'Stop postponing our bucket list': Churchill continuing to grow as Manitoba's hotspot

The province of Manitoba prides itself on being the heart of Canada, and as the heart, it has many arteries just waiting to be explored.

However, there is one part of the province that’s getting extra attention from travellers near and far. Known to some as "the biggest little town at the edge of the world," Churchill is shaping up to be a tourist hotspot.

"We all want to stop postponing our bucket list,” said Angela Cassie, Travel Manitoba’s chief operating officer.

With a population of less than 1,000, it's the natural wonders and wildlife, along with a piqued interest in Indigenous tourism, that are reeling in record numbers of visitors year after year.

"The northern lights, the beluga whales, the polar bears are really reasons people want to travel,” Cassie said.

According to a new study from Travel Manitoba, around 25,000 people visited Churchill in 2023, and the town's tourism industry continues to boom.

 "People that have booked already to travel either next winter, next summer, next autumn, we're ahead of where we were last year at this time,” said John Gunter, president of Frontiers North Adventures.

Gunter said his tour company often sees visitors from outside of Canada, travelling to the polar bear capital of the world.

"Guests hailing from the southern United States, a lot of guests from western Europe, from countries like the United Kingdom and Germany,” he said.

“And then we see we've got a really great business out of Australia as well."

The most popular times for Churchill’s tourism are usually around January and February for the aurora borealis and in the summertime for beluga whales.

Polar bear season usually falls between October and November.

"This seems to be the biggest year we're going to have,” said John Hrominchuk, owner and operator of the Churchill Hotel and Bear Country Inn. "We sell out a year in advance, you know, so it's competitive."

It’s competitive and costly.

Something Heartland International Travel and Tours said it hopes to address with its one-day excursion.

"We like to offer that service because a lot of people can't do the time and also can't afford a lot of the multi-day tours,” said Jayde Finkbeiner, owner of Heartland International Travel and Tours.

While tourism in Churchill fuels the province's GDP, it's just one piece of the pie.

Travel Manitoba said 10.4 million people visited the province in 2023, bouncing back from the pandemic.