Manitoba's Homelessness Adviser Tessa Whitecloud Leaves Post for Housing Investment Role
Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, Manitoba's senior adviser on homelessness, is leaving her post after 10 months. She will take over as president and CEO of the Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust in December. Whitecloud was hired by the NDP government in January 2025 to tackle chronic homelessness, with a goal to end it within seven years.
During her tenure, Whitecloud oversaw the clearance of homeless encampments and the provision of more housing options. Despite her efforts, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg reached a record high of 2,469 in November 2024, according to a report by End Homelessness Winnipeg. Critics, including Jeff Bereza, the Opposition Progressive Conservative critic for addictions and homelessness, have urged the government to do more to get people into housing.
Under Whitecloud's leadership, 100 homes were secured for people previously living in encampments. However, there is no publicly available data on the number of apartments built specifically for this purpose since January 2025. The Real Estate Investment Trust, her new role, is an investment vehicle aimed at funding new or converted affordable housing units.
Whitecloud's departure comes as the Manitoba government continues to face criticism over homelessness in Winnipeg. Her successor will inherit a challenging task, with the need for more affordable housing units clear. The Real Estate Investment Trust, with Whitecloud at its helm, could play a significant role in addressing this issue.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
