IKEA opens in Winnipeg, first new Canadian store in 30 years

A shopping we will go! Photo by Sue Frause.

I'm not a fan of big box stores, but I do like IKEA. Maybe it's my Scandinavian heritage, the clean lines of its products, not to mention the good prices. IKEA opened a nearly 400,000 sq. ft. store in Winnipeg to much fanfare in late November. It's Canada's first new location by the Swedish furniture giant in 30 years.

The Winnipeg opening makes a total of 12 IKEA stores now in Canada: Alberta (Calgary + Edmonton); British Columbia (Coquitlam + Richmond); Manitoba (Winnipeg); Ontario (Etobicoke, Burlington, Ottawa, North York, Vaughan); Quebec (Boucherville + Montreal). The Winnipeg store is also home to Canada's biggest IKEA warehouse.

Inside the Winnipeg IKEA store are 55 "inspirational room" sets, Christmas decor items and a large gift section.  There's also a 650-seat IKEA restaurant that includes its popular breakfast for a buck, along with its legendary Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce. Adults can drop off their children at the 2,000 sq. ft. supervised Small Land play area.

The retail store in South Winnipeg is the anchor tenant in a large big box shopping district. When completed, the 80-hectare development will be Winnipeg's largest retail project in the past 25 years. If you're a super shopper, Visit Winnipeg has put together a fun, two-day shopping itinerary. You can also find additional travel information at the Travel Manitoba website.