St. Boniface Museum, Winnipeg’s oldest building, gets funding boost for renovation

February 25, 2025 Canuck

A major renovation to Winnipeg’s oldest building is getting a nearly $2-million boost from the federal government with hopes the doors to the St. Boniface Museum will reopen by 2026, in time for the 175th anniversary.

The museum, which has operated in the former Grey Nuns convent and mission house on Tache Avenue since 1967, closed its doors in June 2024 for the $4-million undertaking.

In the meantime, it is running a gift shop and Louis Riel-related exhibit inside the old St. Boniface City Hall at 219 Provencher Blvd.

The renovation project involves strengthening the roof structure, upgrading energy systems, including a new HVAC system, restoring windows, replacing damaged exterior finishes, refurbishing the lobby and reception area, resurfacing the floor, and building an accessibility ramp, said a news release from the government of Canada, which has committed $1,916,573 to the work.

This is the first major infrastructure project since 1991 at the museum, which is the largest oak log structure in North America. The City of Winnipeg has pledged $300,000 toward the project.

Black and white photo, looking across a river, shows five buildings on the opposite bank. — The Grey Nuns convent (far right) can be seen in this photo of St. Boniface, taken in 1872 from the west side of the Red River. The cathedral (centre) was torn down in 1909 and replaced with the one whose stone façade stands there today. (City of Winnipeg Archives)

The renovation will create “a more functional, welcoming and accessible space for staff and visitors. It will also ensure the ongoing preservation and protection of the museum’s extensive collection of historic francophone and Métis artifacts,” the news release says.

Construction of the building began in 1846 and was completed in 1851, almost two decades before Manitoba became a province.

In addition to being a nunnery, the building has also served as an orphanage, a school, a seniors’ home and the first location of the St. Boniface Hospital.

As a museum, it is home to 30,000 artifacts, many connected to Métis leader Louis Riel, including strands of rope said to have been used in his 1885 hanging and the coffin that carried Riel from Regina to St. Boniface. Although Riel was hanged for treason, he is now recognized as the founder of Manitoba.

A large bell hangs from a beam — The 100-pound bell commissioned by Lord Selkirk is stamped with 1819, the year it was moulded and transported across the ocean to be installed in the mission that later became St. Boniface Cathedral. (Darren Bernhardt/CBC)

It also houses the first bell to ring in the Red River settlement, a 100-pound chime that was commissioned by Lord Selkirk and cast by the same foundry in London, England, that cast Big Ben.

It is stamped with 1819, the year it was molded and transported across the ocean to be installed in the first mission that would later become St. Boniface Cathedral.

The project will create a more functional, welcoming and accessible space for staff and visitors. It will also ensure the ongoing preservation and protection of the museum’s extensive collection of historic Francophone and Métis artifacts.

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