WHERE HISTORY MEETS POSSIBILITY
The Exchange District stands as a beacon of Winnipeg’s storied history— a neighbourhood comprising the 20 square blocks of a National Historic Site, where the architectural beauty of terra cotta facades, brick warehouses, and mid-century modernist structures mix with newer development and ever-evolving street life. The buildings telegraph more than a century of ingenuity in commerce, arts, and community, while the river and the street names whisper an even deeper past. Streets like McDermot, Bannatyne and Ross bear the names of the prominent Red River Métis families whose homesteads stretched out from the Red River, while the river itself has been a conduit of commercial, familial, and cultural exchange for indigenous peoples from time immemorial. But this isn’t a place frozen in time.
This is where Winnipeg’s performing arts companies stage world-class work, murals and art installations transform brick walls and open spaces into canvases, and entrepreneurs build out their dreams, supported by a community that believes in a truly special place where our city’s history and its future are on full display.
The Exchange District has continued to evolve and adapt with every generation, and in 2025, the community continued to demonstrate that our historic neighbourhood inspires forward momentum while deepening an appreciation for the past.
Art. Culture. Innovation.
Often cited as Winnipeg’s cultural core, The Exchange District continued to prove that culture isn’t a luxury in 2025—it’s the heart of our thriving urban community. The arts not only bring thousands of people to our neighbourhood, they remind Winnipeggers that it is a special part of our downtown. From world-class performances to grassroots gatherings, the Exchange is always a stage for possibility.
Royal MTC and The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra were among the performing arts groups that saw audiences return in force following the uncertainty of the pandemic, while for the third year Lights On The Exchange — Allumez le Quartier transformed the area into a canvas for artists to tell stories beyond those suggested by its architecture.
A testament to the boundless energy of the talented artists, makers, and entrepreneurs who bring our buildings to life, 2025 marked 15 years of the Exchange District BIZ’s continuous sponsorship of First Fridays. Every first Friday of the month, the neighbourhood transforms into an open house, galleries stay late, studios throw open their doors, and strangers become regulars making it one the Exchange’s signatures.
TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival once again kicked off festival season, transforming Old Market Square and surrounding venues into a celebration of Jazz in all its forms. The Winnipeg Fringe Festival continued to be one of the summer’s most anticipated celebrations and an economic driver for Exchange District businesses. When Nuit Blanche arrived, it shattered the boundaries between spectator and participant, transforming the Exchange into an after-dark canvas where contemporary art, performance, and possibility collided in historic streets, public spaces, and unexpected corners.
The visual landscape of the district evolved throughout the year as striking new murals added layers of storytelling to heritage streetscapes, showing how today’s artists can speak to tomorrow’s audiences while respecting yesterday’s foundations.
Innovation took other forms as well. Every week, Tech Thursdays brought innovators, entrepreneurs, and forward-thinkers together to foster connections.
ARTS, CULTURE & INNOVATION BY THE NUMBERS
85+
Participating businesses, galleries, makers, and artists for First Fridays
30,000+
Visitors to free outdoor Fringe Festival performances at Old Market Square (and nearly 85,000 attendees to ticketed venues)
30,000+
Music lovers at TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival’s 34th season
55
Official and independent installations, events, and activations at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg in the Exchange
Taking Care
In order to host so much activity, the Maintenance and Beautification Team keeps the Exchange as beautiful as possible year-round. Cleaning up bus shelters and picking up litter each day, clearing sidewalks in winter when the City is delayed, and district-wide graffiti removal are the foundation of their work. They help install artwork for Lights on the Exchange — Allumez Le Quartier, plant flowers, and set-up for regular events. Their responsive work preserves the character of our heritage architecture while maintaining a clean, inviting atmosphere, a job that keeps getting bigger each year.
The Spring Spruce Up once again mobilized volunteers to refresh the neighbourhood after winter’s grip finally loosened. Neighbours swept sidewalks, tidied public spaces, and prepared the district for another season.
Through relationship building, business check-ins, safe-walks and safety presentations, the Exchange Community Safety Patrol continues to be a visible, reliable presence on the streets, fielding over 1,600 calls for service between September 2024 and August 2025. Patrolling six days a week as trusted supports for businesses, residents, and visitors, the team is well trained in verbal deescalation, mental health and First Aid/CPR.
New infrastructure arrived to support active living. The permanent Fitness Trail in Stephen Juba Park launched as a year-round amenity, providing free, accessible outdoor fitness equipment for residents, workers, and visitors. Old Market Square saw the installation of new turf that will make sure festival goers can dance the night away without a mud-pit developing underfoot. Meanwhile, our partners at the Forks revealed a new design concept for the Alexander Docks created by the area’s very own Desiree Theriault at Narratives Inc, and a new residential building began taking in residents at 127 Bannatyne demonstrating continued confidence in the Exchange as a livable, desirable urban neighbourhood.
