The Forks is Canada Strong

The Canada Strong Pass encourages Canadians and travellers alike to explore the treasured places that contribute to our national identity. Exemplified in every national park and national historic site is the strength of Canada, from legacies of resilience, the power in community, forces of nature, the fortitude of architecture and even physical feats. Parks Canada invites you to celebrate the significance of these places through sharing stories of strength, respecting the wild beauty of nature and using the Canada Strong Pass to the fullest.

Staying true to your identity is strength and Parks Canada is proud to say that The Forks National Historic Site is Canada Strong.

It is a commonly recited fact that The Forks has been a gathering place for 6,000 years thanks to the archaeological record of an ancient hearth used by bison hunters. This truth is one that is solidified in the oral histories of the First Nations that have lived, traded, and thrived in this territory since time immemorial. Called Nistawayak by the Cree, which means Three Points, the geography of the site naturally lends itself to the gathering of people. The Assiniboine River flows in from the east, where it meets with the Red River flowing from the south, and the land became part of migration routes from the northern forests to the southern plains.

Long before Europeans crossed the ocean to what is now called North America, Turtle Island was home to many Nations with their own cultures, languages, and ways of living. Each balancing the needs of their own people, this sometimes required the Nations to come together in moments of negotiation, not unlike modern treaties. In 1285 CE, 10,000 people from at least nine Nations at The Forks. They had traveled from every direction to participate in ceremonies and to broker agreements, peace and diplomacy.

As the first Europeans arrived in the region, they too saw the site as an ideal place to gather in trade with First Nations peoples, the Métis and other Europeans. Largely trading in fur, the aptly named fur trade era in Manitoba often centred around The Forks. Forts were erected, destroyed, and erected again, all in pursuit of sending goods up the Red River to the Hudson Bay, and finally off to Europe. Even following a devastating flood in 1826, the choice was made to rebuild close to The Forks; the strengths of The Forks as a gathering place, outweighed the risks.

For so long, the rivers transported people and goods to and from The Forks, but in the late 1800s, the railyard took over that role. Cut off from the public, The Forks spent the better half of the 20th century as a gathering place of steel, wood and wheels. Still, the undeniable importance of The Forks resulted in the site becoming a national historic site in 1974, one of the first steps in the reclaiming of its true identity.

It took time, but over the course of the next 15 years, agreements were made, deals were signed and the return to The Forks original purpose began. Making use of the railroad-era buildings and returning swaths of land back to greenspace, The Forks made its triumphant return to a public gathering place in 1989. It remains one of the most iconic places in Winnipeg.

With The Forks identity thriving once more, First Nations peoples whose ancestors gathered here thousands of years ago now utilize the space for celebrations, ceremonies and business. Thousands of people have been brought together to commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and Red Dress Day at The Forks, a testament to the continued importance of the site to Indigenous peoples.

From an ancient hearth to a modern market, The Forks embraces the identity that makes it Canada Strong.