Cricket Fields Open at LaBarriere Park

 

LaBarriere Park is outside city limits but is a city of Winnipeg park. It is a legacy of Metro Winnipeg acquired park space they deemed important to the history of the region. There was no Unicity at the time. That didn't come until 1972 and the city of Winnipeg simply took ownership of LaBarriere and that continues to this day.

The park was set side to honor Louis Riel who had set up a barrier on the Pembina Trail in 1869 to stop envoy William McDougal from the east entry to the Red River Settlement. The Metis controlled much of the territory and would not roll over to the imminent transfer of Rupert's Land from the Hudson Bay Company to Canada. 

Preventing McDougal from getting to Fort Garry meant the government of Canada had to negotiate with the Metis. The stance meant that Manitoba came into confederation in 1870 as a province of Canada. As old as Riel's struggle in Manitoba is, it is not older than the cricket in the province.

The North-West Cricket Club began in 1864 making it one of the oldest organized sports in Canada. It would seem only fitting that cricketers would have cricket fields established in such an historic park. As perhaps the fastest growing sport in the province, the desire to build more sports facilities was paramount. Prior to 2018, the best known pitch to play on was on the south lawn in front of the pavilion at Assiniboine Park. A few other pitches were also in the city nut with ever growing interest, the need for an actual facility grew.

Players from the Carribbean, Indian and other communities were held back by the availability of land and the costs to build. With only nine pitches, most not regulation size, players were left trying to do what they could, where they could. The Manitoba Cricket Association had about 2000 players to figure out how to schedules for and find facilities. To make matters worse, the Assiniboine Park pitch was undergoing upgrading so the need was even greater.

Meanwhile, LaBarriere Park was sitting at the end of Waverley often neglected. The low lying bridge across the LaSalle was under water a lot of the time till finally there was no choice but to replace it. The washrooms were falling apart. They were locked overnight in favour of outhouses. The parking lot was always problematic for break-ins. And if those happened, you had to call the RCMP because the park was outside city limits. The former Park Police and later security were only responsible for locking and unlocking the gates. 

The house outside the park and just in front of the city owned Camp Amisk was the park caretakers house. Yes, indeed, the city rented a house for an onsite park caretaker. The city has upwards of five to six staff assigned to the park 7 days a week from spring to fall and the park caretaker the rest of the years plus regular snow removal. While there are washrooms, for years in winter the pit toilets were in use. Camp Amisk itself was pit toilet and still is to my knowledge.

At just under 350 acres inside the dike but just outside city limits, the park didn't get the same love that Kildonan and Assiniboine did. No conservatory for LaBarriere. No flower gardens. Just natural river bottom forest stretching out along the LaSalle River. A few picnic areas that can be booked as well as a couple of baseball fields. Back in the 1980s, Eaton's and Sears would have their company picnics and softball games on and it attracted thousands. There were real battles between the two defunct department stores as the baseball diamonds were first come, first serve.

As the city began to allocate less and less attention to some parks such as LaBarrier. Other parks were getting donations of theatres, sculptures and programming while the park at the end of the city got torn up by gopher holes and less frequent grass cutting and painting. It was probably one too many flooding of the bridge and boat launch and the loss of so many trees to disease that began to get the attention of some councillors.

Eventually, money was set aside for new washrooms to replace the decrepit, seasonal washrooms in 2019. The previous washrooms had been built when the park was built in 1969. It is unclear if the old washrooms and pit toilets will be demolished. The washrooms cost $500,000 but were needed if there was any hope of expanding programming in the park. Covid brought out many more to outdoor parks and it seemed safer than gyms.

Meanwhile, south Winnipeg has exploded in suburban growth and where the park seemed distant for decades, it was now the closest large park to many people. The Indo-Asian people were looking for more fields for their favourite sport of cricket. In the past, the wide expanse of fields stretching along the fence line of LaBarriere were largely unused. Over the summer it could get quite hot out there as there was no trees at all. The shade was all closer to the river.  

I worked at LaBarriere for my summer job when I was a university student and saw people out in the fields rarely, When I did, it might be flying kites or sometimes using remote aircraft. People don't realize how and unrelenting it is on those open fields. It is why the Manitoba Cricket Association knew that just putting cricket fields near the parking lots and down the fence line was going to require some shade or trees. This may seem strange for people from India that have even higher temperatures in the country as a whole. But the surface temperature at LaBarriere out on those fields could reach around 60 C. This was actual recorded temperatures during the time I was working there. 

The cricket people since 2019 and been slowly building up the playing fields with bits and pieces of financing over the years amounting to $1.5 million. The full season washrooms were essential to expanded programming in the park. However, the rest of the park is need of care too. Over the decades, the trees have been ravaged by disease and bad weather. Gopher holes are a problem all over the city parks. The cricket and disc people will have to fight to make sure other areas of the park are cared for too.

Even Assiniboine Park has received federal funds for trees since so many have been lost over the years. There will be 600 trees planted over the next three years there. Truth is that every park has been devastated over the last few years from disease and in some same cases, trees being cut down for development. It is shocking how long it takes to replace trees as opposed to cutting them down.

The cricket association has been getting incremental assistance from constituency funds from Councillors. They have heard the call for years for more cricket pitches but very little has been added to recreational lands for a very long time. With the seed money given, the cricket association was able to upgrade the a section of the lands near the parking lot in 2019. Two pitches were developed along with the year round washrooms.

The deficiencies of the area were the next thing to try and resolve. The first was that demand had exploded so another pitch was needed. However, the issue of shade became very apparent. I have worked that fence line along the posts cutting grass and after two hours the heat was unbearable. I can't imagine what it is like after an afternoon in the open. It is not surprising that shade trees and shelters are part of the plan for the three pitches.

Cricket and Disc sports at LaBarriere will likely drive demand for more improvements at the park. It is a welcome change for a large and underutilized park.

Rumours of Stores Coming to Headingley Costco Site

The Costco is already having an impact along Portage Avenue in terms of retail renovations and filling in some of the empty spaces along the street. The landlords with property sitting idle might get some calls of interest. Still, renovations to update tired spots is accelerating. Safeway and Walmart have renovated. Uncertain if other grocers such as Sobeys on Portage have renovated but most stores may require a re-fresh to compete. As mentioned, Costco 's imminent arrival will change traffic patterns and attract other retailers as well as residential.

This is an important thing to note about the Headingley Costco compared to the others in the city. The west Winnipeg one will have so much housing on site. It is only now, decades later, that apartments are going up on McGillivary are within walking distance of the Kenaston store. The problem is that there will never be enough housing around that store unless they decide to take over something like Rona property or build up vertically. And that wouldn't be instant.

