Page 50 - 2026-2027 Travel Guide to Canada

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art (www.exchangedistrict.org). Outside
the city, historic gems include Thompson’s
Heritage North Museum and its tales of the
Indigenous Peoples of the area (www.heritage
north-thompson.ca); and, in far western
Manitoba, the Inglis Grain Elevators
National Historic Site (www.inglis
elevators.com). It is the best remaining
example of an “elevator row” in Canada.
Winnipeg’s Manitoba Legislative Building,
the Tyndall limestone-clad beaux arts
classical seat of government, opened on July
15, 1920 (www.gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/prov/
p040.html). Later in the year, the Manito
Ahbee will take place at Canada Life Centre
to align with the World Indigenous Business
Forum happening then (www.manito
ahbee.com). February’s French Festival du
Voyageur, centred in St. Boniface, focuses on
Franco-Manitoban history and culture
(www.heho.ca/en).
Quick Fact
CHURCHILL SITS DIRECTLY BENEATH
THE AURORAL OVAL AND GETS 300 NIGHTS
OF NORTHERN LIGHTS ACTIVITY PER YEAR.
MUST SEE, MUST DO
Lower Fort Garry, the national historic site
just south of the City of Selkirk, shelters a
historic fur-trading fort. It is also the site
where Treaty 1, the first treaty between
colonial explorers and Indigenous Peoples,
was signed, and where the North-West
Mounted Police—the precursor to Canada’s
Mounties—were first trained (www.travel-
manitoba.com/directory/lower-fort-garry-
national-historic-site-of-canada).
POLAR BEAR STATUE, CHURCHILL • TRAVEL MANITOBA
CANADIAN FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTRE • TRAVEL MANITOBA
In summer, hardy adventurers can kayak
with more than 57,000 white beluga whales
that calve and raise their babies near the
mouth of the Churchill River (www.travel-
manitoba.com/churchill).
Established in 2013, the Canadian Museum
for Human Rights houses an exhibit called
the Witness Blanket. With over 800 items
donated by residential school survivors and
their families, this piece symbolizes a
recognition of the atrocities of the residen-
tial school era, and ongoing reconciliation
(www.humanrights.ca).
SCENIC DRIVES
Bunk in at Riding Mountain National Park’s
Wasagaming townsite, and take the next day
to drive to the park for early morning wild-life
spotting, a visit to the resident bison herd,
selfie stops all around beautiful Clear Lake
and ups and downs in the park’s unique topo-
graphy. Return to Winnipeg via Highway 5
and McCreary and the self-proclaimed world
lily capital of Neepawa, then take the scenic
Highway 16 Yellowhead route through vast
farmland (www.discoverclearlake.com).
From north Winnipeg, drive River Road
along the Red River to Selkirk and the
Marine Museum of Manitoba (www.marine
museum.ca), with Lower Fort Garry
National Historic Site about two-thirds
along the 60-km (37-mi.) route. Tiny
Lockport, a historic catfishing spot (rent a
boat and gear) and hot dog stand heaven, lies
between the two. From Selkirk, return to
Winnipeg via pretty Henderson Highway.
For a longer day trip, take Highway 44 east
from Lockport, through the Agassiz Provin-
cial Forest and all the way to Seven Sisters
Falls and the classic hydro station there,
then on to Pinawa for a visit to Pinawa Dam
Provincial Park and the picturesque town
and lake. Stop to walk the suspension bridge
and hiking trails.
FAMILY FUN
Kids go wild at FortWhyte Alive, where bison
roam on prairie grasses near a pioneer sod
house, teepee encampment and prairie dog
town (www.fortwhyte.org), and at Assini-
boine Park’s Nature Playground and Polar
Playground (www.assiniboinepark.ca).
Journey to Churchill is home to polar bears,
including Nanuq and York, rescued from the
Churchill area.
For history and fun, families can ride the
vintage steam train Prairie Dog Central
Railway from north Winnipeg to the villages
of Grosse Isle and Warren and back (www.pdc
railway.com).
En route to Gimli, Oak Hammock Marsh
Interpretive Centre welcomes thousands of
migrating geese in the fall (www.oak
hammockmarsh.ca); and, at the Canadian
Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, see
monster fossils from prehistoric Lake
Agassiz and the 15-m-long (50-ft.) life-sized
replica of Bruce, the world’s biggest publicly
displayed mosasaur (www.discover
fossils.com).