Farmers in flood-impacted areas call on province for action on drainage, damaged croplands
Posted June 18, 2026 6:05 pm.
Last Updated June 18, 2026 6:52 pm.
In the rural municipality of Woodlands, members of the farming community, along with the PC Caucus, are calling on the province for immediate action and clarity to support farmers impacted by last week’s heavy rainfall in the area, as they say thousands of acres of crop lands remain flooded with water.
Premier Wab Kinew announced last week that the province has activated disaster financial assistance for areas impacted by floods, though he wasn’t specific about funding amounts or timelines.
“We need some clarity of what kind of support is going to be there from the program that he’s announced; he’s announced provincial disaster financial assistance. We need to know what that is,” said Lakeside MLA Trevor King, the PC Critic for Municipal Relations.
Many farmers say they want improved infrastructure, specifically drainage. They say drainage in the area has not been adequately maintained.
“Every farmer invests millions of dollars into land and buildings and equipment, and we would really like to see the province make a big investment into improving this drainage system; specifically we’re talking about the Sturgeon Creek watershed, to get this water into the Assiniboine faster,” said Brian Boonstra, the co-owner of Boonstra Farms.
Rob Boonstra, a co-owner of Boonstra Farms, added, “We need to take a look around and keep reminding ourselves why we’re here and what we’re trying to do, and try and get the government on our side to help us build some infrastructure, because otherwise the problem is just going to exist forever.”
The heart of the issue for some centres on the Portage Diversion, designed to divert river water towards Lake Manitoba to reduce flooding. Reeve of St Francois Xavier Delmer Nott is calling on the government to open the diversion, questioning why the diversion flow appears limited, while more water is continuing downstream.
“I’m not here to point fingers, I’m not here to blame anybody, what I am here is to work with our neighbours and friends, the RM of Woodlands, the RM of Rosser, the RM of Cartier, the rm of Headingly, the RM of Portage, all of those municipalities are between the portage diversion and Winnipeg, and they haven’t been applying the diversion procedures the way we would like to see them,” said Nott.
A statement from Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard reads, “Our government is reviewing and strengthening Disaster Financial Assistance to ensure it can better respond to the impacts of extreme weather events. We have already started repairing damaged roads and infrastructure and helping out producers with impacts from the storm.”
Adding, “The Premier, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, including the Emergency Management Organization, Lisa Naylor, Minister of Agriculture, Ron Kostyshyn, and I visited affected areas shortly after the storm to hear directly from residents and assess the impacts firsthand. As this work continues, we encourage Manitobans to contact their insurance providers and submit a DFA application.”
