Yay for T-Bay!
Margie rushed to see, imploring 'Where?'
I pointed to Lake Superior's famous landform — The Sleeping Giant.
photos by Gord Mackintosh / Free Press
Even perfect sunrises don't awaken the Sleeping Giant.
'I fell for that!?' she growled.
We drove from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay this April. After many kilometres of moose pasture east of Dryden — we counted 22 moose 'Night Danger' signs — the Nor'Wester Mountains rise ahead. The flat-topped range impresses with myriad shapes and sheer cliffs. To Prairie drivers, it's the Rockies in half the time.
Kakabeka Falls then stuns. To Prairie drivers, it's Niagara Falls in one-third the time. Upstream spruce bogs infuse its roaring golden waters. In April, enjoy the bonus of ice-packed canyon walls — and no park fees. After May 9, walk in backwards. Wait — that might not go well here.
Thunder Bay's Current River rushes violently. To witness kilometre-long rapids, carefully follow Cascades Conservation Area's Yellow Trail. You've wrongly meandered onto the Green Trail if the rapids' rumbling becomes fainter — duh, Gord.
Downstream, Trowbridge Falls surges. Unlike mid-July camping memories of lazing in these rapids, spring runoff would sweep me and my koozie down to Boulevard Lake's beach. Below Boulevard's dam, glittering cascades enthrall.
Folks fish from urban rivers.
Off Central Avenue, I asked a fisher casting in the McIntyre River, 'Whatcha fishin' for? Old rubbers?' The surprising reply: 'Steelhead trout.' I told Margie, 'They fish those with magnets.'
Golden waters roar at Kakabeka Falls.
Thunder Bay lies on the world's biggest freshwater lake.
Despite grand vistas with spectacular sunrises, Superior's lakefront has been crowded with trains, grain elevators and industry. Even the ol' Sea-Vue Motel backs onto Maki's Diesel Repair.
But now behold lakeside marinas, walkways, public art. A waterfront art gallery opens soon.
Moreover, the new eight-storey Delta hopefully signals the arrival of modern, full-service, shoreline hotels. Room numbers ending in 01, 02 or 04 offer 'Superior' views.
Drive east to reflect at the Terry Fox Monument and vista.
Westward, pay $10 for the drive-up view from Mount McKay. The Best Western Nor'Wester provides mountain views from even-numbered suites. Better yet, dine with a panorama at The Neebing Roadhouse.
The McIntyre River brings steelhead trout into the city.
Try yummy Neebing Firebombs. Then cruise into the mountain-framed Slate River Valley for Thunder Oak Cheese Farm curds. Exclaim, 'No whey!'
Thunder Bay offers three unusual regional dishes: Finnish pancakes, Coney burgers and Persians.
Among Finn pancake eateries, we chose, yes, Kangas Sauna. With 18 sauna rooms for rent, the restaurant section attracts chatty folks, including a snoopy couple arguing about what's best: pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, or with syrup and bacon. But it's not as if we were yelling.
Our friendly server delivered a pun, likely unwittingly. Seeing my almost-devoured layer of four crepe-like pancakes, she asked, 'You gonna Finnish it some more?'
Coney burgers mean toppings of meat chili, mustard and onions. Among several joints, we adored these darlings at Westfort's Coney Island and the misnamed McKellar Confectionery. There, gregarious owner George Kelos reminded me that meat chili burgers migrated from this city to Winnipeg where, with more toppings added by the Scouras brothers, Manitoba's iconic Fat Boy emerged.
Persians are fried dough with subtly baked-in cinnamon covered in pink frosting. At Holland Bakery, a fellow seeking Persians at 10:30 a.m. was told, 'Sold out!' He replied, 'Ya gotta be quick with Persians!'
At The Persian Man, I asked owner Danny Nucci, 'What's your frosting recipe? Raspberry or strawberry and what?' Danny merrily replied, 'If I tell you, I have to kill you.' I said, 'See ya!' A pal later deduced, 'It tastes pinky.'
Mount McKay, or Animiki-wajiw (Thunder Mountain), looms over Thunder Bay.