Headingley has already seen a lot of residential building quite separate from the Westport Festival where the Costco is to reside. As seen in the plan above, there are a ton of apartments within walking distance of the store. Mixed developments are what every retail area tries to achieve now. The vulnerability of big box and regular malls to major retail closures has become all too apparent. The United States has found that even having a grocery store is no recipe for success for a mall since so many grocers are closing locations.

The rumours about what will join the Costco have been flying in the last weeks. Are announcements coming soon? The clues can possibly be seen once again in the plan above. There are two large retail spots that look suspiciously like a Red River Co-Op or a Save on Foods. Neither of these two have stores in the west part of the city. It is unlikely both grocers move in but expect an announcement of at least one of them coming. The other rumour is that now that Rona has rationalized their Lowe's Home Improvement stores into their national group and closed stores literally across the street from one another, they are looking to build a Rona in west Winnipeg. It could be that Home Depot might try to usurp Rona in their plans but they might be happy with the amount of stores they have now.

There is at least one hotel listed as going up. Rumour it was some kind of Hilton but  given the proximity to the iceplex, Assiniboia Downs, Red River Ex and the city of Winnipeg. A hotel, as opposed to a motel, is very much needed in the west part of the city. Large hockey tournaments consistently fill every motel along the strip. Two other motels on that stretch of Portage are usually jammed with hockey parents. It is not inconceivable that more hotels might be added to the plan given the attractions nearby.

Lots of restaurants were being added. It appears McDonald's to have a place by the roadside. They have a location at Walmart nearby but the nearest drive-thru is at least several minutes down Portage. There has also been talk of everything from an Earls to a Moxie's to a Joeys locating on the site. As far as new restaurants to the city, rumour has been Jersey's Mike's has been looking at the site. Also on the list has been an additional city location for Freddie's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers. In addition Shake Shack, Fazoli's and Chick-fil-A have all been mentioned as possible. Not on the list at all is Cheesecake Factory which has no Canadian expansion plans.

As far as other retail, it is likely some sort of sports store is likely although SportChek closed down just down the street. However, one story going around is they didn't want to sign a new lease if they were interested in the site near Costco. 

Another interesting rumour has been that a major gym will build a large fitness center in the shopping area. Whether this is Goodlife, Altea or a re-located Shapes or maybe something else entirely. 

Coscto's completion is expected this year so it is very likely a flurry of announcements comes soon on what joins it. It is worth noting that much like Seasons of Tuxedo, it could take a decade or more to fill all the space. Given the rumours though, it appears there is huge interest in the site.

The Ten Commandments Returns to Assiniboine Park

 

Many of the things we associate with the greatest contributors to North American social and community well being comes from fraternal organizations or religious lay organizations. The Fraternal Order of Eagles in Winnipeg contributed a large monument of the Ten Commandments in 1965. The Eagles had been doing this all over the U.S. and this was the only one in Canada. They had been doing things like this since the 1940s but it really took off when the Hollywood film The Ten Commandments came out in 1956.

This was not unusual for the time and the Eagles were people who advocated for the creation of Mother's Day and proponents of social security in the U.S. In other words, they considered to be supporters of the common good. At the time, the majority of the population was Christian. And the Ten Commandments was the basis of many a constitution as a basic set of rules.

The separation of church and state is a complicated thing. In Quebec, the government tries to eradicate  

The Eagles started off with a close relation to the arts in 1898. The were the ones that pushed for Mother's Day and were huge supporters of social security. Some of the most prominent citizens in the U.S. and Canada were or are Eagles. It was back at a state legislature that a big deal was made about Ten Commandments monument donated many years before by the Eagles. It took a Supreme Court decision to get the monument put back.

In Winnipeg, it took a prominent Jewish philanthropist Gail Asper to make a plea for the return. It was quietly put back when the Eagles declined the return. And why should they have? Likely they were community builders from the greatest generation, undoubtedly World War II vets among them who wished only the best in their community. In that vein, the Eagles donated Ten Commandments monuments in the U.S. and Canada.

For years the monument sat in the northwest corner of the park without much controversy. The construction of The Leaf entailed storing it and herein lay the problem. The Assiniboine Park didn't know if they should just re-position it. This created way too much controversy whereby they asked the Eagles if they wanted the monument back which they didn't. Adding to the awkwardness is the fact that Kildonan Park also had a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Knights of Columbus.

At this point, leading citizens like Gail Asper stepped in to give clarity. There are some who probably will like a cleansing of religious symbols in public but then it can go so far as banning of religious symbol on your person as we see in Quebec. In that province, crosses and turbans are banned. The only way to do that has been to invoke the notwithstanding clause in the constitution. To go against freedom of religion and freedom of expression is a heavy price to pay. And it raises the question if atheism is itself a belief system.

Assiniboine Park did the right thing when they returned the monument. Quebec as turned atheism itself into a belief system so that it scrubs all religion away even when it is someone's personal body.  Surely, we should be able some flexibility going forward. Manitoba is generally a tolerant place. We have churches and synagogues across from one another. Religious schools everywhere. 

I understand re-naming some things and removing some things is the way of the world. But an old names or item can also be used for education. For example, a re-thinking about re-naming Wolseley is being considered. And this is by the Metis themselves. Does washing the name away teach anyone about history? Was destruction of statue of Queen Victoria meaningful over long term? Would moving it have been a more educational. One thing is certain and that is the occupation of the Legislature has turned it into an armed enclosure. It is unlikely anyone will ever damage, vandalize or otherwise engage monuments except in the most closely monitored protests there ever again.

As opposed to the Ten Commandments, which should live on peacefully in the park as before.

Polo Park Billion Dollar Development Stalled

It should come as no surprise that Polo Park developer Cadillac Fairview along with Shindico went to great trouble to change the zoning around Polo Park to allow high rises. The airport opposed and was overruled so the go ahead to proceed to the planning phase began. And then nothing.

I suppose they might be forgiven in that other major priorities have them occupied which they are reluctant to say. For Cadillac Fairview, it has been to fill the second floor with the new London Drugs. The former Zellers site as been a frequent site for changes and London Drugs is an anchor worthy of the mall. The next task is to fill the huge empty space left by the closure of the Hudson Bay Company.

For more than a year, Polo Park and St. Vital Centre has girded themselves for what was to come if and when The Bay closed. They both have filled spots in the former Sears locations but it can't be easy to backfill constantly major retailers that have collapsed. Sears Polo Park was a major anchor and it required some innovative thinking to fill the spot. Likewise, St. Vital Centre also needed so do some thinking to fill the spot left by Sears closing. 

