Brokenhead Ojibway Nation residential development in Osborne Village breaks ground
Posted October 24, 2025 4:23 pm.
A special groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday to celebrate a brand-new mixed-income residential development in Osborne Village, entirely owned by Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, which will bring 147 units online, including 60 deeply affordable homes.
“This is our first step in bringing safe, affordable homes to the Brokenhead members living in the city, and to families across Winnipeg,” said Chief Gordon Bluesky, of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.
The deeply affordable homes will be sub $800 per month for one bedrooms, with the remainder being at market rental prices.
“We’re looking forward to getting this project underway on behalf of our membership, and of course, contributing to the housing needs of the City of Winnipeg as well,” said Chief Bluesky.
The $53 million development is being funded through a mix of federal, provincial, and municipal funding, with representatives from all three levels present at the ceremony. Chief Gordon Bluesky says once it’s built, the tenants won’t be exclusively members of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.
“Housing projects and developments such as this are such a beautiful step forward in addressing the housing crisis that we see all across our First Nations,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson, of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
“The 40 per cent affordable ideally would be targeted at students, but again it’s a business, we’re running a business here, it’s an economic venture, so we’re just doing our part to accommodate the housing need and the housing crisis we have here in Winnipeg.”
The project is in partnership with Freedhome Developments, which is designing the building to exceed national energy standards of over 35 per cent.
“It certainly was important to them, and it was at the forefront of our discussions in the beginning of the process, and it was important to our company as well, to deliver a sustainable energy energy-efficient product to the marketplace,” said Jonathan Freed, the president of Freedhome Developments LTD.
The development will be completed in about two years.