I joyously devoured The Sweet North Bakery's Persian frosting-stuffed cruffin (a croissant-muffin mix), licked Merla Mae's Persian ice cream, and sipped Dawson Trail Brewery's Persian-inspired ale.
Seeing Sleeping Giant Brewing's huge beer bottle display, I asked, 'How many bottles of beer on the wall?' Staff wisecracked, 'No idea. You might wanna count 'em!' We couldn't spare the afternoon, but thankfully bought its Beaver Duck Session IPA. A beaver duck is a beaver donning a duck hat with handy straps.
Thunder Bay delivers more bewilderment. Many street names change while you're driving — one eight times. Winnipeg Avenue boasts four separate sections. And at several major crossroads, street name signs are missing. That's when Margie asked, 'What's this 'Map' function on our dashboard?'
The Holiday Inn Motel is unrelated to the lodging chain. Don't expect nips at The Sal. Plus, Thunder Bay 'nips' are gravy-covered burgers. 'Socials' are 'shags.' 'Backpacks' are 'pack sacks.' 'Cottages' are 'camps.'
For shopping, local vendors cram Country Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Goods and Co. from Wednesday to Sunday. And Fort William First Nation sells gas up to 27 cents a litre cheaper. K&A Variety has 32 pumps! Inside, cashiers bark out pump numbers. Yell, 'Bingo!'
To get there, navigate the super-skinny James Street Swing Bridge. Margie almost touched its sides. This must be a dream for local auto shops. Hey — should they have names like Half-Way Motors? Mid City Collision? Gore Motors?
GORD MACKINTOSH / FREE PRESS
Likely a half-hour's supply of Persians at The Persian Man.
And then there's Dusty's Car Care.
As for the Sleeping Giant, Delta staff assured, 'Someday, maybe he'll wake up!' Don't miss it.
gordmackintosh9@gmail.com
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Despite cross-border tensions, it's mostly business as usual for International Peace Garden staff, volunteers
INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN — From fentanyl and asylum seekers to trade wars and talk of annexation, the Canada–U.S. border is a pressure point in our countries' squabbles right now. On Thursday, President Donald Trump's executive order raising tariffs to 35 per cent on exports that are not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement kicked in, adding to the economic pain Canada has been feeling from its longtime neighbour and ally. CONRAD SWEATMAN / FREE PRESS On Saturday, U.S. and Canadian residents are invited to the garden to shake hands across the shared border. CONRAD SWEATMAN / FREE PRESS On Saturday, U.S. and Canadian residents are invited to the garden to shake hands across the shared border. It's only the latest salvo targeting Canada since Trump declared a national emergency in February at the U.S.-Canada border in response to what his administration alleges is a flood of human and drug smuggling from Canada flowing south. Yet, for all this tension, the fact remains: the 49th parallel traces the world's longest undefended border. Customs agents have grown twitchier, but there's still limited border walls and fences and certainly no turreted watchtowers, standing army presence or demilitarized zone. Historically, 'friendship' has been a watchword for our soft borders. Its most potent symbol is rooted at the International Peace Garden, nearly 1,000 hectares of stunning landscape at the border just south of Boissevain that attracts 100,000 tourists, music students, nature lovers and conference attendees every year. The fault line between Canada and the U.S. crosses through the garden, but visitors move back and forth across it without an inspection by a customs agent. On Saturday, U.S. and Canadian residents are invited to the garden to shake hands across the shared border in what the garden's CEO Tim Chapman describes as a show of dedication to peace and co-operation between Canada and the U.S, despite the recent friction. 'It's something we want to do every year,' Chapman told the North Dakota Monitor. He said he hopes that as many as 1,000 Americans and 1,000 Canadians will participate in the handshake, scheduled for 11 a.m., in a ceremony that includes singing both national anthems. It's probably not coincidental that the garden's origins dovetail with the countries' strengthening security alliance. In 1938, on the brink of the Second World War, U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt announced that the U.S. would not stand idly by if the Canada were attacked by a foreign power. Prime Minister Mackenzie King meanwhile pledged that Canada would do everything it could to ensure its soil could never be used to stage an attack on the U.S. The agreement had a resounding effect on U.S.