; Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 613-991-0657, [email protected]