Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn transformation of former Winnipeg Bay building gets another $31M from feds

The redevelopment of the former Bay building in downtown Winnipeg is getting a $31-million boost from the federal government on top of the $65 million Ottawa has already committed.

Dan Vandal, the federal minister responsible forPrairies Economic Development Canada and a former City of Winnipeg councillor, called the money acommitment to advancing economic reconciliation while helping torevitalize downtown.

"Our government is absolutely committed to the downtown. We know that cities are judged by downtownsand we know that downtown housing is absolutely critical to a safer, more vibrant Winnipeg," the St.Boniface-St. Vital member of Parliamentsaid at a Friday news conferenceinside the shell of the former retail building.

"We also know that Winnipeg is Canada's most vital city when we talk about reconciliation. I often say Winnipeg is the Indigenous capital of Canada," said Vandal, who is Mtis.

The Southern Chiefs' Organization,which represents34 Anishinaabe and Dakota First Nations in southern Manitoba, acquired the former Hudson's Bay Co.building in 2022. The SCO is in the midst ofremakingthesix-storey, 655,000-square-foot landmark at the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevardinto a development calledWehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn "It is visible" in Anishinaabemowin.

"Today's a good day," saidSCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, who called the funding "asignificant step" in the reconciliation journey.

The plan calls for the buildingto become a housing, culturaland service hub,with350 affordable housing units, an HBC museum,two restaurants,an art gallery, office space for Indigenous entrepreneurs, a health centre, a child-care facility, a seniors' centre, a new seat of government for the SCO and a memorial for residential school victims and survivors.

Daniels said roughly 8,000 hours of work hasbeen done and 90 per cent of the people working there have been First Nations. But it is a massive project that is still in the remediation phase.

He is optimistic about a "soft opening" of at least parts of the project in 2026 the 100th anniversary of the building.

Vandal said Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn"will stand as an example for the entire country."

"People who come here will be able to see reconciliation in action," he said."Projects like this serve as beacons of hope, guiding us towards a future destined by unity and prosperity for everyone."

The 2021 census saysthere were 102,080 Indigenous people living in Winnipeg in that year. Approximately 45,000 are First Nations citizens of SCO member nations, the federal government said in a news release announcing the funding.

The Hudson's Bay Co.vacated the downtown spaceon Nov. 30, 2020,and it sat empty until the redevelopment plan was announced in April 2022. The cost was initially estimated at $130 million, which wasupped in December 2023 to $200 million.

The Manitoba government committed$35million at the initial announcement in 2022, while the federal government promised $65 million (a $55-million forgivable loan and a$10-million low-cost loan) at that point. The City of Winnipeg has offered $10 million worth of tax breaks over 25 years.

Across the street from WehwehnehBahgahkinahgohn, the SCO plans to work withTrue North Real Estate Development,the real estate arm of the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets, to redevelop thePortage Placemall.

The plan is to turn it into a complex that includes ahealth-care tower, residential housing, community centres, offices for community organizations,retail space and food services.

In December, SCOandTrue North signed a memorandum of understanding to work collaboratively on the Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn and Portage Placeprojects, with a single contractor, PCL,handlingmanagement and construction of both.

The two organizations have agreed to jointly build a residential tower on the east end of Portage Place, whileTrue North has soldthe skywalklinking Portage Place and WehwehnehBahgahkinahgohn to SCO for $1.

Bernadette Smith, Manitoba's minister of housing, addictions and homelessness, called the combination of the projects "a profound reimagining of Winnipeg's downtown at a time when it is crucially needed."

"The social housing that will be created here, I can already envision it. This will change so many lives," she said, with $10 million of the provincialfunding earmarked for thatcomponent.

"The community that will be created in this very building will help to unify and bring back families, help to educate, create employment opportunities and all steps needed so residents can live their full lives.I really see the vibrancy that's going to come back downtown by what's going to be in this place."

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillinghamreferred to the Bay building and the intersection of Portage and Main Street as the western and eastern gates of the city's downtown, respectively.

In two former symbols of colonialism,Indigenous governance now stands, or soon will.The Manitoba Mtis Federation is turning the former Bank of Montreal landmark at Portage and Main into the Mtis Nation Heritage Centre, as the SCO takes up residence at Portage and Memorial.

"I think that's really, really significant and very exciting," Gillingham said.

The MMF announcement came in 2020, on the province's 150th birthday, while this year marks Winnipeg's 150th, Gillinghamsaid.