The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the first national museum in Canada located outside the nation’s capital Ottawa. Acclaimed architect Antoine Predock designed the breathtaking building, which since opening this past fall, has taken its place as a defining Winnipeg landmark.

As you can imagine, creating a museum about human rights led its founders and leaders through a political quagmire. Federal funding was rumoured to come with sway over content. There were a number of public spats over exhibits in a surreal debate over which human atrocities should get more gallery space. Ukrainians felt the Holomodor was not adequately represented, Aboriginals protested the refusal of the museum to use the term “genocide” in reference to Canada’s policies that resulted in the erosion of First Nations culture and well-being. These are just two of the battles that ensued.

Many thought a museum about human rights was ill conceived in the first place. Who would want to visit a place focused on the myriad ways people throughout the centuries have oppressed, tortured, and massacred each other? If you live in Manitoba and were exposed to all of these discussions, it was hard to know what to expect once the museum finally opened.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

At the CMHR entrance is a wall with animated shadow figures actively writing “welcome” in various languages. It’s a neat effect.

Remarkably inspiring and hopeful

Steve and I visited the museum a few months after it opened. We live about a 10-minute walk away and watched the mammoth structure evolve over the past several years. We were mostly excited to see the inside of this incredible building. We had modest expectations about the exhibits.

We were surprised and inspired by how the museum presents the complex issue of human rights. Undoubtedly, there is heavy content that is dark and dispiriting. But there are also many stories of triumph that come through the narratives of remarkable men and women who have made Canada and the world a better place. The galleries are stunning and employ many interactive tools to engage the visitor beyond dioramas and the written word.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The museum combines towering images and video with small, intimate spaces for individual stories.

One exhibit positions visitors around a circular table. Using digital technology, visitors hear from those involved in different human rights cases and who have varying perspectives. Visitors then weigh in anonymously with their own position. The results are displayed after each case to see how opinion in the room splits. Very interesting.

Enhancing design

Architecturally, the museum does not disappoint. It is as breathtaking inside as it is from the outside. As visitors make their way through the exhibits, they ascend to the tower of hope, which rises 100 metres (23 stories). The tower’s panoramic view of Winnipeg’s big sky and endless horizon caps off the experience with a sense of optimism about the future.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The architecture inside the museum turns as many heads as the exhibits.

Practical details

If you go, allow at least three hours for a thorough visit. We cut ourselves short by arriving two hours before closing time. We definitely rushed through some areas to get a sense of the entire museum. We’re looking forward to going back.

Come prepared to walk a lot, but know that if you have mobility issues the museum’s universal design and availability of free mobility aids makes it a place everyone can enjoy. Find more details here.

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