The closure of the Hudson Bay Company’s flagship Winnipeg department store in late 2020 has sparked new debates on how to repurpose the 94-year-old heritage structure. On December 15th, 2020, the City of Winnipeg announced an advisory committee to “advise on opportunities for the future use of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s (HBC) landmark downtown location at 450 Portage Avenue.” Notably absent from the committee is any sort of heritage professional, a fact that raised concerns for members of the Manitoba Heritage Summit Group.

More recently, the New York Times ran a story on the uncertain future of the HBC Store and interviewed Heritage Winnipeg Executive Director Cindy Tugwell. “It isn’t just a Winnipeg or Manitoba landmark, it’s important to all of Canada,” Tugwell said. “Nostalgia is a big part of it but when it comes to this building, it truly is a beautiful heritage building.”

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