Cadillac Fairview would probably like to develop the properties they own where the old arena and stadium stood but is constantly having to work on the mall itself. While it remains the largest mall in the city, it is has lost some luster to Seasons of Tuxedo which continues to see more stores, restaurants, hotel rooms and and housing built. Presumably, all the things Polo Park wants. St. Vital Centre is pressed to expand anywhere. It is as hemmed in as you can get. Once they find something to fill the HBC spot, it will be interesting to see if they look to something different such as build up.

Polo Park's location along Portage Avenue and next to Route 90 could not be more well positioned for growth. Cadillac Fairview probably has another year or so till get their mall in shape. Once London Drugs is in place and The Bay filled in, I expect they will look at building the multi-unit housing that is in the plans. It is all so painfully slow.

As for Shindico, the actual construction of Costco after years waiting for the announcement is sure to trigger more of the development surrounding the big store through 2026. There are already large blocks of apartments and other residential units going up either side of Winnipeg and Headingley. Nearly all land preparation and traffic lights have been put in to support this development. One can imagine though that it is likely not enough. Already, Coscto has triggered Walmart Unicity to conduct a massive hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrade to their store. It is a huge improvement there.

All this development emphasizes the point that hundreds of millions are being spent on areas that have been waiting for years for work. The Costco in Headingley has been in the planning stages since before the pandemic. Now, it appears they are moving with haste on it as well and at the North Main Street location. The Polo Park location will become a Costco Business Centre.

The developer indicated that the new lower immigration rate, tariffs and other factors were contributing to the stall. There may be some clarity on the tariffs soon but it may be difficult to get to where we were in the last years with tens of thousands arriving each year. The truth is that immigration has been lowered because there was no capacity to house new arrivals. And capacity was a problem long before immigration was increased.

The federal accelerator program is now building affordable homes across the country that are shovel ready. This should be helpful as many projects, such as Polo Park, are more market driven and will not be viable for real affordability unless they receive some part of accelerator program money. The list of applicants is long. It is shocking how long projects take to get done. World War II was won in six years but building an apartment in Winnipeg can take a decade.

So much is happening in 2026. Portage Place becoming Pan Am Clinic, the Downtown Bay conversion, the old BMO Portage and Main becoming a museum, two Costco's being built and apartments all over the city. And Kapyong likely to take the next step on development. If Polo Park waits to long, they are likely to be passed by.

Gaza Starvation

It is 21 months since the Hamas attacks in Israel. Israel had a right to defend itself and free hostages brought to Gaza. It is fair to say that Gaza is not the same as it was prior to the October 7 attacks. There appears to be no end to the conflict. Israel says Hamas must release the hostages and they should. The U.S. and Israel have taken over food aid and according to Israeli media, it is not enough to sustain two million people in the territory.

Mark Carney has condemned the trickle of aid and Israel and its supporters blame Hamas. B'nai Brith and the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs has accused Carney of antisemitism and blame Hamas. This won't cut it if the pace of starvation continues to rise exponentially. The "kettling" approach to Gaza is making things worse and nothing going in or out is resulting in suffering with no discernible gains. 

The Israeli military and Netanyahu say there is no starvation but interviews with a Canadian doctor on the ground indicates he and his staff are starving and his patients are doing worse and some are dying. Israel's own record of food into the territory is not supportive of the narrative that there is plenty. Hamas might be terrible and blocking aid but it is Israel's national security minister that is calling for all aid to be cut off. It is Israel's policy that everything is being squeezed. Is this is the policy of the B'nai Brith and CJIA? Is it anti-Semitic to say that hunger appears to be a weapon?

Canada has declared Hamas a terrorist organization and defends the right of Israel to defend itself. However, that doesn't mean criticism of Israeli policy is antisemitism. If it is then Trump hates Jews for wanting the war to end. Defenders of Israel should take note that the prime minister Netanyahu has as much opposition to how he is carrying out the war as he has support  with Israel itself. Israel is very much divided on the man and an election is coming. Are the B'nai Brith and CJIA taking a political position of support for Netanyahu?

The Canadian government does not support terrorism and supports Israel. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz says that even Holocaust survivors who are critics of what is happening in the war putrid. However, the term is weaponized against anyone critical of Netanyahu policy. The fact that some Jewish organizations are looking for uncritical support of what is happening and naming Carney as anti-Semitic is likely not even supported by the majority of their own Jewish membership.

The fact that Israel is backing off shows they need international legitimacy to continue with the support that was fulsome 21 months ago. Even the Conservative Jerusalem Post has said Israel had to act. Calling all of it a hoax and a Hamas creation is not working. Even if Hamas is making propaganda up, they are not a rational actor and are prepared to hurt their own people by pushing them towards Israeli gunfire. Israel now knows this to be true so ramping up military incursions while cutting aid only makes Hamas take a harder line. They. Don't. Care. They will make their people die to serve their cause.

This bears repeating: Hamas is prepared for all 2 million Palestinians to die in the conflict. Israel should not fall into the trap of killing them all. Netanyahu needs to focus on getting the hostages back. Even Israelis are going to tire of the constant deployment and loss of their soldiers with zero results. If the war is to keep Netanyahu in power, it could come at a cost of Israel's support even from the United States. Trump won't be around in 3 1/2 years. Who can say a new President will be anywhere near as supportive?

As for Jewish groups supportive of Israel, stop throwing anti-Semitic labels around including at members of your own faith. It is 21 months since the attack. Rage against Hamas all you want but they are prepared to kill all their people. Don't be the hands that does it. Figure out how to end this. 

Old Robin's on Portage to Become KFC

For the last several years the restaurants west of Moray Street have been closing. First it was the German restaurant Gasthaus Gutenberg around 2016 and then Marigold next at about 2018. The same year Robin's Donuts across the street closed. Pizza Land was the last to close in2024 but has since been replaced by Triple Pizza. However, Pizza Land's iconic sign came down.

From about 2018 to now, there have been quite a few changes from Moray where Singleton's, Assiniboine Credit Union, HUB Insurance all closed. The mall there is full leased now with Winnipeg Insurance, Flamingo Cannabis, Healing Hands Pharmacy and Little Viet restaurant. The parking lot can be quite busy now.

Next door to that Pet 101 and Crystal Clear Water Centre closed in 2024 and has been replaced by Inspire Massage Therapy which refurbished the building. Next to that Gasthaus restaurant was closes and signs went up in 2023 for GotoDoctor,ca and St. George's Medical Centre. The doctor's office are close to being occupied and were delayed due the amount of hazardous material and other work needing to be done.  The karate business and apartments above have remained unchanged as as the leather and repair business across the street. The long time pizza tenant Pizza Land behind it closed in 2023 and was replaced by Triple Pizzeria shortly after.

After Marigold closed around 2018, it was replaced Elite/Elevate which did a fine job up restoring the two floor building into a sports injury and training facility. in 2024, the Birchwood Animal Hospital was spruced up on the outside completing the block. In 2025, once the doctor's offices are fully restored and refurbished, the entire black might be full leased and upgraded. 

