Winnipeg Beach is a town in the

Interlake Region The Interlake Region is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba that lies roughly between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The region comprises 14 rural municipalities, one city ( S ...

, in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. The town was founded in 1900 by Sir William Whyte and is located at the junction of Highway 9 and Highway 229 on the southwestern shore of

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

, about north of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. It is bordered by the

Rural Municipality of Gimli The Rural Municipality of Gimli is a rural municipality located in the Interlake Region of south-central Manitoba, Canada, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. It is about north of the provincial capital Winnipeg. The rural municipality's ...

, the

Rural Municipality of St. Andrews St. Andrews is a List of rural municipalities in Manitoba, rural municipality (RM) in Manitoba, Canada. It lies west of the Red River of the North, Red River; its southern border is approximately north of Winnipeg. The communities of Clandeb ...

, and Dunnottar as well as Lake Winnipeg. Nearby towns are Ponemah, Whytewold, and Matlock (all to the south), Gimli, and Sandy Hook, (located to the north), as well as Teulon, and Selkirk. Its permanent population is 1,439 ()

History

In 1900, the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CPR) purchased of undeveloped shoreline 65 kilometres north of Winnipeg on the southwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg and commenced construction of a resort town. In addition to the attraction of a three kilometre stretch of sandy beach, the CPR also built and offered an array of accommodation, recreation, and amusement facilities, including a prominent dance hall. In the early 1900s, ritzy hotels lined the main street of Winnipeg Beach. Piers, parks and picnic grounds were constructed to accommodate the weekend masses that would travel to Winnipeg Beach from the nearby capital city. By 1913, the summer retreat had become so popular that the CPR had 13 trains running the line between the beach and the City of Winnipeg. The famous Moonlight Special returned to the city at midnight every Saturday for fifty years. The round trip fare was only fifty cents. A boardwalk took strollers along the beach to the carnival concessions and cottages. A wooden roller coaster was one of the largest in the country at the time and carried hundreds of passengers on a busy day. The Pavilion housed a dance floor, reputed to be the largest in Western Canada. The romance of Winnipeg Beach began to wane during the 1950s, and although the beach itself still remained a popular destination, in 1964 the amusement park was permanently closed.

Water tower

Of the many recreation and railway related structures erected by the CPR at Winnipeg Beach, only the steel water tower survives. It was designed and constructed in 1928 by the Vulcan Iron Works Ltd. of Winnipeg. Utilitarian in design and appearance, the tower supported a capacity tank and provided a source of pressurized water for the CPR steam locomotives and fire protection services for the resort's facilities. Non-operational since the resort closed, the structure is the best example of only five surviving riveted-steel water towers in Manitoba. As in its heyday, the tower is a prominent visual landmark in and around the beach community.

Today

After the closure of the resort and amusement facilities at Winnipeg Beach, the Province of Manitoba attempted to revitalize the town by creating a recreation park,

Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park Winnipeg Beach is a provincial park located on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, and a popular swimming and cottage destination that began mainly in the early 1900s with train access to the area from Winnipeg. The small town of Winnipeg B ...

, in the 1960s, with various improvements to the beach and the parks lining it. A restaurant and lounge and several change-room structures were built, in addition to a large parking lot. The recreation park continues to be a popular destination for beachgoers. The Town has also built a skateboarding park, to stimulate the youth community. The

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

TV series ''

Falcon Beach ''Falcon Beach'' is a Canadian TV show, filmed in Winnipeg and Manitoba and aired on both Canadian and American networks. It first debuted in 2005 as a movie in Canada, but then produced in 2006 as a TV series. It's unique because each episode has ...

'' was filmed in the town during the summers of 2005–2006. Several different residential summer camps, including Camp Massad of Manitoba, lie just north of the town. Boardwalk Day is an annual event during the summer. It consists of a carnival, market, outdoor food court, fireworks, and a live band performance. The town is governed by a mayor (currently Pamela Jackson) and a five-member town council: * Stan Potten * Jean Gendron * Barry Hoel * Douglas Jarvis * Larry Kisiloski

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Winnipeg Beach had a population of 1,439 living in 757 of its 1,661 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,145. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

References

External links