Travel Manitoba is now accepting expressions of interest (EOI) from eligible tourism businesses who want to:
The Wildlife Resilience Assistance Program (WRAP) will accept EOI applications from tourism lodges and operators most at risk from wildfires until noon on Tuesday, February 17.
The record 2025 summer wildfire season showed us many things, including the extraordinary resolve of our tourism industry, with operators adapting their offerings, supporting our displaced fellow Manitobans and staying connected with their communities.
Throughout that time, we sent updates to industry with the latest news and information about the ongoing situation and worked closely with affected operators, including calling those hardest hit by the fires. We heard a lot about the need to invest in strengthening our sector’s ability to respond to emergencies and overall fire preparedness. In keeping with our mandate to strengthen growth and resiliency of our tourism industry, Travel Manitoba is investing up to $1.35 million in purchasing value protection kits for lodges and outfitters most at risk from wildfires. Operators who purchased their own value protection equipment after April 1, 2025 may also be eligible to receive rebates.
The EOI forms will help determine the overall interest in the program and to enable us to plan accordingly.
To qualify, the tourism business must be a fixed-roof accommodation and be at high risk of damage due to wildfires. The focus of the program is to support tourism businesses that face barriers to accessing supports in the case of a wildfire threat and to protect remote wilderness lodges and outfitters that contribute to the success of the Manitoba tourism industry.
No. It’s not required to have access to a water supply. However, we need to know this information for planning purposes and that is why it’s included in the EOI.
Investing in the long-term growth and resilience of our industry is part of our mandate.
We are continuing to market to visitors heading into this spring and summer season. However, it is also clear that we need to further invest in the resiliency of the industry to help ensure visitor confidence in Manitoba as a four-season destination. Working within our existing funding, we have developed this program to support the most at-risk, fixed-roof accommodations in the province, recognizing that this strengthens the resiliency of our industry while also reassuring future visitors that we are a strong industry, proactively investing to ensure we can continue to welcome guests in all seasons.
Each value protection unit includes a water pump and intake line, sprinkler heads, several hundred feet of hose, plus all the required connectors, valves and accessories. Some lodges may require more than one kit, depending on the number of buildings as well as potentially outpost camps.
We estimate up to a 90 per cent subsidy on each value protection unit. The final amount will depend on the number of interested businesses and the number of kits they require. Operators will be required to pay the remaining portion for each kit.
No, this is a one-time program expected to meet the needs of our lodges.
The Wildfire Resilience Assistance Program intake will close on March 31, 2026. While the subsidized kits are only available for a limited time, interested businesses can receive information on the kits to make their own purchases separately. Beyond the limited intake window for the VPUs, we are working with different providers to increase FireSmart training and assessments on how to better fireproof businesses in high-risk areas. More information on those events and time line will come soon.
If you purchased value protection equipment after April 1, 2025, you may qualify for a rebate if the equipment meets the standards of the program.
Email us at Tourismprograms@travelmanitoba.com with the details of the equipment purchased including itemized receipts.
Any recipients of the value protection units will need to participate in FireSmart training and agree to maintain the equipment. The overall goal of the program is to provide comprehensive support to future-proof lodges and outfitters most at-risk of wildfire damage.
The program final applications will open in February, and all successful applicants will be notified by March 31, 2026.
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