The only spot west of Moray on south Portage that has waiting for for development is the former Robin's. It has been empty pretty much from 2018. For a time, Starbucks was planning on taking over but the pandemic pretty much ended the company's plans all over the world. Many Starbucks locations remain shuttered even today, including ones in Chapters bookstores.

There used to be many Robin's Donuts in Winnipeg but now it is down to a handful. The company is embarking on a re-building but from Winnipeg's perspective, it looks like a slow retreat.  The empty Robin's on Portage sitting empty for years has been difficult to ignore.

In recent weeks construction crews have been repairing the road, garbage enclosure and other aspects of the lot. The owner of the property till now seemed unwilling to repair the parking lot as it began to cave in. The only thing that changed on the property is when Conservative election signs went up.

Word has it though that the new tenant of the space will be a Kentucky Fried Chicken. On Portage Avenue, the closest KFC would be the one at Unicity which shares space with Taco Bell. The next would be a KFC in the food court at Polo Park and the next in the West End. It is unclear of the Moray KFC will share with Taco Bell. Undoubtedly, the franchise is attracted to the drive-thru which could be the only one available along Portage in St. James. 

The Portage and Moray has picked up after several years in the doldrums. Continuing west down Portage still has some gaps to fill heading west but the significant building on housing units in Headingley and, of course, the Costco. It is very likely there will be an uptick in business along Portage as well as higher density in housing. And while there is room for retail, the latest additions have been in things like medical and health services and residential. For the commuter though, it is the drive-thru that rules and a KFC near the Charleswood bridge is likely to be popular.

Video Arcades in Winnipeg in the 1970s and 1980s

In 1972, Atari and Magnavox came out with video games to use at home. For Atari, they came up with versions for bars and arcades. The first Pong I encountered was the Spaghetti Factory location on Princess. There was a sit down Pong in the restaurant waiting area. It was the first time I played it. It was a simple coin operated single or two player game. I recall it about 1975. By 1977, Atari systems were being bought all over the work but competition was afoot. There were now several console player companies out there , including Nintendo, and the games were becoming more sophisticated.

Game systems were flying off the shelves. My family didn't buy an Atari bought but others did but many found they were obsolete. Meanwhile, the pinball industry was updating their machines and bringing arcade machines into shops as well.  Bowling alleys were adding arcades and pinball to reach younger crowds. It was an exciting time. 

South Portage Avenue remained a vibrant shopping experiences through the 1970s and 1980s. Eaton's and the Bay were full and the various movie theatres brought people downtown on evenings and weekends. It wasn't all good though. Retail on the northside of Portage increasingly was closing or burning. A few sections burned down and then...nothing. Just another broken tooth on Portage. There were some bright spots to be sure. The Free Press offices on Carlton. Retail and bars including Stage West Dinner Theatre on Kennedy. For a time in Winnipeg Hydro and Winnipeg Library had branched right on Portage. However, the Mall Hotel and bus station routinely brought some of the roughest characters in town to the area.

By the early 1980s, south Portage was strong on retail while the north side suffered. An adult movie theatre in the middle of it seemed to be the exclamation point on the difference between one side of the street.

However, this brought opportunities for businesses like arcades to get what once was prime spots for affordable rent. There were a number of arcades that opened as a result. It probably came as no surprise when a pinball and video arcade opened in the 1980s at Portage and Carlton featuring a pirate and called Long John's Silvers. Other places with Las Vegas-like names opened as well inside some of the news stores like Solar News and Dominion News. Circus Circus was inside Solar News.

For young people, the arcades were connected to coming downtown to see movies and go to music stores. While some neighbourhoods had nearby movie theatres, the biggest screens and choices were downtown. In the 1970s through till the 1990s there was a good number of music stores because they too found it affordable to rent space downtown. Long John Silvers, Dynamite, Circus Circus, KK Amusements, ATS, Magic Land at Langside, Circus on Donald, Saratoga Lanes at Donald, Dr. Q's, Mother's Records - Games on the Avenue sprang up so that by 1985, it was an entertainment mecca.

So much was happening everywhere all at once. Video rental stores were opening everywhere as well so that the city by the 1980s had 250 stores. The gaming systems for homes were updating all the time but they were not as exciting as what was in the arcades. No cell phones at the time and no Internet meant that young people had to meet to see each other. And while malls exploded in the 1980s, movies, music and arcades and a still resilient retail trade all existed in downtown Winnipeg and the streets were busy.

In Winnipeg, some suburbs only got their malls by 1977-1979 or so such as Forest Park Mall, St. Vital, Kildonan and Unicity. Arcades started to come to even to the smallest malls such as Forest Park Mall in Charleswood where Magic Mike's was. It must have gone up after the 1977 construction. As mentioned, Eaton Centre 

Grant Park Mall had Pirate's Den till 1989 when it closed due to renovations. KK Amusements was in Eaton Place after 1979. ATS was in Winnipeg Square after 1979 as well. Kildonan Mall had a few arcades with Phantom Amusements being one of them. Across from Kildonan was Syd's Carousel. Garden City Mall had Excalibur. Laser Solutions was at Polo Park. There was a Playland (Grand Marais) in the mall where Best Buy was. Also on Pembina was 

It is likely I have forgotten one of the places in the city. I left out Rucker's and Chuck-E-Cheese. There has been a recent resurgence of retro game places which is great but young people are more likely to go to places that are interactive gaming or tournaments. The heyday of multiple arcades downtown is not likely to come back but we are seeing some retro places go up. And that is okay by me.

Is Mark Carney a Conservative?

A short note: Blogging had a moment about 15 years ago more or less. It lasted a while and a few are kicking around today in Manitoba. There were some brilliant historians, analysts and humourists at the time and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Some faded into retirement from writing long form thoughts. I like reading long form material. Social media, whether it be TwitterX, Facebook, TikTok or any of the various messenger services lacks detail and history although some can be informative, timely and entertaining. In the last several months social media has become increasingly filled with AI and is an ever growing source of hostility. It is hard to know what is real or true a lot of the time.

Blogging is slow. And in search engines, something that was written years ago can suddenly take off again as people seek out information, history or news. Mainstream media can fulfil this when it is not firewalled. A blog is there so long as the website remains and the author keeps their posts up. 

I have rarely removed any past posts except where links might not be around anymore. I have fixed poor formatting or typos which there are many. In other word, I tend to leave things alone. Prior to the pandemic the views steadily rose till just prior to the pandemic. For a few short months saw 45,000 people a month in viewers, It dropped in the pandemic and has been steadily rising again till this past June it has reached 45,000 people once more. 

