The Forks (; , often rendered as "Nestawaya") is a historic site, meeting place, and green space in downtown Winnipeg located at the confluence of the Red River and the Assiniboine River.
The Forks was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974 due to its status as a cultural landscape that had borne witness to six thousand years of human activity. The site's grounds are open year-round.
Name The first attestation of the French form of the name known to Elliott Coues was in the writing of the Vérendrye brothers, who in 1738 wrote of "La Fourche des Assiliboiles". According to Coues, the name "the Forks" had become established in English by the end of the eighteenth century. The place-name arises from the largely North American usage of the noun fork to mean "the point at which a river divides into two, or the point of junction of two rivers; a branch or tributary".“Fork, N., Sense II.12.c.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1012956131. According to Geographical Names of Manitoba, "the plural form is used because two rivers [...] merge here. If a single river splits into two branches, the singular 'fork' is more properly used".
History
Pre-colonial era
Numerous archaeological digs have shown that early Indigenous groups arrived at The Forks site around 6,000 years ago. The digs conducted between 1989 and 1994 discovered several Indigenous camps. Artifacts related to the bison hunt and fishing were unearthed. Evidence showed that Nakoda (Assiniboins), Cree, Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) and Sioux (Dakota) visited the site. Seasonal migration routes from northern forests to southern plains featured the Forks area as a rest stop, and the location became a key transcontinental trade link.
The Assiniboine River has followed its modern course for approximately 700 years. The Assiniboine River formerly met the Red River near the present-day mouth of the La Salle River.
1734–1880
European fur traders arrived at the site and initiated trade with the local peoples, using the Assiniboine people as fur trade middlemen.
Europeans arrived by canoe in 1738. La Vérendrye erected Fort Rouge, the first of a long line of forts and trading posts erected in the area. The Red River Colony and the forts were all established near The Forks. The area remained the hub of the fur trade up until the 1880s. At that time, grain production became Western Canada's principal industry and the main transportation for that industry was rail rather than waterways.
From 1760 to 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and North West Company competed for furs. Both companies used The Forks to store and ship supplies and furs. By 1821, competing fur companies were amalgamated into the HBC.
1886–1923
The rail yards of the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway Company, the Canadian Northern, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad, and the Canadian National Railway were dominant facets of the Forks site, and this era is responsible for some of the buildings still standing at The Forks.
The Forks Market was formed by joining the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway stable and the Great Northern Railway stable. What is now the Johnston Terminal was originally known as the National Cartage Building.
The Manitoba Children's Museum is housed in what used to be the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway Company's Buildings and Bridges (B & B) Buildings. Union Station is still in operation.
Across the Prairies, the Canadian government began actively promoting immigration, settlement, and railway development in the late 1800s. The Canadian government erected two immigration sheds at The Forks, each accommodating up to 500 people.
The Forks today
On July 24, 1987, the Forks Renewal Corporation (FRC) was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the North Portage Development Corporation (NPDC). The objective of FRC was to provide a mechanism for implementing the redevelopment of the former CN East Yards area. The result was The Forks as its known today. (The operations of FRC and NPDC were merged in 1994 to form The Forks North Portage Partnership.)
Following the opening of the Forks National Historic Site in 1989, the Forks became the location of an interpretive park, and later public space for celebrations and recreation, revitalized historic and new buildings containing shops and restaurants, as well as a skateboard park and historic port. The Forks attracts over four million visitors each year.
Facilities
The Forks Market
Beginning as two adjacent stables for competing rail companies (Grand Trunk Pacific and Great Northern), the horse stalls were joined by a courtyard and bridges, and became what is now known as The Forks Market.
The Forks Market features a six-storey tower with viewing platform, which is accessible by stairs or elevator and features interpretive panels with information on the site's history.
The market also comprises two storeys of vendors selling everything from fresh fruit, bread, meat, and wine to cigars and aromatherapy products to crafts and artworks from 300 local and Canadian artisans.
In mid-2016, the Forks completed a $2.5-million renovation of the food hall into a feature called The Common, including a new beer and wine kiosk.
Outside, located directly in between The Forks Market and Johnston Terminal, The Forks Market Plaza features fountains, canopies, dancing programs, several open performance spaces and patios. In the winter, the Plaza is home to an artificially cooled skating rink, under a canopy and lights.
Johnston Terminal
Across the courtyard from the Forks Market is the four-storey Johnston Terminal building.
