Enhancing the Resilience of Manitoba’s Winter Roads System

The document details how warming winters in northern Manitoba have shortened the operational window of essential winter roads, leading to increased costs and safety risks. It describes the government's response, which involved using scientific projections to justify increased funding for upgrading and relocating roads to enhance resilience.

• Winter roads are critical for 28 remote communities in northern Manitoba, providing a transport cost two to three times lower than air transport and supporting local economies where unemployment can reach 80 to 90 per cent.
• Climate change has reduced the usability of winter roads; the average number of usable days dropped from 50 or 55 days per year to as low as 20 days in 1999/2000. In 1998, a warm winter prevented road construction to 12 communities, costing the Manitoba and Canadian governments between $15 million and $18 million for emergency air transport of fuel and food.
• Research conducted by the University of Winnipeg and the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) projected that warming winters would continue to shorten the road season by approximately 5 days in the 2020s, 10 days in the 2050s, and 14 days in the 2080s.
• The Government of Manitoba increased funding for the winter road network, which tripled since 1998 and reached an average annual cost of $13 million between 2007 and 2011. These funds were used to upgrade roads, relocate them away from water bodies, and build new overland routes to improve safety and extend the operational season.

APA

Taylor, S., & Parry, J.-E. (2014). Enhancing the Resilience of Manitoba’s Winter Roads System. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/winter_roads.pdf

Chicago

Taylor, Susan, and Jo-Ellen Parry. Enhancing the Resilience of Manitoba’s Winter Roads System. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/winter_roads.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Taylor |first1=Susan |last2=Parry |first2=Jo-Ellen |title=Enhancing the Resilience of Manitoba’s Winter Roads System |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2014 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/winter_roads.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{taylor2014enhancing, author = {Taylor, Susan and Parry, Jo-Ellen}, title = {{Enhancing the Resilience of Manitoba’s Winter Roads System}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/winter_roads.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }