Winnipeg | Downtown Developments & Discussions

[trueviking]

I really hope the MMF doesn’t buy the Fort Garry.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I didn’t even know there was a Yuk Yuk’s in Winnipeg.

I’m not sure I’d blame downtown foot traffic. Do people really just wander by and decide to go to a comedy club?

I enjoyed the few times i went, they did a really poor job promoting the club over the few short years it was there.

Yuk Yuk's was located in The Club Room (on the lower level / basement) of the Fort Garry Hotel.

[WayneShuster]

I think Yuk Yuks would have done better if they were located in a place like OV or the Exchange, more prominent areas with likely higher foot traffic.

Blaming downtown for their failure is a complete cop-out.

[trueviking]

I remember it being on Osborne as a kid. I think in the building that had urban outfitters and is now a gym.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I didn’t even know there was a Yuk Yuk’s in Winnipeg.

I’m not sure I’d blame downtown foot traffic. Do people really just wander by and decide to go to a comedy club?

It was there for 3 years and moderately advertised.
Ida did not want to renew.
Yes, People usually know ahead where they want to see a comic in a show.

[Wpg_Guy]

Métis federation opens Louis Riel College campus
Tyler Searle
Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2026


From left: MMF Community Resource and Accessibility Minister Andrew Carrier, Manitoba Education Minister Renée Cable, MMF Education Minister JoAnne Remillard, MMF Minister of Sports and Youth Richard Genaille and Louis Riel College director Sharon Varga cut the ribbon on the school’s new campus at 200 Main St. on Wednesday. (Tyler Searle / Free Press)

Thirteen years after establishing the Louis Riel College, the Manitoba Métis Federation opened the doors to the school’s first official campus on Wednesday — cutting the ribbon on what it hopes will become a thriving centre for Métis education in Winnipeg.

The campus, which occupies a handful of rooms on the ground floor of the MMF’s building at 200 Main St., primarily offers courses related to health care and Indigenous-focused early childhood education, but will expand its slate of training options, said JoAnne Remillard, the federation’s education minister.

“This new campus represents opportunity, education and a commitment to creating pathways for students to achieve their goals and build successful futures,” she said.

“Everyone is excited about this.”

Following its launch in 2013, Louis Riel College has offered diploma programs through a mix of remote and hybrid learning. They include health-care aid, medical office assistant, early childhood educator, educational assistant, business accountant and employment counsellor.

Each course includes a Métis culture and history component, but the college is open to people of all backgrounds.

The new campus allows the college to have a dedicated, in-person training space that Remillard hopes will one day house all of those programs and more, she said.

“That’s my dream.”

The federation announced it had purchased the seven-storey building, which had belonged to the Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co., in September 2023. It is now occupied by a variety of MMF staff, offices and programs.

While Wednesday marked the official opening of the college campus, some students began using the building in March, Remillard said.

Gerry Desjardins, a first aid instructor, said his classes typically range from 10 to 18 people and span from a few hours to three weeks of training.

In addition to basic, intermediate and advanced first aid, Desjardins’ courses include introduction to emergency management, basic search and rescue procedures and fire warden training.

“All my training is hands-on and practical,” the instructor said. “If you leave my class and you have to stop at a car crash, you’re not going to panic. You’re going to be in control.”

Some graduates pursue jobs or further education in wildland firefighting, as first responders or in paramedicine, he said.

Manitoba Education Minister Renée Cable, who is Métis, said she hopes the campus becomes a place where her culture is shared and celebrated by all students.

“I am so excited for the injection of sense of self, sense of worthiness and power and connectedness that comes from being in a space that is for us,” Cable said.

The federation is working with the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Manitoba to develop an Indigenous-focused practical nursing diploma program to be offered at Louis Riel College.

Earlier this month, MMF president David Chartrand announced the purchase of the former National Research Council property on Ellice Avenue. The laboratory building, which includes more than 70 labs, will be repurposed for nurse training and Métis-led research initiatives, he said at the time.


Louis Riel College first aid instructor Gerry Desjardins demonstrates how to apply an oxygen mask to a practice dummy during the official opening of the school’s 200 Main St. campus on Wednesday. (Tyler Searle / Free Press).

Winnipeg Free Press

[Wpg_Guy]

Giant Tiger will be closing its Donald & Ellice store on November 7.

It’s nearly impossible to run a business on such thin profit margins in an environment of sanctioned and unrelenting theft.

[Sheepish]

The Winnipeg Jazz Festival uses that space as a regularl venue for club concerts throughout the year.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Too bad its going from a beautiful heritage building across from a beautiful hotel to a bland, drab building across from...a parking lot?

I think the franchise owner hopes that being nearer to the Canada Life Center will draw in more business on event nights.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Giant Tiger will be closing its Donald & Ellice store on November 7.

It’s nearly impossible to run a business on such thin profit margins in an environment of sanctioned and unrelenting theft.

I'm not sure what could go in there now. Retail theft for places like Giant tiger and Dollarama are a real and ongoing problem.

On a personal note I miss the days when the huge tiger on their sign appeared to be leering across the street at the window display of the sexy lingerie shop that used to be there.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Giant Tiger will be closing its Donald & Ellice store on November 7.

