Ottawa Sends Military to Pimicikamak After Power Outage

On Jan. 9 2026, Ottawa announced the deployment of a Canadian Armed Forces team to the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, a northern Manitoba First Nation located about 530 km north of Winnipeg. The move follows a four‑day power outage that began Dec. 28, 2025, when a 300‑metre power line on the Nelson River broke. Manitoba Hydro restored electricity days later, but the sudden return of power burst frozen pipes, damaging more than 1,300 homes—roughly 200 of which are unlivable. The military will provide assessment and advisory support on water treatment, sewage, power generation, project management and logistics. The request for aid was sent nine days prior; around 4,000 residents have been evacuated to Winnipeg and Thompson.