It was constructed in 1928 by Carter-Halls-Aldinger Company, and cost an estimated $134,700. Originally named the National Cartage Building, it was built as a warehouse and freight-forwarding facility for the Canadian National Railway (CNR).
After a substantial addition in 1930, the warehouse was at the time one of the largest in Winnipeg, containing over of usable space. It was occupied by National Storage and Cartage, a wholly owned CNR subsidiary, until 1961, and was leased to the Johnston National Cartage Company (later known as the Johnston Terminals Company) for the next 15 years.
Vacated in 1977, the building was unoccupied until the redevelopment of the site into The Forks as a retail space. The developers, Artis REIT, continue to own and manage Johnston Terminal.
The building is now a municipally designated historic site, and is now home to a variety of specialty boutiques, stores, offices, and restaurants. The main and second floor tenants are retailers, including The Old Spaghetti Factory; while the third and fourth floors are leased to office tenants. The basement of the building hosts the Johnston Terminal Antique Mall, which has more than 30 consigners and of new merchandise brought in daily.
Travel Manitoba Visitor Information Centre Travel Manitoba Visitor Information Centre is the visitor information centre for Manitoba, offering travel counselling and trip planning services. The centre also acts as a meeting point for the "6,000 Years in 60 Minutes!" Parks Canada interpretive program offered throughout the summer months.
Manitoba Children's Museum
Located next to the Oodena Celebration Circle, the Manitoba Children's Museum is a non-profit, charitable children's museum featuring twelve permanent galleries. Originally opened at a different location in 1986, the museum's moved to its current building at the Forks in 1994. The museum is now housed in the former Kinsmen Building, which is the oldest surviving train repair facility in Manitoba, having been built in 1889.
The museum underwent $10 million in renovations in 2011, including the addition of the Buhler Welcome Centre.
Shaw Performing Arts Center
The Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) is a theatre for children and young adults, located at the Canwest Performing Arts Centre (now the Shaw Performing Arts Center) in The Forks. The location provides of space for the theatre to use towards its missions of producing entertaining professional theatre, providing training in theatre and portraying the experience of Canadian children.
MTYP's Theatre School offers Fall, Winter, and Spring sessions, as well as spring break and summer camps, including classes for children as young as three years old. MTYP offers free acting, performing and film training classes to Winnipeg's Indigenous youth between the ages of 12 and 18.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
The Forks is the location of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the first national museum in Canada located outside of Ottawa. Its construction was completed in 2014.
The site for the museum is one of archaeological importance relating to First Nations history.
Inn at the Forks
Inn at the Forks is a five-storey hotel located at the Forks. It has 117 guest rooms and suites, meeting and reception space for up to 200 people, fitness facilities, and features the restaurant Smith and Riverstone Spa. The hotel features natural slate floors in the main lobby, glass vanities in the suite washrooms, heated floors, and a water wall in the spa.
The Inn at the Forks project was the first Canadian application of the "Redi-Maid" system that links ensuite occupancy sensors, lighting and mechanical system controls to staff PDAs with the goal of maximizing energy efficiency. The hotel was completed with a construction cost of $16 million in May 2004.
Winnipeg Railway Museum
The Winnipeg Railway Museum is located at the historic Union Station adjacent to the Forks. It is home to the Countess of Dufferin, the first steam locomotive on the Canadian Prairies or to enter western Canada. The museum closed on 31 December 2021.
Outdoor features
The Forks features numerous outdoor facilities, sculptures, and landscape features open to the public.
Arctic Glacier Winter Park
During winter, the following skating rinks, trails, and snow park structures are erected at the Forks:
The Plaza Skating Rink An Olympic-sized Skating Rink Rink under Scotiabank Stage 1.2 km of skating trails The Snowboard Fun Park The Toboggan Run The Ironman Outdoor Curling Bonspiel
In January 2008, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized The Forks as the home of The Nestaweya River Trail, longest skating rink in the world. The 8.54-kilometre-long River Trail on the Assiniboine River and the Red River is almost 1-kilometre longer than the previous record-holding rink. The 7.8-kilometre long rink on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario had lost its World Record title which it had held since 1971. Then in 2008 the rivers beat their own record which made the longest rink go to about 9.3-kilometres. The Rideau Canal still held the record for the "world's largest naturally frozen ice rink" by the Guinness Book of World Records because "its entire length receives daily maintenance such as sweeping, ice thickness checks and there are toilet and recreational facilities along its entire length". In 2013, the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail lost its record to the Lake Windermere Whiteway at Invermere, British Columbia.