On September 27, 1997 the federal Minister of Canadian Heritage declared the original core of the city of Winnipeg, the Exchange District, a National Historic Site. On this date, the Exchange District, a twenty city block area composed of approximately 150 heritage buildings, joined the ranks of a handful of other urban areas which have also received this distinction.

The District contains a range of architecturally significant resources that speak to the city’s key economic role in the west and the collective character of these built resources is distinctive and relatively intact. The BIZ offers guided walking tours from June 1 through Labour Day which tell the stories of Winnipeg’s early boom years and their resulting legacy. For more information click here.

The importance of the area can also be expanded to include the city’s role with respect to architecture, grain trade, civic development and labour. While national designation of the Exchange District offers no legal protection of the built resources and cultural landscape, it is an honour that can be used as a conservation tool.

Visit the monument commemorating the Exchange District’s designation as a National Historic Site at the corner of Bannatyne and King in Old Market Square.

The area is designated an historic district of national significance because it illustrates the city’s key role as a centre of grain and wholesale trade, finance and manufacturing in two historically important periods in western development - between 1880 and 1900 when Winnipeg became the gateway to Canada’s West, and between 1900 and 1913, when the city’s growth made it the region’s metropolis.