Manitoba Eco-Network releases energy survey results: Recommendations include a call for 26 °C maximum indoor heat protection

Manitoba Eco-Network releases energy survey results: Recommendations include a call for 26 °C maximum indoor heat protection

-PRESS RELEASE-

[WINNIPEG / TREATY 1 TERRITORY AND HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS NATION,
AUGUST 11, 2025 – MANITOBA ECO-NETWORK INC.] 

 

On August 11, 2025 the Manitoba Eco-Network released the results of its Cold Weather, Hot Weather, and Your Hydro Bills survey along with policy research on protecting people from unsafe heat. 

 

This research is being conducted by the Manitoba Eco-Network as part of its Climate Safe, Green City project. Through this project the Manitoba Eco-Network has been partnering with three Winnipeg inner-city neighbourhood renewal corporations: Spence Neighbourhood Association, the West Broadway Community Organization, and the West End Resource Centre to build climate-adaptive solutions. The residential areas served by these renewal corporations are all considered high poverty neighbourhoods within the City of Winnipeg

 

“Put plainly, we wanted to learn about people’s experiences with trying to cover their energy bills each month, understand how they prioritize and afford these bills, and hear about how people are dealing with temperatures in their home while living in a changing climate. These questions would give us a meaningful picture of the limitations and vulnerabilities faced by people in these neighbourhoods and help inform any changes that could be made by local governments,” says Manitoba Eco-Network Projects Manager Sorsha Moore-Peters.   

 

Manitoba Eco-Network designed a voluntary response survey entitled Cold Weather, Hot Weather, and Your Hydro Bills for the residents of Spence, West Broadway, Daniel McIntyre and St. Matthews neighbourhoods in Winnipeg. The survey was open between February 15 and June 30, 2025, with 142 residents responding. 

 

Respondents noted effects to their health including: struggling to concentrate, feeling fatigued and being less active, having heightened emotional responses because of how the temperature made them feel, avoiding having guests over or even avoiding going home themselves. 

 

  • Over 85% of the 142 survey respondents answered as having experienced some form of negative impacts to their household as a result of extreme outdoor temperatures. 
  • 18.85% of respondents said they experienced worsened symptoms of a chronic illness and/or disability as a result of extreme outdoor temperatures. 
  • Over 17% said they felt sick more frequently.
  • 18.85% said that the people in their household did not feel well. 
  • 13.93% said they were worried about their overall health and safety as a result of the temperature.

 

The results reveal that both homeowners and renters had to choose between paying their energy bills and other costs of living, but this was more acute for renters (51.85%) than Homeowners (38.33%). 

 

Nearly half (49.55%) of the respondents said they had accessed some form of public government or corporate assistance related to their household’s energy costs within the last five years. Results showed that the most used programs included Manitoba Hydro’s Equalized Payment Plan, Efficiency Manitoba’s Energy Efficiency Program, and Manitoba Rent Assist.  Manitoba Hydro Equalized Payment Plan was most accessed among women. The Manitoba Rent Relief Fund and the Manitoba Rent Assist programs were most accessed among Indigenous respondents. Energy Efficiency Manitoba programs were most accessed by those who identified as belonging to the global majority. 

 

In longform answers survey respondents expressed frustration at the perceived lack of support available to renters, or to low-income homeowners who didn’t feel able to consider home improvements like heat pumps or new windows as financially available options. Homeowners also reported their houses needing other, larger repairs such as energy efficient HVAC systems or replacing ‘antique’ forms of insulation. 

 

Survey respondents were asked “If you go somewhere other than your home to stay cool in the summer, where do you go?” Pools and Splash Pads were the most popular choice (51.96%), followed by malls or theatres (50.98%), parks or green spaces (47.06%), and public facilities such as community centres or libraries (31.37%).

 

“Options for cooling centers that are actually inside the areas of Daniel McIntyre, St. Matthews, Spence and West Broadway are slim. There are no movie theatres, no indoor shopping malls, and no public libraries within the neighbourhood’s boundaries. Research stresses the importance of cooling centers needing to be safe and welcoming places that are within a maximum walking distance of 15-minutes,” says Moore-Peters, adding: “On a 30 plus day, a 20 minute walk feels a lot longer than 20 minutes.”