-Canadian defensive co-operation and is considered a foundation for the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The binational partnership — the Canadian command is headquartered in Winnipeg — has continued to monitor and defend North American airspace since early in the Cold War. FRED MCGUINNESS COLLECTION/SJ MCKEE ARCHIVES/BRANDON UNIVERSITY The grand opening of the International Peace Garden in 1932. FRED MCGUINNESS COLLECTION/SJ MCKEE ARCHIVES/BRANDON UNIVERSITY The grand opening of the International Peace Garden in 1932. The International Peace Garden, like NORAD, is also descended from an interwar agreement. Only it was gardeners, not statesmen, who led the charge. 'A few of them were just fascinated by the world's longest unfortified border,' Chapman tells the Free Press. 'And (it's) like… 'What do we have in common? Oh, we're one of few countries in the world with a massive border, and we're not constantly attacking one another.'' Spearheaded by horticulturist Henry R. Moore, the idea attracted the support of powerful philanthropic families on both sides of the border and the Manitoba and North Dakota governments. An estimated 50,000 people travelled to the site to witness the groundbreaking and dedication ceremony on July 14, 1932. CONRAD SWEATMAN / FREE PRESS The Hands of Peace at the International Peace Garden. CONRAD SWEATMAN / FREE PRESS The Hands of Peace at the International Peace Garden. Today, the non-profit's garden is a site of international conferences, music and cultural camps and meetings between American and Canadian officials amid calming flora and monuments with cosy names such as the Peace Chapel, the Friendship Rock and the Hands of Peace. 'If people can solve differences in more natural settings than your typical G8 setting… your thought process is better. You're less likely to jump down someone's throat,' says Chapman. Those who work at the International Peace Garden — some 120 yearly volunteers and 50 staff members during the summer season — describe a uniquely binational culture there. Many of them are gardeners, helping to cultivate the 100,000 or so flowers planted each year, often in striking patterns. They work on the GPS-run floral clock with its estimated 3,000 blooms, the Don Vitko Conservatory — home to thousands of rare and beautiful cacti and succulents — and other areas. Some fly in just for the spring or summer, others live in the neighbouring towns of Boissevain and Dunseith, N.D.; places with similar, and generally conservative, cultures. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN FILES The International Peace Garden attracts 100,000 tourists, music students, nature lovers and conference attendees every year. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN FILES The International Peace Garden attracts 100,000 tourists, music students, nature lovers and conference attendees every year. Volunteers and visitors from either side of the border can access the garden without passing through Customs, though they do so on their way back. Some, like Chapman (who's American), even send their kids to school across the border. At the southernmost corner is its music camp. At least a dozen flags fly in its centre, representing the nationalities of the students, staff and faculty assembled and the camp's cosmopolitan spirit. 'It's the life of the camp,' says Randy Hall, the camp's director of student activities. 'This was my 49th year dealing with the music camp and it couldn't be a more fitting place (for his daughter's wedding),' he says, as volunteers finish setting up for the ceremony. 'She's been here at camp every summer since she's been born.' The strain of cross-border unease is nevertheless beginning to show a little for those who tend the garden and its programs. Chapman recalls Canadians calling the office in the spring to say they wouldn't be visiting the garden in protest against Trump's trade policies and rhetoric. 'Not that I needed to be right, (but) all I was saying is, 'The garden will still be here. It's going to exist and have the same mission,'' he says. 'But also, think about the local economics of it.' He's referring to the benefits that tourism brings to nearby towns. The site recently offered Canadians 20 per cent off at its gift shop due to the weaker loonie. Some Americans objected to the gesture and defiantly swiped their cards in the Canadian terminal. Debra McCollum, IPG's education volunteer coordinator. Debra McCollum, IPG's education volunteer coordinator. Debra McCollum, IPG's education volunteer co-ordinator, who lives in southern Manitoba, finds these subtle ripples on everyday relationships troubling. 'It's my 33rd summer here and it's a part of who I am. The peace it represents, the peace (it) symbolizes between Canada and the United States — that's a part of me as a Canadian,' she says. For a stereotypically polite people, Canadians' 'elbows up' rhetoric seems excessive to her. 'I mean, it's strong. It's almost bordering on physical aggression…. That's just not something that we would even think about here,' she says. 