Wpg Free Press: The story of Manitoba in a park

November 10, 2014 —

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Gerald Friesen (history) wrote an analysis piece in the Winnipeg Free Press about the Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park, the first phase of which opened Saturday, October 18 at at 100 Main St. between Broadway and Assiniboine Avenue. The three-phase development will include sponsorship from Manitoba Lotteries and Liquor, earmarked for a Heritage Wall. The Free Press also reported that, “Provincial cabinet ministers announced a $1-million grant … to cement efforts to transform Upper Fort Garry as the focus of the Métis nation and the birthplace of Manitoba in downtown Winnipeg.”

Friesen wrote,

Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park reminds us of an important moment in 1870 when people of this region looked beyond differences rooted in language, religion, and national origin, created a representative government, and chose to join the Canadian Confederation as its first new province, Manitoba.

In the campaign of the past decade that saved the site of the park, hundreds of people donated to the cause. Many citizens, including members of interested heritage communities, joined discussions about what the park might look like and what messages might be communicated to different types of visitors.

Read the rest of his piece here.

campus community, faculty, Faculty of Arts, history

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