92 Winnipeg

Canada
Québec & New Brunswick
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91 To Winnipeg
92 Winnipeg
93 Wasagaming
94 On to Yorkton
95 Manitoba Beach
96 Wanuskewin
97 To Edmonton
98 Edmonton
99 To Hinton
100 To Jasper
101 The Rockies
102 Snowy roads
103 To Drumheller
104 Dinosaurs
105 To Banff
106 Banff
107 Banff
108 Lake Louise
109 Farewell Rockies
110 To Vancouver
111 Go Canucks
112 Morty & Harry
113 Where next?
114 Visas and Picasso
115 Downtown
116 Catch up
117 Vancouver Island
118 To Tofino
119 Pacific Rim
120 Surfers and big trees
121 Last Legislature
122 Farewell to Morty
123 Mile zero, again

Canada: Manitoba

Thursday 3 November 2005

What's the bear whispering in Ness's ear?

St. Boniface, the French bit of Winnipeg

Yesterday's long drive had taken its toll and despite waking up at six we both fell asleep again and it was about 9 before we really woke up. We were warm inside the van but it looked cold outside so we spent a couple of hours catching up on ourselves and waiting for the day to warm up before heading into downtown Winnipeg.

The city is a sprawling, low level prairie town. Only in the centre are there the usual tower blocks of offices but these are small and muted compared to those in the cities we have seen so far. We parked up in the exchange district, an area of turn of the (last) century commercial buildings still with advertisements painted on their sides. From here we went for a bit of an amble taking in the corner of Portage and Main, allegedly the windiest spot in the Province. Last night driving through I would have believed it as all the flags in the office courtyard here were snapping and twisting in the wind. Today though, it seemed no worse than any other corner.

In Montreal and Toronto the main city buildings are connected by underground passageways so that people can move around freely in the cold winter months. Here they have the Skywalk, the same principle but all the walkways are above ground. There is also a free shuttle bus that you can catch to take you around town which only runs in the cold winter months.

We hooked into the Skywalk network to start to explore. First impressions of Winnipeg were not great. It seemed to have more than an average share of people down on their luck and several corners had shady people hanging around with not much to do. Even the shopping centres were pretty unremarkable with many lots still empty.

In parts of the main downtown there were large old buildings which left me with the impression that Winnipeg’s past prosperity was perhaps better than it is today. Here, like most of the other cities we have passed through, there is evidence of building work which will result in yet more city centre office blocks. Neither of us warmed to the centre so we decided to head across the river to the old French part of town.

This area was designated and set aside for French speaking people. The site of an old convent has now been turned into a museum, which was closed by the time we got there. It is housed in the oldest building in Winnipeg and the largest oak building in the country, all white except the doors and window frames which were green. Just along the river is the basilica. The original burned down in the 1960's and the new has been built within the old basilica ruins. From the river it creates an impressive view and the old basilica must have been quite a sight to see. The St Boniface area of Winnipeg was the birthplace of Louis Riel, who led the Métis (French-Indian half-breeds, but for obvious reasons the moniker "Métis" is preferred) in two revolts during the 19th century, key events in Manitoba becoming a member of the Canadian Confederation. He is buried in the basilica courtyard, along with other great and good people from Winnipeg’s past.

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