the Winnipeg declaration
The Winnipeg Declaration is a forthcoming national commitment by Canada’s faith communities to deploy their lands and buildings in service of ending homelessness. It begins from a shared recognition: that faith organizations collectively steward tens of thousands of acres of land—often gifted through colonial systems, located on unceded Indigenous territories, and originally intended for public benefit. These lands have long sheltered schools, hospitals, shelters, and sanctuaries. Yet today, many stand underused, while housing needs have reached crisis levels.
The Declaration affirms both gratitude and repentance: gratitude for generations of faithful service, and repentance for the harms of exclusion and disconnection. It calls for a new covenant between faith, government, and civil society—one in which surplus religious property is seen not as an inheritance to be liquidated, but as a living trust for the common good.
Through partnerships in reconciliation, community housing, and local economic development, the Declaration envisions a network of sites transformed into homes, care centres, and places of belonging. Each project will be locally led, transparent in its stewardship, and guided by the moral conviction that no one should be without a home in a land so richly blessed.
Currently in its pre-launch phase, the Declaration is being shaped through dialogues across faith traditions and regions, and will be formally presented at the 2026 Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness Conference in Winnipeg.
Be part of the conversation
If your organization would like to join this growing movement, please use the form below to indicate your interest.
You may pre-register as:
a faith-based land-owning signatory,
a government or public-sector partner, or
another interested organization or individual wishing to stay informed.
Your expression of interest will help shape the next phase of collaboration leading up to the public release of The Winnipeg Declaration.