Thanks to those readers. I really don't look all that much or try to write anything that is clickbait. I write what interests me. Take pictures of what I see. I don't limit myself to any one topic. So thank you in this short note.

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Some conservative media is back and forth on what to think about Mark Carney. Many conservative voters are still scratching their heads about what happened in the election and are now looking closely at Pierre Poilievre's performance. He is still months away from getting a seat back in the Commons. To that end, he appeared on CBC in a interview this week. It is the first time he has done that as leader. Before he had his list of enemies who were never to be engaged. Once he was to become PM it would be the end of the CBC.

Even conservatives seemed to quail at the raw vitriol. Some in the base loved it and even raged further but others, many of them women, sensed this was an anger that could turn on them. There will be a lot of analysis done of of what happened in the election. The truth is that is that the Liberals chose exactly the right candidate and platform for the moment.

I have said here before the Liberals have both left and right contingents in the party. The Conservatives have driven off the progressives in their party federally. More critically, the Conservatives have driven the NDP to near extinction by appealing to working men in labour while at the same time driving women and those afraid of the right to the Liberals. It is not a recipe for a national win. The wind went out of the sails of the federal campaign when Justin Trudeau stepped and when Mark Carney won the leadership.

To distinguish himself in the campaign, Carney said he was ending the carbon tax on gas. He also said he was raising military spending. Much of this was in response to election of Donald Trump. The Justin Trudeau government showed no intent on changing those policies but the Pierre Poilievre-led opposition couldn't seem to benefit from any of this because every time Trump talked about the 51st state, it shifted voters to the party in power.

Even before this, Liberal members were convinced that a fourth term under Trudeau was unrealistic and that it could lead to the party being wiped out. I'm not sure why Conservatives were surprised Trudeau left. In fact, at times they seemed to suggest that it was somehow illegal for them to change leaders or use proroguing as a strategy. It should have come as no surprise. The Conservatives have used such tactics themselves as they are perfectly legal in our system.

The NDP and the Conservatives often say the Liberals steal their policy platforms. They should be flattered. However, if their policy platforms were completely gold, one would think they would propel said parties to victory. The truth is that some parties still have parts of their policy platform or candidates that don't inspire faith. And while some federal parties might say that electoral reform in needed nationally, they make no attempt to change the system provincially when they are in power.

However, back to Carney. He was elected because he appeared to be the person to best deal with Trump and to steer the Liberals back a bit from cliff they were headed to. This is not to say the Liberals are withdrawing from being progressive. On issues like marriage and abortion, they are not about to head in the opposite direction. The Conservative platform in the election chipped away at those areas of law.

I mention the social issues because women played a huge role in the election outcome. There are conservative women to be sure but the over the top hyper masculine approach was only going to go so far. If women don't trust a leader or the policies as they apply to her and her family, she will vote against that leader and party even if a partner votes the other way. The value of the secret ballot remains a woman's best opportunity for change.

The changes on taxes, carbon and otherwise is a right of center Liberal move. But we are not seeing a cut on daycare, dental and pharmacare changes made under Trudeau. Those are progressive ideas. The NDP have all but been wiped out so there is less influence and chance they want to go straight into another election with no leader. Likewise, the Tories have no leader. And the BQ were badly bruised. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on nationally and provincially is the economy needs to be juiced with everything that is happening in the U.S.

So far many premiers are supportive of Carney and his approach to nation-building programs. Federally, the Conservatives supported the bill to try to speed through projects. First Nations leadership has expressed alarm at speed but with 600 chiefs, some are in support of moving forward. It seems unlikely that Carney would push through a project without consultations or support. 

And to be fair there are many projects with First Nations, Metis and Inuit already on infrastructure, housing and a host of other areas. Expediting those already agreed upon would be a boost to economies across Canada. The federal government has a duty to consult in a meaningful way. It does not give 600 First Nations sweeping vetoes according to legal experts. Carney will be looking to get discussions going. It can't be easy. The chiefs wanted to bring lawyers, experts, elders and others to the talk. Assuming a max of 10 people and six thousand or more, an arena would be needed and probably a few weeks/months of discussions. So far it has been limited to chiefs which is a lot.

It is unclear what sort of legal challenge might be coming but there are a number of chiefs who wish to move forward and if some don't want to proceed, it is likely money will be re-directed elsewhere. However, Carney has negotiated with businesses and governments for years. It seems likely he can navigate the waters.

In recent weeks, more conservative media commentators have considered whether Carney is actually a conservative. Or at the least a progressive conservative. This is not great for the Conservative party because when Liberal have been more conservative, the party was wiped out like with Chretien. If Conservatives veer too far to the right, it will hurt them more than they think. They eventually only beat Paul Martin when the party went left with NDP support and corruption in Quebec.

Carney will find that more progressive conservatives might move to him and the party if he continues a path that appears to looking to the right the ship. Poilievre will find it harder to tap into the visceral hatred of Trudeau in dealing with Carney. And the fear and dislike by Canadians for Trump means they are not interested in hearing how everything is broken over and over.

Chretien and Paul Martin were able to convince a large number of Canadians of their goals while splitting the conservative vote. Now, with the progressive vote not split, the Liberals now are just short of a majority. If they can convince enough Conservatives voters to to change their votes next election, the Conservatives might be looking at being longer in opposition. A lot can happen but already Carney is doing things that a Trudeau government would never do.

Los Angeles Times Homeless Story

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-10/how-a-century-of-short-sighted-decisions-wrought-las-homeless-crisis

In what is likely a nomination for the American Pulitzer Prize, a story on how homelessness in its present form exploded on the streets of Los Angeles. A long for Los Angeles story.

Can be viewed in Archive.org via the above link. 

Jimmy Johns Coming to Winnipeg

Jimmy Johns, a U.S. submarine sandwich maker, has begun construction on two locations in Winnipeg. The restaurant has not even been in Canada a year. The first location opened in November 2024 in the greater Toronto area. Winnipeg has seen a number of U.S. and international restaurants open in the city in the last few years. There seems an insatiable desire to see even more.

In some ways Winnipeg is fortunate because of its combination of homegrown restaurants as well as international franchises. Salisbury House, Stella's and Pony Coral are all homegrown. We have had many Canadian chains locate in the city as well. It may seem like every day type of things for those in the city but visitors from all over the province marvel at the places they can go to eat such as The Keg or Olive Garden. We take it for granted and pine for what we see south of the border or in larger provinces.

In terms of submarine sandwiches, the only place that served them aside from Italian family restaurants in the 1960s where they went by the name hero or hoagie sandwich. By 1968, Canada had Mr. Submarine and it spread across the country. Today, Winnipeg has only one. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Sub had the market to themselves. The juggernaut of Subway came in 1986 to St. John's Newfoundland and today has 3000 restaurants in Canada today. Quiznos came soon after and in recent years Firehouse. Rumour is Jersey Mike's is coming next.