'We're in this beautiful nature setting, and we love people coming to see us, and people love coming for a lot of the same reasons — so you're not in that frame of mind.' A complex web of cross-border institutions bridge the United States and Canada, covering not just trade, border security and continental defence but seemingly everything in between. Civil servants and representatives have often worked closely with their counterparts across the 49th parallel. Despite their cordiality and their constituents' history of close trade, Premier Wab Kinew and North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong also remain, inevitably, at cross-purposes. Liberal economists may insist that steep tariffs violate modern Economics 101, spreading inefficiencies and dragging countries into cycles of self-defeating brinkmanship. Yet, rational or not, here we are in a 'trade war,' with Armstrong strongly endorsing Trump and his tariff policies. CONRAD SWEATMAN / FREE PRESS Tim Chapman, CEO of the International Peace Garden CONRAD SWEATMAN / FREE PRESS Tim Chapman, CEO of the International Peace Garden Regarding the garden's future — funded equally by the North Dakota and Manitoba governments and depending heavily on their co-operation, Chapman is confident the centre will hold. 'That's one thing that's always really impressed me here. Even if North Dakota's government tends to lean right, Manitoba left… it seems like going back decades, the province and the state have really set an awesome example of cherishing the fact that it is a shared space,' he says. The IPG may seem like a comparatively low-stakes collaboration. But Chapman says its relaxed quality also makes it an ideal setting for many deliberations and negotiations. 'There are good studies out of Japan… about the intersection of peace and nature,' he says. 'You get people outside or in more natural settings, in general, human thought process improves.' Premiers and governors have met on the garden's grounds, and Chapman says that the International Joint Commission, a bilateral governmental organization addressing the extensive waters and waterways along and across the border, often meets there. He adds that representatives from North Dakota's trade office have reached out to the IPG about using it for future meetings with their counterparts in Manitoba. Though both offices have their hands tied by Ottawa and Washington when it comes to tariffs, he hopes reason — friendship even — will steer co-operation within those tricky limits. 'I think regardless of politics, people who really are involved in cross-border business and understand trade prefer that rhetoric not be where it is right now,' Chapman says. 'Especially if you live in a border town or a border state or province, you know the impact. 'We do really depend on each other.' Conrad SweatmanReporter Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Resilient restaurateur Robert West knows his prime cuts, whether firing up the band or the steakhouse grill
STEAD — Winnipeg radio personality Tyler Carr spent a weekend earlier this summer at Glamping InStead, an off-grid, eco-friendly facility situated 45 minutes north of the city near Stead, the so-called 'sod capital' of Manitoba. Carr, a morning-show host at Energy 106, and his partner Mitch were curious about area attractions. Among the must-sees suggested to them by their host was the Stead Ranch Steak House, a rustic, 60-seat restaurant-and-bar that operates out of a converted barn on Stead Road, close to Provincial Trunk Highway 12. 'The minute we drove up, I was like, 'Mitch, I have to make a video,'' says Carr, who moonlights as a digital creator. 'Everybody likes to overuse the term 'hidden gem' but without a doubt, the steakhouse immediately struck me as a hidden gem in our province.' West purchased the 160-acre property in 2002. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) Well, so much for hidden. Since its release on various social media platforms, Carr's 36-second spot, which shows him and Mitch diving into steak, ribs, onion rings and fries against a backdrop of barn-wood walls adorned with cowboy boots, Stetsons and cattle skulls, has garnered over a million views. Comments have poured in from across the country, the majority being along the lines of 'Need to try!' and 'I think a steak is in my future.' 'It's sometimes hard as a content creator because you're expected to love everything,' says Carr, who also gave the resto's home-baked peach crumble a thumbs-up. 'But the truth of the matter is I wasn't paid to go there, we paid for our own meals and I made a video simply because of how much we enjoyed ourselves. It was just an authentic good time.' 'This is what Montana's (BBQ & Bar) wishes it looked like,' chuckles owner Robert West, settling into an upholstered booth in the Stead Ranch Steak House's saloon area, steps away from a raised stage populated with speakers, microphone stands and a full drum kit. West, whose long grey locks and beard would make members of hirsute Texas trio ZZ Top green with envy, laughs again, commenting, 'How long have you got?' when asked whatever possessed him to open an eating spot/watering hole in, by his own admission, the middle of nowhere? Under the moniker Bob E. Lee West and the Mainstreet Band, Robert West, now 74, toured Western Canada regularly in the 1970s and '80s, performing his brand of country-rock. