Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum — Attraction in Winnipeg

I went to the St Boniface museum on a Thursday when the entrance and tours were free. When I got there and asked about the free tour, I was told that there wasn’t going to be one because there wasn’t enough people. Literally only me. It made sense at the time because, of course, I didn’t want to put them to any trouble. So I wandered around with one of the fellows, just pointing out the different rooms and what were in there but no detailed information. I went away underwhelmed and later decided that I would contact the museum and ask why they wouldn’t give a tour even if it was just for one person because one person or 10 people what’s the difference?

I received an immediate response, and was told that I should have been given a tour and that,” anytime I would like”, I would get free entry and a tour. Thank you Loik !

Well, I’ve had a tour of both the graveyard and the museum and I can tell you it was incredibly informative and very satisfying. The information imparted I had no clue about. Yes, there’s a lot about Louis Riel, because he is buried there, but there’s also a lot about the history of St Boniface and Winnipeg in general. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone who might go, but a couple nuggets of information that I learned kind of blew me away. First of all, I found out that a cross is only a crucifix if it has Jesus on it. Otherwise, it’s just a cross. And on the cemetery grounds a life sized crucifix just outside of the old cathedral faces the cathedral, when normally, it should be facing out from the graveyard. Apparently, this is to protect the cathedral, which has burned down three or four times now.

It was totally fascinating to hear about the original inhabitants of this area and the Europeans effect on them and how the newly formed Manitoba government try to negotiate with the Canadian government to become Manitoba. And lots and lots and lots of details in between.

If you are at all into museums, and how the local history formed what is now the modern era, this is a must visit museum and the tour makes all the difference!

I highly recommend attending the St...

I'm a Métis visitor from Calgary and this is my first time in Winnipeg. We came for a conference, not for sight seeing, but this museum was on my list of must see things. We only had time to come today, which was our last day in Winnipeg, but by the time we arrived the exhibit was closed. We were so lucky to have found Chloe, as she agreed to let us in to see the artifacts and then browse her gift shop, even though she had other places to be. She went above and beyond to make sure we were able to see the important pieces of our culture, and it meant a lot to us that she was willing to dedicate her own time. She did not even try to rush us, but gave us ample time with the Louis Riel collection and the gift shop. While the collection may be smaller than the original museum, we must preserve our artifacts as much as we can, and sometimes that means they will not be available for public viewing. It just means that we will have to book another trip to Winnipeg, particularly to Saint Boniface, to do further sight seeing of Métis culture. I cannot thank Chloe and the Saint Boniface Museum team enough for what they did for us today.

Ps. The shop cat was a bonus, I am missing my cat at home and Dory (spelling?) provided me with a great joy that I've been missing...

I visited this great museum for the first time in July 2022 and was amazed by its rich history. Emily (Museum Curator) walked us through an important piece of Manitoba history. This building is the first hospital built in Western Canada by the grey nuns. It is the oldest standing wooden structure in North America. It served the needs of Manitobans who were ill and was the foundation of educating future nurses. And finally, the reason for visiting are the artifacts of Metis Louis Riel. Those I will leave as a surprise in this write-up. A great honorable mention to those who preserved this astounding part of Manitoba (and Canada's) history and hope everyone gets a chance to visit the St. Boniface Museum. The entry is free so please make a worthwhile donation to keep the piece of Manitoba history standing for the...