Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Winnipeg Walkway System

Mixed levelsMixed ownershipActiveBuilt for cold

Winnipeg's Weather Protected Walkway System links downtown buildings through skywalks and tunnels, anchored by the underground concourse beneath Portage Avenue and Main Street. The City owns the central circus under the intersection, while most corridors run through privately owned buildings that set their own hours. The intersection above was barricaded to pedestrians from 1979 under a deal with developer Trizec and reopened to street-level crossing on June 27, 2025.

Lengthabout 2 km maximum protected walkroughly nine blocks; some sources say nearly 3 km of tunnels and bridges in total[01]

Bridges14 skywalksplus seven underground connections, as of 2017[01]

Buildings connected38about 11 million sq ft of space and 21,000 employees[01]

Opened1974first skywalk; most links built in the 1980s[01]

Levelsecond-floor skywalks and below-grade tunnels and concourse

Hourstypically 7 a.m.–6 p.m. daily; individual building hours varymany links close outside business hours[06]

OwnershipCity owns the Portage and Main circus; surrounding concourses and building corridors are privately owned

Governance

Who owns it, who runs it, what the rules are.

Owner: The City of Winnipeg owns the circular concourse, or circus, beneath Portage and Main and leases retail units there. The connecting concourses, including the Shops of Winnipeg Square owned by Artis REIT, and the corridors through downtown buildings are privately owned. Ownership of individual skywalk bridges was not confirmed.
Operator: Each building owner operates its own corridors and sets its hours; the City operates and maintains the Portage and Main circus.
Hours: No network-wide hours rule was found. Links are typically open about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and each building sets its own hours, so many skywalks and tunnels close outside business hours.[06]
Public right: Passage through private buildings appears to be permissive and limited to each owner's opening hours. The City-owned circus is public property. Disability advocates note that some elevators needed to cross underground are in private buildings that are not open 24 hours.
Who pays: The City pays nearly $1 million a year to maintain its portion of the Portage and Main concourse. Building owners fund their own concourses and corridors. Skywalk costs were historically shared between the City and owners.

Legal instruments

1976 City–Trizec agreement for Portage and Main ↗Development deal under which the City built the concourse and parkade and agreed to barricade the intersection to pedestrians for 40 years, channelling foot traffic underground.[02]
City Council motion on Portage and Main (March 21, 2024) ↗Approved 11–3; directed reopening of street-level crossings by July 1, 2025 and an assessment of decommissioning the City-owned concourse.[04]
Skywalk cost-sharing arrangements ↗The City and building owners shared skywalk costs; a 1999 dispute over cost-sharing led one owner to wall off a skywalk. Terms of the agreements were not found.[01]

Governing bodies

Winnipeg City CouncilCity of WinnipegBuilding Owners and Managers Association of ManitobaPrivate building owners (e.g. Artis REIT)

Open issues

The City is studying how to decommission and close its concourse beneath Portage and Main, and the scope and budget have not been set.
The Building Owners and Managers Association of Manitoba opposes closing the concourse, saying connected businesses pay about $12 million a year in property taxes.
Disability advocates say closing the concourse would remove a sheltered crossing option, and many links already close outside business hours.
The future of Bruce Head's concourse wall sculpture depends on the decommissioning plan.

Timeline

1974First skywalk in the downtown walkway system opens.[01]
1976City strikes a deal with Trizec Corporation for an office tower, underground mall and concourse at Portage and Main, with construction starting the next year.[02]
1979Underground concourse opens and Portage and Main is barricaded to pedestrians under a 40-year commitment to Trizec.[02]
1999A property owner builds a wall across a skywalk in a cost-sharing dispute with the City; it is removed after intervention by several levels of government.[01]
2004Unified walkway signage introduced ahead of the MTS Centre and Millennium Library openings.[06]
2018Plebiscite: about two-thirds of voters favour keeping Portage and Main closed to pedestrians.[04]
2024City report puts concourse waterproof membrane replacement at $73 million; Council votes 11–3 on March 21 to reopen the intersection and study closing the City-owned concourse.[04]
2025Street-level pedestrian crossings at Portage and Main open on June 27; underground concourse remains open pending a decommissioning study.[05]

What it cost · who pays

Portage and Main concourse and Trizec project · 1979: about C$80 millionTrizec covered about half; City expropriated land and built the concourse and parkade[02]
Concourse waterproof membrane replacement (estimate) · 2024: C$73 millionup to five years of traffic disruption; not pursued[03]
Decommissioning City-owned concourse (rough estimate) · 2024: C$20–50 millionsubject to further study[03]
Barricade removal and pedestrian crossings · 2024: C$13 millionincludes other intersection upgrades[03]
City maintenance of its concourse portion · 2024: nearly C$1 million per yearagainst about $111,000 in annual rent from City-owned concourse tenants[03]

The story

Winnipeg's Weather Protected Walkway System connects downtown buildings through second-floor skywalks and below-grade tunnels. The first skywalk opened in 1974, when the City was trying to stop retail and residents leaving downtown for suburban malls. Most links were added in the 1980s. By 2017 the system had 14 skywalks and seven underground connections linking 38 buildings, with a maximum enclosed walk of about two kilometres.

The system's best-known element is the concourse beneath Portage Avenue and Main Street. In 1976 the City struck a deal with Trizec Corporation for an office tower and underground mall at the corner. The City expropriated land, built the concourse and parkade, and agreed to barricade the intersection for 40 years. When the concourse opened in 1979, pedestrians were routed through Trizec's Shops of Winnipeg Square. The project cost about $80 million, with Trizec paying about half.

