Recently, I had the good fortune to return to my photographic roots and provide photography for the Canadian Press for a story on efforts in Winnipeg’s North End to renew the William Whyte neighbourhood and turn a growing number of vacant or derelict housing lots into new housing.

This story was doubly rewarding, firstly because photographing everyday life and reality is what I love most about the medium. Secondly, it was a chance to learn something new and see an aspect of my city I never would have otherwise. To experience something firsthand is to learn about it as thoroughly as one can, and I walked away from this assignment knowing more about this effort and, more importantly, gain some hope based on what I learned.

It took many years for this once-thriving neighbourhood to fall prey to the problems caused by poverty and neglect, but it can be turned around. You can read the excellent story by Ian Bickis online, including this version

If you prefer, a brief video accompanying his story, produced by Ian as well, can be seen here

Jesse Bettcher stands in front of his new home in the North End near Pritchard Avenue, Tuesday July 21 2026 , Winnipeg MB. Bettcher’s home was infill built on the site of a vacant lot.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

Darrell Warren president of the William Whyte Community Association, stands by three derelict houses which have been the site of repeated fires in recent months, Tuesday July 21 2026 , Winnipeg MB.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

A vacant lot is seen in the North End near Pritchard Avenue, Tuesday July 21 2026 , Winnipeg MB.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

A row of three derelict homes in the William Whyte neighbourhood that have been the site of a dozen fires in recent months.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

Achilles Peloquin walks her dog in the William Whyte neighbourhood near Pritchard Avenue, Tuesday July 21 2026 , Winnipeg MB.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

A vacant home, boarded up and tagged with graffiti, is seen on Selkirk Avenue in the William Whyte neighbourhood.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

A thriving community garden is seen on a former vacant house lot in the William Whyte neighbourhood in the North End, Tuesday July 21 2026 , Winnipeg MB.
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

Darrell Warren president of the William Whyte Community Association walks through the North End near Pritchard Avenue, Tuesday July 21 2026 , Winnipeg MB. As someone who has spent all of his 65 years there, he remembers when people sat on their doorsteps, visited and watched out for one another.
"I remember how beautiful the neighbourhood was, and how viable the neighbourhood was and everything else," he said.
"I believe we can get back there."
(Colin Corneau/Canadian Press)

“A bad day fishing is better than a great day at work” Maybe so, but a day on the water in Newfoundland with friends beats it all.

This week I was on the waters near Conception Bay South thanks to the generosity of friends in Newfoundland to try my hand with a reel and fish for cod. For someone who didn’t see the ocean until well past his teen years and has never actually fished before, I fully expected and accepted to be an object of amusement (OK, pity) but let the record show that I caught the biggest one that day! Not bad for a flatlander.

The cod fishery is just one of the many aspects of Newfoundland that make it a place truly its own, like nowhere else in Canada. It has a long fascinating history with some dramatic modern history and, much like wheat in my birthplace Saskatchewan, has shaped the culture there for many, many many generations.

I’ll happily state I love Newfoundland and it’s the people that make me so quick to say it. Yes, the landscape is spectacular and the ocean is powerful and compelling - but culture, history and art is made by people. So, to the people who have so generously helped this come-from-away build this respect and admiration - thank you.

New Hope for the North End

A Day On The Ocean

Colin Corneau Blog