Official Visit to Manitoba - Day 3

During the last day of the official visit, His Excellency worked with a group of Habitat for Humanity volunteers to help build their 2000th home in Canada and their 200th home in Winnipeg.

His Excellency met with His Worship Sam Katz, Mayor of Winnipeg at the Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre in St-Boniface.

The Governor General also met with Winnipeg’s Francophone cultural, educational and business community members. Saint-Boniface is a city ward of Winnipeg and home of the Franco-Manitoban community. Settled at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in the 18th century, the community has a long history, having witnessed Canada’s population shift toward the West. The Winnipeg Francophone community is considered a founding community at the centre of Manitoban reality.

Major Benoit Bouchard, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General, also took part in the construction.

His Excellency meeting with the future owners of the 2000th Habitat for Humanity home, currently under construction.

These milestones builds are a prelude to the upcoming “Blitz Build” which will take place from July 4 to 16. The construction project is located at the Winnipeg Sir Sam Steele School Site, the greenest affordable housing development in Canada, which will be home to 32 families by the end of 2011.

The Governor General, with a team of volunteers, helped build the organization’s 2000th home in Canada, while the Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, former governor general of Canada, worked with a separate team of volunteers on the construction of the 200th home.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization working for a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. The mission of the organization is to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty.

In 2011, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, became patron of Habitat for Humanity Canada. The Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, former governor general of Canada, has been serving as member of Habitat for Humanity's International Board of Directors since 2009.