It’s nearly impossible to run a business on such thin profit margins in an environment of sanctioned and unrelenting theft.

Agreed, I always wondered how it was able to survive.


Could this be an opportunity to redevelop the whole site? Demolish Giant Tiger and Enterprise and build multi-family attached to the theater maybe?

[trueviking]

Oh that sucks. That’s a vital amenity for people who live in the exchange district.

[Wpg_Guy]

IG Wealth Management’s Portage Avenue building to be sold
Gabrielle Piché
Thursday, Jul. 30, 2026


IG Wealth Management is relocating its headquarters from 447 Portage Ave. (above) to 360 Main St. and putting its Portage Avenue building up for sale. (Brook Jones / Free Press)

The downtown IG Wealth Management building, across from the former Hudson’s Bay, will soon be up for sale.

IG Wealth Management is moving its headquarters after nearly 40 years at 447 Portage Ave.

By current timelines, staff will move into a newer downtown tower — 360 Main St. — in 2028.

Roughly 1,100 employees will make the transition, according to Nancy McCuaig, the executive vice-president of IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management’s parent company.

“We’re just starting the floor planning process as we speak,” McCuaig said Wednesday.

IG Wealth Management is renovating six floors in 360 Main St., a 30-storey tower housing law and accounting firms.

It’ll also lease a conference and event space at neighbouring tower 300 Main St., which holds apartments and an Earls.

IGM estimates it’ll take two years to redesign the downtown space, hence the delayed move, McCuaig said.

Meantime, the 19-storey Portage Avenue structure could be listed this fall. A price is being determined, McCuaig said. “We’ll sell the building for the best price and the best outcome,” she added.

The building — called One Canada Centre — was built for Investors Group in 1987. Construction cost $37.8 million, according to the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.

The building’s city-assessed value is now $55.2 million.

It’s the only facility IG Wealth Management owns, McCuaig noted.

“Building ownership is not really a core competency (of ours),” she said. “Where we want to differentiate and excel as an organization, it’s servicing our clients.”

IG Wealth Management has approximately one million clients and, as of June 30, some $176 billion in assets under advisement.

Its leadership has been considering a move for years. The time felt right, McCuaig said: space became available in Winnipeg’s “financial district” and IG Wealth Management is marking its 100th anniversary.

“It’s a great signal to the next period of our growth,” she said.

IG Wealth Management made headlines last month for announcing a restructuring as it increases artificial intelligence use. A second quarter $95-million charge on its books includes severance payments.

The restructuring and the move are not related, McCuaig said.

She’s anticipating renovations on Main Street to be financially “substantial,” costing multi-millions of dollars. A final cost hasn’t been set because of the ongoing design process, she said.

IG Wealth Management is downsizing. Its workers are hybrid; the company doesn’t need all its current space, McCuaig said.

“This is… about creating the kind of space that we really need now,” McCuaig said, adding the Main Street locale will include more collaboration zones.

“We wanted to absolutely make sure that this was good for our employees (and) reflected our continued commitment to Winnipeg and Winnipeg’s downtown.”

Four of the six floors IG Wealth Management will occupy were vacant, while the latter two had been used by a law firm, according to an IGM spokesperson.

RFA Asset Management, the property manager of 360 Main St., wasn’t available for an interview by end of day Wednesday.

Artis Real Estate Investment Trust, the tower’s former owner, merged with RFA Capital Inc. last February to make RFA Financial. RFA Asset Management is a branch of the new company.

Relocation decisions such as IG Wealth Management’s are made “carefully and with a long-term perspective,” Kim Riley, president of RFA Asset Management, wrote in a statement.

“The significance of this lease extends beyond the building itself. Bringing hundreds of employees to the heart of the city will drive activity for nearby retailers, restaurants, and businesses,” Riley’s statement says.

Employees from Mackenzie Investments, an IG Wealth Management sister company, will be part of the move.

Winnipeg Free Press

[Biff]

The IG building was the building that was supposed to get the facade replacement a year or so ago. This was obviously the reason it did not proceed with the renovation.

[trueviking]

it sucks that a company as big as Investors Group will be an anonymous tenant in an office building. They should be a landmark.

This was the building that was looking at a compete exterior reclad. I guess we now know why they stopped.

[trueviking]

also sucks about the Keg. That was my favourite restaurant in the city. the new one will have all the charm of a perkins.

[bomberjet]

Wow sure a lot of sad stories in this thread over the last day or so.. Hopefully the sad stories are also the new beginnings downtown needs.

[WinCitySparky]

Everything changes eventually

[cheswick]

Re: IG Wealth relocation. They'll be getting their logo placed on 300 Main st tower.




Also, I;m guessing there's a snowball chance in hell I get to keep a personal office. Assuming I work in that building.

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

IG Wealth Management is downsizing. Its workers are hybrid; the company doesn’t need all its current space, McCuaig said.[/URL]

So is it just lowly city employees we are going to beat up on and force into the office or do we expect the same from their private-sector counterparts who are better-paid and have more disposable income to spend on lunch? Many people are still hybrid at their sister Canada Life and from what I hear still very common throughout banking and insurance. These are the people who should be supporting downtown businesses. City clerks making modest wages aren’t exactly a cash cow.