MPI receives over 500 collision claims following Friday blizzard

A pileup of vehicles is pictured on Manitoba Highway 9 amid a blizzard on Jan. 17, 2025. (Michael Hall)

Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) received more than 500 collision claims for Friday as wintry weather caused treacherous driving conditions in the province.

CTV News Winnipeg previously reported that an emergency alert warned drivers to stay off southern Manitoba highways on Friday as a blizzard caused numerous closures and collisions.

According to MPI, the Crown corporation has received 511 collision claims for Jan. 17 as of Monday.

It notes that 268 of these claims were from Winnipeg, while 31 were from Steinbach, 26 from West St. Paul, and 15 from Ste. Anne. MPI added that Blumenort, Brandon, Headingley and Portage la Prairie all had 12 claims, with 11 coming from the RM of St. Andrews and 10 from Lorette.

The Crown corporation said that it has not fully analyzed the data, so it cannot attribute all of these collisions to winter driving conditions. However, it can say the blizzard conditions were a contributing factor in many of the crashes.

MPI said it expects to the number of collisions to increase as more claims come in over the next weeks and months.