If you live in Manitoba, there’s roughly a coin-flip chance your home has dangerous levels of radon gas. That’s not fear-mongering — it’s what the data shows. And after years of advocates pushing for action, the province now has an official playbook: the Made-in-Manitoba Radon Action Plan.
Here’s what it says, why it matters, and what it means for you as a homeowner.
The updated Cross Canada Radon Survey (2024) confirmed what many of us in the radon industry already suspected: 43% of Manitoba homes exceed the Health Canada guideline of 200 Bq/m³. The average radon reading across the province was 169 Bq/m³ — both numbers are the highest in the country, and not by a small margin.
Communities like Neepawa, Brandon, Dauphin, and Harrison Park are seeing especially high numbers, with some areas reporting over 75-90% of homes above the guideline. Even Minnedosa and surrounding Westman communities are well within the high-risk zone.
If you haven’t had your home tested yet, radon testing is the only way to know where you stand.
Radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. In Manitoba specifically, the Action Plan cites 235 lung cancer cases and 165 deaths attributable to radon in 2024 alone. That accounts for roughly 24% of all lung cancer in the province.
To put that in perspective — radon kills more Manitobans every year than car accidents. And unlike a car accident, radon exposure is entirely preventable with proper radon mitigation.
The plan was developed by stakeholders across the province — radon professionals, public health officials, lung health advocates, and government representatives — who met in October 2024. It focuses on three core priorities, all with a target date of 2030.
Manitoba has nearly 40,000 child care spaces and about 700 schools across the province. Right now, child care facilities aren’t required to test for radon at all, and only 8% of schools have ever been tested.
The plan calls for mandatory radon testing and mitigation in 100% of child care centres and schools by 2030. It also recommends updating licensing requirements so facilities can’t operate without addressing radon, similar to what Alberta and BC have already moved toward.
This matters because kids spend a huge portion of their waking hours in these buildings. Reducing exposure early in life directly reduces their lifetime lung cancer risk.
Here’s an uncomfortable truth: if you’re a renter in Manitoba, you’re basically on your own when it comes to radon. Current tenancy laws don’t specifically address it, and renters don’t typically have the ability (or legal standing) to install a radon mitigation system in a building they don’t own.
With 29% of Manitobans living in rental properties — roughly 139,000 units — that’s a huge gap in protection. The plan recommends updating the Residential Tenancies Act to include radon disclosure and require landlords to test and mitigate.
On the financial side, the numbers tell a frustrating story. Mitigation grants already exist through the Canadian Lung Association’s Lungs Matter program, but only 18 Manitoba households used them in 2024. Manitoba Hydro’s financing program averaged just seven mitigation systems per year over the past decade. Cost is the most commonly cited reason homeowners delay mitigation, even after receiving a high test result.
The plan pushes for expanded provincial funding, better promotion of existing programs, and new financing options to make it easier for families to take action.
Manitoba adopted radon rough-in requirements for new construction back in 2012, but the reality on the ground hasn’t matched the intent. Rough-ins are still being installed incorrectly in many new builds, and certified radon professionals regularly have to abandon them during system installation because they were done wrong in the first place.
The plan recommends Manitoba get ahead of the 2030 National Building Code cycle and adopt active soil depressurization with sidewall exhaust for new homes now. This approach is expected to be more effective in Manitoba’s cold climate and actually costs less than the passive rooftop stack that the 2025 code update will require.
There’s also a critical point about energy efficiency: research shows that 9 out of 11 studies found thermal retrofitting increases radon levels inside homes. Efficiency Manitoba’s current program guide doesn’t even mention radon. The plan calls for radon education and testing to be built into every energy retrofit program.
The Action Plan is a framework — it’s not law yet. But it signals where the province is heading, and it’s backed by Health Canada, CARST, C-NRPP, the Manitoba Lung Association, and Take Action on Radon.
Whether regulations change tomorrow or five years from now, the radon levels in your home aren’t waiting. If you haven’t tested, that’s the first step. A professional radon test can tell you whether your home needs attention, and if levels are high, there are proven solutions that work.
For homeowners thinking about selling, keep in mind that radon disclosure is increasingly becoming part of real estate conversations across Canada. Getting ahead of it now — with a professional test and mitigation if needed — protects your family today and your home’s value down the road.
At Westman Radon, we test and mitigate homes across the Westman region. We serve Brandon, Neepawa, Morden, Winkler, Carberry, Killarney, and surrounding communities. If you want to know what your home’s radon levels look like, get in touch for a quote or give us a call at (204) 803-7914.
You can read the full Made-in-Manitoba Radon Action Plan here:
Made-in-Manitoba Radon Action Plan.
