Manitoba news: Premier Wab Kinew and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe turned the first shovels on the Dauphin Centre for Justice on November 10, a $142 million project that promises 100 new beds, 25 of them for therapeutic community care, and about 80 jobs for a Parkland town still feeling a closure from 2020.
The Dauphin Centre for Justice is a $142 million first phase remand and custody centre in the Dauphin Business Park with 100 beds, including 25 therapeutic community beds. Early site work starts this fall, full construction follows in summer 2027, and the centre will replace about 80 jobs lost when the Dauphin Correctional Centre closed in 2020.
By Maplestime News Desk | Winnipeg, Manitoba | November 11, 2026
Sources: Province of Manitoba | Last updated: November 11, 2026
Key Takeaways
- $142 million: the province has committed $142 million toward the first phase, a remand and custody centre.
- 100 new beds: the centre will combine secure custody and therapeutic supports, including 25 dedicated therapeutic community beds.
- 80 jobs back: once fully operational, it will replace about 80 local jobs lost when the Dauphin Correctional Centre closed in 2020.
- Where it goes: the centre will be built in the Dauphin Business Park.
- When it is built: early site work begins this fall, with full construction expected to start in summer 2027.
What will the Dauphin Centre for Justice include?
The centre is designed to mix secure custody with therapeutic supports, rehabilitation programming and culturally responsive services. That combination is the whole point. Manitoba correctional centres house adults who are remanded into custody or sentenced to less than two years less a day, as well as youth who are remanded or sentenced, and the province says this facility will serve longer term rehabilitation needs, not just hold people.
The 25 therapeutic community beds are the centrepiece of that approach. They will offer structured living, culturally grounded supports, recreation and wellness spaces, and intensive release planning aimed at behavioural change and successful reintegration. The province says the centre will also ease capacity pressures across Manitoba provincial correctional centres.
Premier Wab Kinew framed the groundbreaking as a turning point for the Parkland region. “Today is an exciting day as we break ground on the new Dauphin Centre for Justice, a commitment that will make our province safer, help people turn their lives around and bring good-paying jobs back to the Parkland region,” said Kinew. “This facility represents a new approach to corrections in Manitoba, one that focuses on rehabilitation, accountability and giving people the supports they need to build a better future.”
Why Dauphin, and why now?
Dauphin has lived with an empty space in its justice system since 2020, when the previous government closed the Dauphin Correctional Centre. About 80 local jobs went with it, and the town has waited six years for a replacement. The new centre answers that wait directly, with the province saying it will replace approximately those 80 jobs once fully operational.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the centre will be a first of its kind in Manitoba, offering a comprehensive correctional environment that supports longer term rehabilitation needs through a full range of therapeutic, cultural, educational and correctional programming while keeping the community safe. He added that it will incorporate measures to reduce recidivism rates, address systemic issues, decrease the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system and provide a continuum of care to inmates.
Related: No Charges In Dauphin Police Dog Bite Case After Man In Mental Health Crisis Seriously Injured
Dauphin, Manitoba. Photo: Intermedichbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What does the Manitoba Jobs Agreement mean for workers?
This phase of the project will be delivered with a Manitoba Jobs Agreement, which sets measurable targets for workforce participation, apprenticeships, Indigenous participation and economic outcomes during construction. In plain terms, the province is promising that the building of the centre will put local people to work, train apprentices and include Indigenous workers, not just import a crew and leave.
Design, site planning and procurement follow extensive community engagement with Indigenous rights holders and governments, municipal partners, community service providers and subject matter experts, according to the province.
When does construction start?
Early work on the construction site begins this fall, with full construction expected to begin in summer 2027. No opening date has been announced. The $142 million covers the first phase, the remand and custody centre, and the province has not yet put a figure on later phases.
The promise is big, and the test will be whether a building can do what Kinew and Wiebe say it will do: make the province safer and send people home better than they arrived. Dauphin has heard promises before. This time there are shovels in the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Manitoba spending on the new centre?
The province has committed $142 million toward the first phase, a remand and custody centre in the Dauphin Business Park.
How many beds will the centre have?
100 new beds combining secure custody and therapeutic supports, including 25 dedicated therapeutic community beds with structured living, culturally grounded supports, recreation and wellness spaces.
When will construction be finished?
Early site work begins in fall 2026 and full construction is expected to start in summer 2027. No opening date has been announced.
The Winnipeg Law Courts. Photo: Brian, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maplestime will provide updates from the new Dauphin justice centre as announcements are made.
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A $142 million promise and a town that waited six years: will this centre actually change lives, or just move the same problems into a newer building? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Manitoban watching justice reform in this province.
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