‘No one in rural Manitoba is going to be left behind’: Manitoba activates disaster assistance funding for Stonewall residents
Posted June 11, 2026 5:28 pm.
Last Updated June 11, 2026 7:23 pm.
It’s been two days now since the town of Stonewall got hit with one of the heaviest rainfalls the province has ever seen. Premier Wab Kinew was in town Thursday, announcing that he’s activated a province-wide disaster financial assistance program, as folks continue to work tirelessly clearing out flood-damaged basements.
The province-wide DFA is coordinated between all three levels of government, and applies to other hard-hit areas like Swan River, as well as any municipality that declares a state of emergency, which Stonewall did Thursday morning.
“Specific amounts, homeowners, businesses, municipalities, that’s going to play out as we work through this cleanup operation, but the basic idea is start with insurance, hopefully insurance can make people whole, but we’re stepping in with the DFA program at the provincial level to ensure that where insurance may not meet the needs of Manitobans, there’s going to be other resources there to help people out,” said Kinew. “No one in rural Manitoba is going to be left behind.”
Lori Glucki’s basement was almost filled to the ceiling with water. After clearing it out yesterday, more water came last night.
She says she’s lucky to have help from her family, including her grandson Zavery, who has been working over 12 hours a day helping a number of folks in town, as the focus shifts from pumping water to clearing damaged property.
“It makes me feel really good. I mean, hopefully I won’t need it as much, but with my foundation I won’t know for sure,” said Glucki. “Washer, dryer, water softener, hot water tank, furnace, sump pump, the upright freezer, none of that’s salvageable; anything else down there, most of it’s soaked.”
Zavery Wahosky, Glucki’s grandson, added, “I came here early in the morning, and I left late at night. It was about 10 hours of work to pump out all the water from the basement last night, and well, we’re done.”
Elsewhere in town, Ryan Margetts and his family say they have tens of thousands of dollars worth of damaged property, from furniture to electronics, as well as things that hold more than just monetary value.
“It’s things like your wedding pictures, and my daughter who passed away, like we kept a lot of her stuff too but maybe didn’t keep it in the right spot, and so a lot of things like the sentimental things, small things like kids’ shoes,” said Margetts.
Like Glucki, he’s filed an insurance claim, but is relieved that the province is stepping in with emergency funding to help fill in the gaps
“They’re paying attention and putting things in place to really help people, which is what we all love and appreciate,” said Margetts.