 

Manitoba Eco-Network also commissioned research memoranda on policy solutions that the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba can adopt to ensure adequate cooling mechanisms for residents. This included a memorandum on cooling centres by Manitoba Eco-Network researcher Mike Bagamery, as well as a legal memorandum written by Luke Pankratz and Esther Adegbesan of Pro Bono Students Canada. 

 

This background research along with the survey results helped to inform the Manitoba Eco-Networks seven policy recommendations:

 

  1. Invest in more locations and longer hours for public spaces such as libraries, recreational facilities, pools, splash pads.
  2. Review and update safety and accessibility policies with respect to cooling centres such as libraries and recreational facilities.
  3. Create more green spaces that connect community hubs/cooling locations (e.g., West-Central Shade Loop)
  4. Further incentive programs to help homeowners and landlords to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, particularly for older buildings.
  5. Winnipeg should amend the Neighbourhood Liveability By-Law to include cooling standards that limit maximum indoor heat temperatures to 26°C to protect residents in a warming world. 
  6. Manitoba should amend the regulations under The Public Health Act to include cooling standards that limit maximum indoor heat temperatures to 26°C to protect residents in a warming world. 
  7. Manitoba should amend s. 60(1) of The Residential Tenancies Act to explicitly include cooling in extreme heat as a vital service for renters, and direct the Manitoba Residential Tenancies Branch to update its policies and procedures to provide clarity and protect renters from the impacts of extreme heat.

 

“We hope our recommendations will be implemented,” says Moore-Peters. “Good community advocacy only works if it doesn’t ‘find’ solutions, it works when organizations allow themselves to be informed by the communities themselves, who best know what solutions are needed. No one can better understand a need than the one who is needing. What we heard from our communities through this survey is that people are struggling to pay their energy bills, which is putting the physical and financial health of their households at risk. What those people told us is they need access to financial support, spatially equitable access to safe and well supported public facilities, and to be protected by their government through changes in policy.” 

 

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Contact: Sorsha Moore-Peters, Manitoba Eco-Network Projects Manager, info@mbeconetwork.org, 204-947-6511

 

BACKGROUND

 

The full report and appendices can be found here on the Manitoba Eco-Network’s website, see link in citation below.

 

What is the Climate Safe, Green City project? 

 

This research is being conducted by the Manitoba Eco-Network as part of its Climate Safe, Green City project, which builds climate resilience from the neighbourhood level up. Through this project the Manitoba Eco-Network has been partnering with three Winnipeg inner-city neighbourhood renewal corporations: Spence Neighbourhood Association, the West Broadway Community Organization, and the West End Resource Centre to build climate-adaptive solutions. 

 

Funding for the Climate Safe, Green City project has been provided by the Manitoba Government. Further support has been provided by the Winnipeg Foundation, Assiniboine Credit Union, and the University of Winnipeg Department of Urban and Inner City Studies and Manitoba Eco-Network donors.

 

Other ongoing community work being done as a part of the Climate Safe, Green City project includes strategic development of the West End Resource Centre’s first neighborhood-wide waste audit, the Spence Neighbourhood Association’s Growing Shade project, and preparing for the West Broadway Community Organization’s spring-seedling workshop.

 

About the Manitoba Eco-Network

 

The Manitoba Eco-Network is a non-profit registered charity which seeks to strengthen Manitoba’s environmental community with the goal of protecting our environment for the benefit of current and future generations. The Eco-Network facilitates connections, engages in advocacy opportunities, and undertakes community-based research that promotes meaningful public participation in environmental governance processes.

 

We serve as an umbrella for environmental non-governmental organizations across the province. We build capacity and support grassroots organization’s participation in the environmental community, we celebrate positive environmental actions that happen within Manitoba, and work to elevate the voices of all those within our community.

 

Our mission is to promote good environmental governance, support and build capacity, advocate for environmental justice, and act as a bridge between environmental organizations, the public, and all levels of government.

 

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