These waterways were navigated for thousands of years by Aboriginal people, with First Nations people choosing to settle around the area. When the Europeans came in the early eighteenth century, they too saw the value in the meeting point and built trading posts and smaller settlements.

The lands then became agricultural in nature for many years, before a small village began to form – right where Portage Avenue meets Main Street today. Within the space of a decade, that village grew until it became incorporated as a city in 1873. Three years later, the local name ‘Winnipeg’ was formally adopted, and a city was truly born.

That growth did not stop however, and as the railways came to Manitoba, Winnipeg was a natural place for a key transportation hub. International trade routes and industry were then reliant on the city, which aided its growth further.

The completion of the Panama Canal in the early twentieth century, coupled with the increase in ocean traffic around the world, meant that the rivers and railroads were less important than before, and growth stalled. After the conclusion of the two world wars, the population began to grow again, leading up to the greater area becoming saturated with thirteen different cities and towns. In 1971, these urban zones were amalgamated, giving birth to the Winnipeg that we see today.

Development and improvements are ongoing. Malls, arenas, factories, infrastructure and other essential buildings and businesses have all benefited from investment over the past decades, and further upgrades and advancements are anticipated in the coming years.

The best part of modern Winnipeg is that the echoes of the past are all around us. The parkland and the rivers are much as they were hundreds of years ago. The architecture in the city speaks of the different styles and construction techniques that have made their mark on our streets, and the museums and galleries are filled with a veritable trove of historical artifacts, relics, and memories of times gone by.