Ownership is divided. The City owns the circular concourse under the intersection and leases a few shops there. Surrounding concourses and most corridors belong to private owners such as Artis REIT. Each building sets its own hours, typically 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and many links close outside business hours. Skywalk costs were shared between the City and owners, and a 1999 cost-sharing dispute led one owner to wall off a skywalk.

Reopening Portage and Main became a long political fight. In a 2018 plebiscite about two-thirds of voters chose to keep the intersection closed. In 2024 a City report estimated $73 million and up to five years of disruption to replace the concourse's leaking waterproof membrane. Mayor Scott Gillingham then backed removing the barricades and closing the City-owned concourse. Council approved the plan 11–3 on March 21, 2024.

Street-level crossings opened on June 27, 2025, for the first time in 46 years. The concourse remains open while the City commissions a study on decommissioning it, with closure roughly estimated at $20 million to $50 million. The Building Owners and Managers Association of Manitoba opposes closing it, and disability advocates want to keep a sheltered crossing. The City spends nearly $1 million a year maintaining its portion.

Questions people ask

Why was Portage and Main closed to pedestrians?

In a mid-1970s deal with developer Trizec, the City agreed to barricade the intersection for 40 years once the project finished in 1979. The deal channelled pedestrians into the new underground concourse and Winnipeg Square mall.

Is Portage and Main open to pedestrians now?

Yes. Street-level crossings opened on June 27, 2025, after Council voted 11–3 in March 2024 to remove the barricades. The underground concourse stayed open while the City studies closing it.

Who owns the Portage and Main underground concourse?

The City owns the central circus beneath the intersection. The connecting concourses and the Shops of Winnipeg Square belong to the surrounding private building owners.

What are the Winnipeg skywalk hours?

There is no single schedule. Links are typically open around 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., but each building sets its own hours.

How big is the Winnipeg Walkway?

It has about 14 skywalks and seven tunnels linking 38 buildings, with a maximum protected walk of about 2 kilometres.

Sources

One cold city: Winnipeg's 2 km skywalk system 'developed out of desperation' — CBC News (2017)
'A desperate time': Why Portage and Main was closed to pedestrians in the first place — CBC News (2018)
Building owners oppose plan to close concourse beneath Winnipeg's iconic Portage and Main — CBC News (2024)
Winnipeg council approves plan to open Portage and Main to pedestrians — CBC News (2024)
Portage & Main — City of Winnipeg (2025)primary
Winnipeg Walkway — Wikipedia (2026)

About this record

Confidence medium · reviewed 2026-10-19. Portage and Main history, costs and the 2024–2025 decisions are well sourced from CBC and the City project page. The original 1976 Trizec agreement text was not found, and the 'deal' is described from CBC's account. Ownership of individual skywalk bridges, the terms of City–owner cost-sharing agreements, and any public access easements were not found; a human should check City of Winnipeg real estate or Public Works records. Hours come from Wikipedia and are not from a primary source. Length figures vary between 2 km (maximum protected walk) and nearly 3 km (total). Downtown Winnipeg BIZ publishes an indoor walkway map, but its governance role was not confirmed. Whether the concourse decommissioning study has reported was not confirmed as of review.

Map geometry: 76 corridor features, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), as of 2026-10-20. Levels come from OpenStreetMap tags and can be incomplete.

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Winnipeg Walkway System

Mixed levelsMixed ownershipActiveBuilt for cold

Who owns it, who runs it, what the rules are.

Owner

The City of Winnipeg owns the circular concourse, or circus, beneath Portage and Main and leases retail units there. The connecting concourses, including the Shops of Winnipeg Square owned by Artis REIT, and the corridors through downtown buildings are privately owned. Ownership of individual skywalk bridges was not confirmed.

Operator

Each building owner operates its own corridors and sets its hours; the City operates and maintains the Portage and Main circus.

Hours

No network-wide hours rule was found. Links are typically open about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and each building sets its own hours, so many skywalks and tunnels close outside business hours.[06]

Public right

Passage through private buildings appears to be permissive and limited to each owner's opening hours. The City-owned circus is public property. Disability advocates note that some elevators needed to cross underground are in private buildings that are not open 24 hours.

Who pays

The City pays nearly $1 million a year to maintain its portion of the Portage and Main concourse. Building owners fund their own concourses and corridors. Skywalk costs were historically shared between the City and owners.

Legal instruments

1976 City–Trizec agreement for Portage and Main ↗Development deal under which the City built the concourse and parkade and agreed to barricade the intersection to pedestrians for 40 years, channelling foot traffic underground.[02]

City Council motion on Portage and Main (March 21, 2024) ↗Approved 11–3; directed reopening of street-level crossings by July 1, 2025 and an assessment of decommissioning the City-owned concourse.[04]

Skywalk cost-sharing arrangements ↗The City and building owners shared skywalk costs; a 1999 dispute over cost-sharing led one owner to wall off a skywalk. Terms of the agreements were not found.[01]

Governing bodies

Winnipeg City CouncilCity of WinnipegBuilding Owners and Managers Association of ManitobaPrivate building owners (e.g. Artis REIT)

Open issues

The City is studying how to decommission and close its concourse beneath Portage and Main, and the scope and budget have not been set.

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Manitoba opposes closing the concourse, saying connected businesses pay about $12 million a year in property taxes.

Disability advocates say closing the concourse would remove a sheltered crossing option, and many links already close outside business hours.

The future of Bruce Head's concourse wall sculpture depends on the decommissioning plan.

The story