Le Musée de St. Boniface Museum

Mis­sion Statement

Cro­quet played on the front lawn dur­ing a 2005 exhibit fea­tur­ing sports tra­di­tions of the Fran­coph­o­nes and the Métis of Manitoba.

Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum col­lects, pre­serves, researches, and inter­prets a col­lec­tion of arti­facts relat­ing to West­ern Canada’s French-Canadian and Métis her­itage, while acknowl­edg­ing the his­tor­i­cal con­tri­bu­tions of the First Nations and the reli­gious com­mu­ni­ties. The Museum aims to pro­vide vis­i­tors and stu­dents with expe­ri­ences that will encour­age greater aware­ness, appre­ci­a­tion and under­stand­ing of the French-Canadian and Métis cul­tures in Manitoba.

Built between 1845 and 1851, this for­mer Grey Nuns’ con­vent houses the Museum and is in fact its prin­ci­pal arti­fact. It is the old­est remain­ing struc­ture in the city of Win­nipeg and the largest oak log build­ing in North Amer­ica. The first hos­pi­tal in West­ern Canada, the build­ing is also a sym­bol of the 19^th cen­tury mis­sion­ary effort car­ried out in the West by the Grey Nuns and other Catholic com­mu­ni­ties from their St. Boni­face base.

Vis­i­tors

The Museum cur­rently hosts 14–15,000 vis­i­tors annu­ally. They rep­re­sent a broad spec­trum rang­ing from researchers and school and uni­ver­sity stu­dents to Cana­di­ans from other provinces, and Amer­i­can and other inter­na­tional tourists. As well, an increas­ing num­ber of local vis­i­tors are dis­cov­er­ing the Museum and the build­ing for the first time despite their rel­a­tive proximity.