Portage and Main: How an Iconic Intersection Shaped Winnipeg's History, Politics, and Urban Life
Author(s): Sabrina Janke (Author), Alex Judge (Author)
- Publisher: Great Plains Press
- Publication Date: 13 Jan. 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 152 pages
- ISBN-10: 1773371452
- ISBN-13: 9781773371450
Book Description
“Portage and Main is the embodiment of anthropology of the west, yet the history of Canada’s most iconic traffic intersection has only been told through a miscellanea of unrelated writings. Until now. — Darren Bernhardt, author of The Lesser Known and Prairie Oddities
Portage and Main: How an iconic intersection shaped Winnipeg’s history, politics, and urban life explores stories of Portage and Main throughout Winnipeg’s history and the complicated relationship between the city’s oldest intersection and culture of the urban environment that grew around it.
Fifty years ago, Portage and Main was closed to pedestrians as part of a downtown renewal project. This left an intersection void of pedestrians, and the promised vision of a revitalized city never came to fruition.
In 2025, Portage and Main will open to pedestrians once again. With a city struggling to balance the demands of its sprawling suburbs with its need to invest in downtown, the future of this iconic crossroad is in flux once again.
Winnipeg historians Alex Judge and Sabrina Janke, hosts of the One Great History podcast, describe how open, closed, or somewhere strange and in-between, the intersection’s history reflects the ideas of what Winnipeg is, could be, and has been.
Whatever the case, one thing is clear: Portage and Main is far more than just an intersection.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Portage and Main is the embodiment of anthropology of the west, yet the history of Canada’s most iconic traffic intersection has only been told through a miscellanea of unrelated writings. Until now. History cannot be told without including a greater context and Jankie and Judge go beyond the intersection for a panoramic view that includes the mistreatment of Métis, rifts between the wealthy barons and workers, political conniving, protests and parades. The story of the intersection is interwoven with gun battles, both real and mock, royal visits, banking and theatre, lawsuits, identity crises, development and destruction. Sabrina Janke and Alex Judge offer a comprehensive compilation and present it in a highly readable, entertaining and illuminating manner.” — Darren Bernhardt, author of The Lesser Known and Prairie Oddities
About the Author
Sabrina Janke is a historian who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, whose work has appeared on the CBC, in the Winnipeg Free Press and Prairie History Magazine. She is the co-host of podcast One Great History, and a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Heritage Conservation and Promotion. Sabrina spends her free time exploring Winnipeg, crafting, and has become a reluctant birder.
Alex Judge is a Winnipegger born and bred, except for a brief stint living in Montreal and a year in the Cabbagetown district of Toronto. In addition to her day job, Alex co-hosts the One Great History podcast, which presents the great, not-so-great, and just plain bizarre stories of Manitoba history. Alex was presented with a Winnipeg 150 medal in 2024 for her work on the show. When not at the archives, Alex enjoys crafting, mystery novels and a newfound interest in woodworking.
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