Nestled on a corner in Winnipeg’s Exchange District, is the renowned Winnipeg Free Press Cafe on McDermot Avenue. It has become a social hub and meeting place where people perform, celebrities pass through and media personalities hang out.
They live-stream a variety of programs at the Café and host events like town halls, mini-concerts, book readings and more. You can meet journalists, as they rotate in a variety of editors, beat writers and columnists week after week. 
Noted local restaurateur Domenic Amatuzio – behind such culinary delights as Terrace Fifty Five, Civita and the Liberty Grill – has come up with their menu.
From the day the first edition rolled off the presses in 1872, the Winnipeg Free Press has been an integral part of the city and province it serves. It is a position the newspaper is certain to maintain in the new millennium.
There’s a whole lotta history behind the paper, which adds to the continued support of the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper and the cafe.
Part of the Free Press’ success can be attributed to the fact that it is only two years younger than the province of Manitoba, which joined Confederation in 1870, and actually two years older than the City of Winnipeg, which was incorporated in 1874. This means that the newspaper has been around as long as the community itself, faithfully recording the growth and development of a muddy Prairie settlement at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers into one of Canada’s leading cities.
Despite the fact that newspapers are dying off, there’s nostalgia for it in Winnipeg. Over the years, the newspaper has gained a reputation as the province’s leading source of news, information and debate about local matters and ideas, as well as Manitoba’s voice on national and international issues.
On the left is Sir Clifford Sifton, the western patriarch, federal cabinet minister, and owner of the Free Press at the turn of the century. It is a reputation that can be traced back to the original owner and editor of the Free Press, W.F. Luxton, and his partner John A. Kenny. Together, these men launched a newspaper that was to grow into a formidable journalistic and commercial force and serve as the linchpin for a national chain of newspapers stretching across much of the country.
A l’il history about its beginnings from the Winnipeg Free Press website:
“With a population of 1,467, the Winnipeg of 1872 was the largest of several budding communities in Manitoba at a time when the future was as wide open and bright as the blue Prairie sky. Yet its future was by no means assured. By late 1880, the recently incorporated City of Winnipeg found itself in a competition with the nearby communities of Selkirk and Emerson for the new railroad that was being built across the country. After some debate, Winnipeg was eventually selected as the site, forever assuring the community’s place as the province’s leading city and providing the Free Press with a source of readers that would help make it one of the most important newspapers in the country.
By the turn of the century, Manitoba had become an important player on the national scene. The railroad had helped bring hundreds of thousands of settlers to the Prairies, making Winnipeg a boomtown and the most important city in the West. And as the city became more important in local and national affairs, so did the Free Press.
In retrospect, it is clear that two developments at this time were crucial to the continued success of the Free Press and its eventual development as one of Canada’s great newspapers. One was the acquisition of the newspaper by Sir Clifford Sifton, a man who distinguished himself as a powerful cabinet minister in the government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and would be remembered as one of the patriarchs of Western Canada. The other was Sifton’s decision to hire John W. Dafoe as editor of the newspaper and E.H.. Macklin as its chief business manager. Together, these three men provided the Free Press with the journalistic and commercial leadership required to outlast its competitors and maintain its position as the largest selling newspaper in Manitoba.
It was during these years that the Free Press cemented its reputation as the leading voice of Western Canada, thanks in large measure to the talents of John Dafoe. Writing on the editorial page of the Free Press Dafoe consistently and elegantly put forward the case for Western Canadian interests. He supported the drive to reduce tariffs and the attempt to strike a reciprocity treaty with the United States, launched a campaign to strengthen Canadian autonomy from Britain and was a central figure in drumming up support for conscription and the formation of Sir Robert Borden’s union government during the First World War.”
Today’s Free Press is very different from the one published by Luxton and Kenny more than a century ago. The Winnipeg Free Press Cafe remains a bustling hub for gatherings and is located in the funky area of town called the Exchange District, my favorite part of town.
Below is a glimpse at the Winnipeg Free Press Cafe today, taken when I was visiting the city in late August.
Renee Blodgett is the Founder and Managing Editor of We Blog the World, a global travel, culture and lifestyle publication exploring the world through the lens of meaningful experiences, human connection and cultural depth. Having lived in 10 countries and traveled to 95, Renee has spent much of her life immersed in the people, traditions, landscapes and ideas that shape how we experience the world.
Since launching We Blog the World in 2007, she has written and produced extensive editorial coverage spanning boutique and luxury travel, culinary experiences, arts and culture, wellness, adventure, technology, spiritual traditions and transformative travel. Her work is rooted in the belief that travel is about more than where we go—it is also about what a place, culture or encounter awakens within us.
Renee brings more than three decades of experience across journalism, photography, media, brand strategy, technology, wellness and global storytelling. She has worked with companies and organizations around the world on brand positioning, communications, product launches, media strategy, speaker positioning and storytelling. Through Blue Soul Media, she works with authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and purpose-driven brands to clarify their message and expand their impact, which includes speaker coaching/training for high-profile stages such as TED and bringing authors’ work to market while retaining authors rights.
She is also the co-founder of Blue Soul Earth, an educational platform exploring consciousness, ancient wisdom, spirituality, healing and the intersection between science and the nature of reality. Renee is the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS, a conversational series bringing together leading voices in science, technology, consciousness, wellness and spirituality.
Her growing body of work also includes Blue Soul Living, which extends her interest in consciousness and well-being into the spaces we inhabit, exploring how intentional design, energy and environment can support greater harmony and connection.
Renee is the award-winning co-author of the bestselling Magdalene’s Journey and founder of the Magdalene Collection, inspired by women’s voices, stories and wisdom across cultures and generations.
A longtime photographer and storyteller, Renee has documented people, places and cultures around the world and produced photographic collections focused on destinations including the Galápagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome and Ecuador. She also co-founded Traveling Geeks, an international initiative that brought entrepreneurs, journalists, creators and technology leaders together with their counterparts in other countries to exchange ideas and explore innovation across cultures.
Renee’s work has been recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and others for her influence in media and social storytelling. Across her work in travel, media, consciousness and culture, a common thread remains: curiosity about the world, the stories that connect us and the ways meaningful experiences can change how we see ourselves and one another.
