Winnipeg’s Winning Ways

By THOMAS E KING

For some 6000 years, aboriginal people living on the western plains of a vast expanse now known as Canada tracked great herds of buffalo. Periodically, members of these nomadic tribes would gather to undertake trade and commerce on a prime parcel of land overlooking the place where the Red and Assibinboine rivers converge.

The practice continued until the late 19th century when Canada’s country-spanning rail line was completed. In 1886, Winnipeg, the provincial capital of Manitoba, was finally linked with a single ‘ribbon of steel’ that joined Vancouver, British Colombia to the west and Montreal, Quebec to the east. The world’s second largest country could, at last, be crossed in style and comfort.

The strategic peninsula where native campfires once burned was turned into a rail yard in the 1890s but for much of the 20th century the area now called The Forks was a derelict dump. That situation changed in the mid 1980s when the 22 ha. site was entrusted to the city, and transformation began that turned it from a neglected eye ore to sparkling attention getter.

The old commercial constructions remain intact with old advertisements plastered on their sides, still spruiking curealls for all types of 19th century maladies

On a sunshine sprinkled summer’s day I stood in what’s become a sophisticated riverside park, commercial centre and recreation area, looking at the spot where the two muddy waterways intertwine, while listening to the beat of an up tempo jazz band nearby. The Forks National Historic Site as it’s officially called today – one of the most visited attractions in the population 700,000 plus city – is a relaxing place for summer strolling and winter ice skating.

As well, it’s also a hub of quality shopping and gourmet dining throughout the year. Reminders of those exciting rail days now contain retail outlets dedicated to these two fine pursuits. For instance, an old red Canadian Pacific Railway carriage is now a cosy restaurant while the rock-solid Fork’s Market, a former stable, now houses stalls where some 300 talented artisans sell a variety of unique arts and crafts, all original local products. As well, there’s an eclectic collection of eateries. One evening after a day-long excursion through the city, I returned to the busy market for a meal of Ukrainian specialities; another evening it was tandoori treats.

While the historic buildings at The Forks have been restored, Fort Garry is a reconstruction. Winnipeg was founded as a fur trading post by the French Canadian explorer La Vérendrye in 1738 with the first fort constructed by the Montreal-based North West Company over 80 years later. I walked through the large gates built to replicate the entrance to the stronghold and into the protected compound where a colourful cast of characters was on hand to add authenticity to this tiny time capsule.

Throughout the sensational summer months, daily life from the 1815s is reenacted at the replicated Fort Garry by historical interpreters. Dressed in a beaded buckskin costume, a First Nations woman showed how pemmican was made. The seemingly unpalatable concoction of 60 per cent dried buffalo meat and 40 per cent oil was loaded with calories needed by energycraving voyageurs (boatmen) who would often paddle their cargo-laden canoes for up to 18 hours a day. Furs had to be sent to waiting ships in Hudson Bay in the north and supplies brought in to this remote settlement via a series of inland waterways before the onslaught of winter.

In the replicated general store, a stocky salesman with a stovepipe hat told me that beaver fur – the currency of the day - was used to make stylish top hats for European gentlemen. Four beaver skins brought in by First Nations people who often did the actual trapping, was worth one genuine Hudson Bay blanket, he said, pointing to a colourful assortment of striped blankets filling a crude shelf on the bare timbered wall. His in-character explanation, period costume and 19th century mannerisms added greatly to the experience.

I ‘travelled’ from the early 19th century at the fort to the early 20th century in only

1 The remains of the Old St Boniface Cathedral are the iconic symbol of the French district

2 The Forks features shopping, stages for cultural events and interesting dining options

3 The Exchange District has a grand collection of century-old buildings often used as film sets

4 A cast of characters recall stories about early fur trapping days at the replicated Fort Garry a few blocks when I visited the Exchange District in the heart of the city. This defined area which consists of 20 city blocks was the city’s financial hub for several decades before and after the turn of the 20th century. The railway had brought great prosperity and the city’s population nearly tripled from 40,000 in 1900 to 115,000 in 1907. Around 150 brick warehouses and commercial buildings still stand in this fascinating area which was given a heritage listing in 1997.

The old commercial constructions remain intact with old advertisements plastered on their sides, still spruiking cure-alls for all types of 19th century maladies. The scene is so evocative of days long gone that film makers have used “the best collection of turn-of-the-century architecture in North America” as convincing backdrops in Hollywood creations such as the circa 2006 The Assassination of Jesse James with Brad Pitt.

Like the Exchange District, St. Boniface is easily walkable and as I discovered, it’s a leafy tree-lined delight in summer. Home to the largest French speaking community in western Canada, Winnipeg’s French quarter began in 1818 with the establishment of the first Roman Catholic mission in the west. The landmark of the area is the towering façade of the circa 1908 Romanesque St Boniface Cathedral.

The cathedral burned in the late 1960s and a large hole can be seen in the wall where a massive stained glass window once existed. Visitors scurry around this oddity trying to find the best angle to photograph it and then often wait for an escorted walk in the footsteps of history.

I joined the unusually named Theatre in the Cemetery for a very entertaining yet highly informative narrative which is regularly conducted by costumed guides. For an hour I was enthralled by stories about the life and times of so many people who have all significantly contributed to Winnipeg, a rich multicultural oasis set on the scenic prairies of western Canada.