Jimmy John's has been around in the U.S. since 1983 and has been been on the wish list for some Winnipeggers for years. The St. James locations in a former Urban Barn is just off Ellice. The first Jollibee's in Canada is across from it. The other location being built on Pembina in a closed Macao Imperial Tea location. 

Macao Imperials Tea has one other location still in the city on McPhillips so should be fine. Urban Barn has two other locations in the city and a warehouse just outside the city. Both Canadian stores have locations across the country and seem to be doing fine.

It should be important to note that while Jimmy John's is American, the franchise owner is Canadian and their employees are Canadian and their supplies are Canadian. It is hard to be purist in all things Canadian. For many years Tim Horton's was American owned and even now has shareholders all over. Coffee beans are certainly not Canadian although I don't know too many Canadians about to drop their favourite hot drink.

Jimmy John's will likely be well received when they open and I expect they will emphasize the Canadian aspect of their supply chain. It is something that we are seeing more and more in Canada. It will take a long time for it to ever reach Subway location numbers in Winnipeg. At present there are 73 listed which makes it the most of any Canadian city per capita.

Journalism Support Manitoba 2025

It seems ironic that the Manitoba government would advertise meetings on journalism in the province by buying advertising on social media owned outside of Canada. Not surprisingly, the first meeting had no one attending because they didn't hear. None of the social media is based in Manitoba nor does the ad money spent there stay in Canada. That isn't to say that all aspects of social media are bad but it is often a dumpster fire.  The artificial intelligence is now allowing for racist and abusive material that even freedom if speech supporters must feel queasy about. The outright propaganda from outside the country is very alarming.

Governments have legitimate reasons to advertise. For example, the changes to Winnipeg Transit are being advertised on social media. It is unclear whether this is just a general information release or paid advertising. Certainly the Recycle Everywhere ads are paid advertising when they appear on social media. In fairness though, Recycle Everywhere ads appear to spread out among local media.

Ontario has several initiatives in place to support local journalism and media. It is usually redirecting money from social media that is now owned in Canada to media that actually is owned and covers regional content. It is the money the government already spends but now being spent in Canada. It is not a subsidy.

Freedom of speech has never been to allow crying fire in a crowded movie theatre. In recent weeks the content on TikTok on politics has been awful. I long deleted my Twitter account even before Elon Musk bought it. Even then it was becoming a bit repetitive and less reliable. And sometimes fairly reactionary. I'll admit to sometimes getting into it online but I don't recall ever being outright cruel or piling on someone. I continue to blog and generally the response time for people can be months and years later. I'm okay with that.

It used to be newspapers had a lifespan of a day or two, a week tops before they went in the bottom of the birdcage or out with recycling. However, digitally, a story could be read weeks, months and years later. One doesn't have to wait for it to be available at the public library. But what happens when you local newspaper, radio station, TV station, magazine or other media shuts down with nothing to replace it? Even the archived material on websites aside from the waybackmachine disappear. 

Communities, like Brandon, that continue to grow in Manitoba have lost their TV station, weekly newspaper and lack talk radio. They still have a daily newspaper that has Manitoba ownership. Sadly, many Manitoba communities have lost their only local sources of news, weather and sports. And the only archive of it might be in the local museum if it is in print. 

There is a local news initiative funded by the federal government to assist in salaries for specific regional coverage. Both the Winnipeg Sun and Free Press get this funding.  There is also funding coming from social media giants for content they use from local media. The government has had to push for this because these large companies have been using content without paying for it. 

There are some that are opposed to any government involvement but government has posted ads and notifications in media for decades with no editorial interference. Those have dried up as has private advertising. Large foreign social media hoovers up all that revenue. 

There is a lot the Manitoba government can do to help and much of it is what they did before social media and that is advertise in local radio, TV, newspapers and podcasters. Fortunately, for Manitoba there is a lot of Manitoba-owned media to support. This isn't true all over Canada. The national Post Media group which includes newspapers all over the country is American-owned. Our Winnipeg Sun is Manitoba owned but still gets a lot of content from the American-owned National Post. Something to keep in mind when the Sun asks for CBC to be defunded just so private media owned by Americans can be more profitable and send those profits south of the border.

The ties to the Republican party in the ownership group that has majority shares in the Postmedia group pushes for ever more conservative reporting. And this is the group that pushes for the end of the CBC and is generally closing their own newsrooms each year.

Thankfully, Manitoba still has a locally owned media that the province of Manitoba can support.

Here are the main ways it can support local:

1. Set a fixed amount of government and Crown corporation advertising money that is already being spent on Manitoba-based media. Makes that list of approved media available to to municipalities and private interests.

2. Create a tax credit for those approved media for anyone buying advertising on various platforms. Not sure what sort of cap should be on that spending if any.

3. Supports for changing media to a non-profit where the absence of support may result in the closure of that media. In fact, make it possible to create different types of ownership for media.

The failure to do anything could see more closures. Thompson, for example, has lot both its print papers. Any of the above supports might have helped those paper survive.

Politicians might have a love hate relationship with media but if the local media completely disappears, it can result no local coverage of what is important to the area that supports local business, news, weather and sports. The fact that an all party committee is looking for answers shows that this isn't just a business decision anymore. It is a matter of concern when an area just gets abandoned in favour of companies that are not even Canadian. 

New Portage and Main Plus Area Pictures

 

The Anger of Conservatives in Manitoba

The Conservatives lost the last federal election and the Progressive Conservatives lost the last provincial election in Manitoba. As far as the federal election goes, the Tories were so certain they were going to, they were figuring out the wallpaper in the prime minister's office. After two years of relentless campaigning they almost saw the Liberals win a majority and their own leader lose his seat.

Polling in Manitoba now shows a majority of Conservatives supporting separation. It is a minority position in the overall poll. Some men are so angry and upset that they are all in on western alienation and separation. It is unclear how that translates into a win with a full referendum. It is worth noting that separation parties in the provincial byelections finished third.

There seem to be a lot of conservatives who embrace the 51st state. Certainly there is anger at the election results and in some cases, those that saw their party lost question the electoral system as fixed against them. And by fixed, the suggestion was that Liberals were changing boundaries and stuffing ballots. No amount of evidence could be presented to convince those that believe that. Thankfully, the actual Conservative party didn't make a call to the battlements over losing both the election and the leader's seat. That didn't mean they were happy.

The Liberals are pretty wily. By changing their leader and proroguing Parliament, they changed the calculus. But some of these tactic the Conservatives had done themselves with success. It think what caught Conservatives by surprise is how fast Liberals changes policy platform. Despite calling it cynical and a lie, it ignores how the Liberals have always had right and left components within the party. It is that right that is in power now.