BY THE NUMBERS
Community Safety Team
5,420 incidents responded to
3,360 instances of assistance provided
8,780 community encounters
6 days per week of patrols
Maintenance and Beautification
2,680.2 m² of graffiti removed (1,962 tags)
43,315 gallons of litter collected
Year-round operations
EXPERIENCE THE EXCHANGE
Through our Member Profile Blog Series, we shared dozens of stories of the entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators who define the Exchange District—honouring legacy businesses while welcoming fresh faces to our thriving community. They were conversations about why someone chose to open a shop on this street corner, what it means to run a third-generation business, how a newcomer fell in love with the neighbourhood’s energy. These profiles amplified voices and connected customers with the people behind their favourite places, reminding everyone that supporting local isn’t abstract—it’s about supporting your neighbour’s dream.
That commitment manifested in campaigns like Shop Local, Shop the Exchange, which transformed the holiday season into a celebration of local retail. The multi-platform campaign drove significant foot traffic and sales growth during the district’s busiest shopping period, reminding everyone that shopping isn’t just transactional—it’s how we invest in community. Every purchase is a vote for the kind of neighbourhood we want to live in.
One of the beloved winter traditions invited Winnipeggers to discover hidden gems and revisit favourite spots across the neighbourhood, warming hearts and hands during the coldest season. Hot Beverage Week reached new heights with its highest participation yet. It’s become an annual ritual: grab your friend, bundle up, and taste your way through the district’s cafés, each one offering something unique, each one run by someone with a story worth knowing.
First Friday Bike-Ins returned alongside Bike Winnipeg, creating monthly opportunities to explore the Exchange through sustainable, active transportation. These guided rides connected cyclists from across the city to the vibrant heart of downtown while supporting our bike-friendly business initiatives, proving that the best way to experience a neighbourhood is at a human pace, where you can actually see the details, smell the coffee roasting, and hear the music spilling out of venues.
When Nuit Blanche transformed the Exchange into an interactive art experience, thousands of Manitobans connected with contemporary creativity and performance throughout the neighbourhood’s historic streets, public spaces, and galleries. Culture Days extended this spirit of discovery across multiple days of accessible programming, breaking down barriers between art and audience, artist and community.
The Exchange District Tours Program welcomed hundreds of participants in 2025, with an exploration of the stories embedded in the district’s iconic architecture and dynamic food scene. From Doors Open Winnipeg to sold-out Savour the Exchange culinary tours, each tour deepened connections between people and place, transforming visitors into advocates and tourists into regulars. Over 6,000 Explore the Exchange maps were distributed throughout the year, serving as essential guides for locals and visitors navigating the neighbourhood’s rich tapestry of shops, cafés, galleries, and cultural landmarks—ensuring no hidden gem stays hidden for long.
Alleyways in the Exchange marked a milestone 10th anniversary, transforming forgotten laneways into cultural destinations through creative partnerships with Luckygirl Pop Up bringing MARKET, send + receive activating SOUNDS, Artspace creating LOUNGE, and Tango Nuevo Winnipeg dancing through TANGO. A decade of reimagining urban space has permanently changed how people experience and move through the district, proving that even the spaces between buildings deserve creativity and care.
Exchange Summer Fitness brought the community together through free outdoor wellness programming that activated public spaces throughout the warmer months. Yoga sessions in Stephen Juba Park and bootcamp classes at 201 Portage provided accessible opportunities for residents and workers to stay active, fostering health, wellness, and community connections in the urban core—because a healthy neighbourhood means healthy people, and that requires intention and invitation.
Lights On the Exchange entered its third year as a winter cultural cornerstone, achieving remarkable reach that exceeded all expectations. The event reached one in three Winnipeg residents through direct or indirect experience. Standout moments like the Sound Like Light performance reminded everyone that winter doesn’t have to mean hibernation—it can mean gathering, celebrating, illuminating the darkness together. The event built momentum as one of the city’s must-see winter traditions.
Exchange District Tours
879 total guests
131 tours delivered
217 students engaged
Hot Beverage Week
20 participating venues (highest ever)
First Fridays
85 participating businesses
Lights On the Exchange
1 in 3 Winnipeg residents reached
69% positive satisfaction ratings
50,000+ social media followers engaged
20,000 monthly website visits
Alleyways in the Exchange
10 years of transforming urban space
Explore the Exchange Maps
6,000 distributed