Men are more likely to be separatist than women. And Alberta and Saskatchewan are more likely to have separatist segments of the population than B.C. or Manitoba. In Manitoba it is likely a rural male who thinks on the line of separation. This closely resembles the rest of the west. Those in the city, especially women, are more likely to be in support of a united Canada.

Polls are often snapshots looking backwards. Many conservatives are still stinging from Trudeau and are still stunned the Liberals won with Carney. The popularity if the Liberals and Carney have steadily risen. Even now though some conservatives are mad about Covid, vaccines, the electoral process on a host of issues social and economic. It is unlikely that some on the right will ever forgive the emergency measures. But then again, there is little sympathy from a lot of Canadians who regarded the convoys as being a threat to health and safety.

Carney appears to be managing the premiers fairly well by being open to projects of national importance. Still, Alberta's default position is to criticize the federal government often as a cover for their own performance. Trudeau authorized a full government pipeline that brought more money into Alberta than before and got no credit for it. Harper had no success getting the pipeline through.

Ontario has 15 million people living in the province. Even with the entire western Canada population included, it is smaller than Ontario. For would be separatists it should be obvious that the population of cities in the west outnumbers all of the rural and northern areas. This is important because a lot of separatists are often saying majority rule is unfair. They don't meant the just eastern Canada but cities over rural areas too.

In Manitoba this often mean rural men are angry at people who live in Winnipeg. Does separation mean separating from Winnipeg? These are legitimate questions. If Canada is divisible, does it not mean provinces are as well? And First Nations can easily say they won't separate. Does that mean the province sends the police in? This easily can lead to a civil war.

As mentioned, this is a snapshot on the past months and the present government is not even a year in. Federal-provincial relations seems to be in a much better place than they were a year ago and nation building projects seem to be a focus. Housing and inflation are also on the priority list. All these things combined are likely to take the steam of the separatist agenda.  As this most recent Canada Day has show, the Canadian flag has been reclaimed by those who want a unified Canada. The majority does not want to break up the country.

Changes to the Bus Routes 2025

Winnipeg is not doing anything by half measures in 2025. Today Portage and Main opens up to pedestrian traffic and on Sunday the entire Winnipeg Transit system changes. It is probably fortunate that school ends today and traffic will be cut over the summer during this time because it is likely we are to see adjustments to say the least.

Some bus routes that have been around for decades end on Sunday. Some in River Heights are mourning the loss of one of on Grosvenor and some in Charleswood are grieving some of theirs. There are few neighbourhoods without some big changes coming. The only one with no real changes is Bridgwater as they underwent the change in 2020. Many people will have to get use to transfers in other parts of the city as well as longer walks.

Winnipeg Transit will have guides out Monday but it will still come as a shock for some that the bus doesn't come down their street anymore. Or that the bus stop on their streets are far away. Literally a thousand bus stops have closed.  Some people moved to certain areas because of bus routes so to have one disappear must be depressing.

One major change is that Graham Avenue will no longer be a bus corridor. The goal is to change the street to pedestrian and bike path but how fast this occurs will be important. If on Monday, the buses just stop coming down that way and people leave, it could end up being degraded and a security threat. Worst case scenario is seeing businesses close if they don't get something in place right away. Or for arsons to take any empty buildings there as we have seen on Main Street.

There is a lot of building that will be coming on stream downtown in 2026 so how Winnipeg Transit works with this will be important. It shouldn't for forgotten how the industrial parks, residential areas and hospitals are served as well. Expect their to be some confusion and possibly complaints. And if security for those waiting at transfers isn't addressed, it could downright ugly.

Applebee's and IHOP Combine on Regent

The first Applebee's in Canada was built in 1994 on Pembina Highway. The restaurant was first started in Illinois in 1980 and continues to operate in around the world. It is part of the same company that owns International House of Pancakes IHOP which has been in Manitoba this last few years at Seasons Tuxedo. There have been quite a few restaurant chains in North America that have struggled.

That is not to say that they have struggled in Canada or for that matter in Winnipeg. Red Lobster and Olive Garden do very well in Winnipeg based on location and the fact that there are not dozens of them in Winnipeg. In fact, there is only one Red Lobster left in the city and two Olive Gardens. And so it is with Applebee's. There are two left in areas where their location has lent to their success.

The two Applebee's are at the Grant Park Mall and near the Kildonan Place. The one at Grant Park benefits from a dearth of restaurants in the River Heights area and the the move theatre and book store in the mall. The one in Transcona benefits from the huge amount of traffic along Regent. Could the city support more Applebee's? Possibly. But location is very important. Pembina Highway has had some of the biggest restaurant groups in Canada on it. The Keg, Earls, Swiss Chalet. All of them have closed because traffic, parking and customer base did not match what these popular places needed to continue.

International House of Pancake IHOP came to Seasons Tuxedo in 2017. Until that time, Winnipeg has been home to its own Pancake House for decades and still is. The Tuxedo development has continued for 13 years building up and has seen many new shops and restaurants. However, not to be outdone Kildonan Place and Regent have had their fair share of new and different places compared to other parts of the city.

To that end, the Applebee's location on Reenders Drive by the mall will be converted to Canada's first Applebee's/IHOP location. The new concept is to ensure longer hours for the restaurant with the ever popular breakfast menu. Whereas an IHOP alone might not have the later day crowd of an Applebee's.

The concept started in Texas in March and Winnipeg will be its first Canadian unveiling. It isn't the first time we have seen combos in Canada. When Wendy's owned Tim Horton's, there were some shared sites like on Kenaston. That one still exists even though it is Burger King and Tim Horton's that are part of the same company now. Taco Bell and KFC are frequent partners as they are owed together.

There will be many eyes on this combo to see if it works. But it certainly should see an expansion of hours for this Transcona location and a menu that appeals to those who may want ribs and pancakes.

The Return of Arby's 2025

When Arby's closed their Winnipeg locations it was heartbreaking for some of their fans. Covid closures took out the last location at Kildonan Mall. We weren't alone in closures. Arby's closed everything in Toronto. Mexico lost all their Arby's years ago and is only now getting them back. Suffice to say that there are huge fans of Arby's in Canada and beyond. 

The restaurant has been open three months now at Season Tuxedo and show no sign of slowing down. Spokesmen for Arby's suggested there were more locations coming. There are still holes to fill along major commercial streets in Winnipeg and around malls. Polo Park comes to mind. Around Kildonan as well.

We'll never see a Hardee's in Canada because the courts have ruled it is too close to Harvey's in name. Hardee's is a competitor in the roast beef sandwiches for Arby's but will never come to the country so long as Harvey's exists. There are a few roast beef places such as Carl Jr's across the land, the nearest being in Regina, but for the time being Arby's it is.

It is hard to find any oxygen when McDonald's has 41 locations alone in Winnipeg. By comparison, there are 14 Burger King's in Winnipeg. If it is any consolation Toronto only has 13. Either way you slice it, it makes for a lot of burger joint. It could be one of the most common foods at restaurants. And yes, that is over chicken and pizza places as well.

It is very likely we will be seeing more diverse restaurants and drive-thrus coming. Certainly there will more Arby's coming to Winnipeg.

 

Portage and Main Re-Opening

In 1979 the most famous corner in Canada was blocked off and went underground. At the time there was about 3000 to 4000 people who worked within a block of the intersection. At every light cycle there were hundreds of people crossing and buses galore discharging riders. Some called it the windiest corner in Canada and they weren't wrong. In the dead of winter, you went out sans your coat at your peril.

The Trizec project of the city demolishing and putting up a massive parkade in support of a private 32 story tower changed everything. The city, cognizant of other cities like Montreal, Toronto and Minneapolis believed that skywalks and underground pathways were the favoured choice for cold weather cities. Some resented being forced downstairs to get across but there was wide acceptance of the development as it also came with a mall in Winnipeg Square.

The plebiscite on re-opening Portage and Main was defeated 2-1 in 2018. However, the issues of what to do about the crumbling infrastructure was never really addressed. For many it seemed like there was no need to do anything despite the fact that water had been leaking for sometime. Eventually, a report came out that fixing the Concourse was likely to be in the $70 Plus millions and involve road closures that could be lengthy.

Some disputed the price or the length of time it would take. The argument from many was that opening the corner would be dangerous and traffic would be a nightmare for the entire downtown as a result. It could get pretty busy back in 1975 at the corner. There were several grain handling companies along Main that seemed to have 500 employees each in their head offices. Truly. The Manitoba Wheat Pool, United Grain Growers, the Canadian Wheat Board and so on.

In the 1970s every major Canadian bank had a regional vice-president based in the city and Portage and Main was filled with banking, insurance and trust companies. The Richardson Building was the only tower on the corner and this had the new Unicity city council looking at proposals for projects all the over the place. One of them came from the Trizec corporation for a development on the southwest corner of Portage and Main.

The city demolished the five buildings already there, built a massive three deck parkade and it still took Trizec till 1978 to built the 32 floor office tower above. Just in time for the worst recession Manitoba had faced since the Great Depression. The year 1980 was as brutal a crash Winnipeg had seen in decades. The Trizec building had dark floors for years after it was built.

As for the Concourse, it largely served its purpose of moving people from corner to corner. Newcomers were often confused but those that worked in the area became familiar with it found it useful, especially to get to Winnipeg Square for restaurants and food court as well as shopping and services. As the Trizec building slowly filled in in the 1980s, Portage and Main adapted to the Concourse that connected it all. Thankfully, the security was such that it was never out of control there insofar as attacks, retail thefts and panhandling. It was the above ground entrances that could be problems. The concrete barricades prevented anyone from seeing someone being assaulted. The stairs to the underground also were places people used to go to the washroom or sleep. This didn't happen right away but over time.

Following the pandemic, the report on how much it would cost to rehabilitate the Concourse shook the Council. While there was some dispute about how much repairs might cost, it was evident that it was not going to be something like the Civic Parkade that you could keep putting up with until an engineer put up a permanent ban of vehicles lest the whole thing collapse. This is standard procedure with the city to let facilities and infrastructure deteriorate until they close. 

In recent weeks Winnipeg has seen indoor swimming pools close all over because they have been neglected to the point of failure. New road construction is the top of every agenda while road repairs sink lower. Begging happens every week with the city asking for more more money for things like the sewage plant while directing millions to new roads. The density has dropped in much of the city while the sprawl has expanded. Speed on the roads to get people out of the city has been a priority and various neighbourhoods suffer as people stream down residential areas above posted limits.

With the barricades now removed, Portage and Main looked nearly naked now. Work continues to pave roads and put up traffic lights.  The opening date still seems to be June 27, 2025. The total costs is just under $22 million to open the road up. It is unclear if the Concourse will require any work to protect it from collapsing.

The four privately owned four corners of Portage and Main have invested a fair amount over the last five years. The Richardson family have done quite a bit to improve the square around their buildings. They have some of the most impressive public art in the province. The who square has received and upgrade and the Fairmont Hotel has been re-purchased by the family and is going through a multimillion renovation.

All of this will coincide with changes to bus routes, the Graham transit corridor and constructions season. Fortunately, the summer break for students will underway so we won't have to bear the full force of rush hour for two months. The bus route changes will cause a lot of confusion. Some stops will be further away. Others are being moved so that merchants lose their street parking. Expect a lot of confusion and criticism during this process.

To that end, how many buses going through Portage and Main will be a challenge. In the 1970s, it was a major bus intersection and the source of complaints. It was also filled with pedestrians at every light cycle. There have always been complaints about people on the roads. Many would like to be able to drive at high speed until they arrive in their own neighbourhood which should be reduced to 30 kms.

It should be noted that Winnipeg now has wider and busier intersections. Kenaston and Sterling Lyon is very busy with up to three lanes turning one way and two lanes turning the other way. They manage this without forcing people under or over the road. Now, some might argue that the bikes and cars are a lot fewer and this might be true but that crossroads appears to be fairly easy to navigate for everyone.

The last item is panhandling. It is unlikely that it will be safe under any circumstances people in the middle of the intersection here. Police and social services will also have to make sure that the site doesn't become an encampment. Around Higgins it just continues to grow. Encampment comes down and is cleaned up and a new one goes up the next day. Transitional housing is coming but it is slow in getting funding, slow in getting built and with demand growing all the time. Compound that with mental health issues and chronic drug use.

It is too early to say good or bad things about the opening. Private business has done a lot to make the corner more inviting and likely will continue to. The new Metis Museum at the Bank of Montreal building could come to be a tourist attraction bringing people to the corner. The two steakhouses on the corner may get more foot traffic. In fact foot traffic might be a thing again.

No one is expecting this to revive retail. Some business like news stands have just stopped being a thing. There are some empty storefronts and it will be curious if landlords are interested in making deals or just leaving spots empty. There could real opportunities for pop-up stores, tiny restaurants and on the corner itself food carts. If Broadway is able to do that year round, why not Portage and Main?

We'll have to see how things go but the truth is Portage and Main is wide enough for people and cars. It remains to be seen how it all flows together. I think perhaps the group that will most have concerns are people on bikes who likely wanted dedicated lanes on Main, Portage and navigating the intersection. It is possible that Graham Avenue might be a more attractive option since with have four blocks on only bike and pedestrians.