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) The 74-year-old was born in Saskatoon. He moved to Calgary along with his mother, step-father and three half-siblings at an early age. He wasn't exactly an angel growing up, he states matter-of-factly, a set of circumstances that resulted in him being transferred to a reform school in Innisfail, Alta., 110 kilometres away. 'I got out when I was 16. They drove me to the bus and told me my mother was going to meet me at the other end, only when I got there, she wasn't anywhere to be found,' he goes on. 'I ended up getting a job as a busboy at the Trade Winds Motor Hotel. Later I headed to Vancouver, before hitchhiking to Toronto in, I wanna say, 1967.' During his spell in Innisfail, West taught himself how to play guitar. He was well-versed on the instrument by the time he reached Toronto, which led to opportunities to jam with bands booked at the nightclub where he worked in the kitchen. One of those groups was the Hawks, who achieved global success in 1968 after changing their name to the Band, ahead of the release of their debut album Music From Big Pink. Robert West (bottom) (Supplied) Robert West (right) in the 1980s (Supplied) West eventually became a professional musician himself. Under the banner Bob E. Lee West and the Mainstreet Band, he toured incessantly, delivering his brand of country-rock in bars and clubs across Western Canada and as far north as Alaska. He commonly rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ian Tyson and Prairie Oyster, and his greatest success occurred in 1988 when he won a Catch a Rising Star award for the single This Old Freight Train, recorded at Calgary's Smooth Rock Studios. By the early '90s West was ready for a change. He'd long dreamed of running a bar of his own and after being introduced to the late Ross Kennedy, a Winnipegger who owned multiple hotels during a decades-long career, he and his then-wife Amy went to work for Kennedy. Together they managed the Travelling Inn in Arborg, followed by the Lockport Inn Hotel on Henderson Highway and finally the 44-room Balmoral Hotel on Cumberland Avenue in Winnipeg, which is now the Pimicikamak Wellness Centre. Stead Ranch Steak House is located inside a converted barn near Brokenhead. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) In 2002 West spotted a listing for a 160-acre property in Stead that came with a two-storey, 1,700-square-foot home, as well as a century-old barn that had definitely seen better days. West and then-wife Amy spent nearly two years converting the barn into Stead Ranch Steak House. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) He and Amy spent close to two years converting the weed-infested structure into the Stead Ranch Steak House. The couple operated the steakhouse five days a week from 2004 until 2012, at which point West felt he needed a break. He returned to his original calling of music, a move that ultimately led to recording a full-length album, The Tree, which was nominated for best country CD at the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards ceremony, which was part of the Manito Ahbee Festival. (West, whose great-grandmother was Cree, showed off his deep baritone on the disc's 12 tracks, particularly the lead single A Dangerous Game, about murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.) A wall of fame with copies of owner Robert West's recordings at Stead Ranch Steak House. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) West, since divorced, announced the restaurant's return in February 2016. 'We want to offer a full night of entertainment,' he told a reporter from the Beausejour Clipper Weekly, noting he intended to add 'performer' to his long list of duties there. 'You start with dinner and drinks and end with dancing to a live band.' That formula proved successful, except the enterprise was forced to shutter once again in the summer of 2019 after West, who was also raising quarter-horses with his new wife Joanne, suffered a debilitating injury while out for a ride with two of his steeds. The steakhouse-bar is currently open three nights a week year-round, from Thursday to Saturday. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) 'At the time I had three horses: a little girl, her daddy, a two-eyed jack stallion, and her mom, a two-eyed jack mare,' he explains. 'That day we were going up a ridge in the wagon, the two older ones pulling me along, when we came upon a big buck who'd been in the area for years. 'The horses had seen him before but for whatever reason they shied, and away we went, over the ridge, rolling the wagon.' The buggy's drop pole came down on the male horse's back, killing him instantly. The mare suffered a broken leg, but somehow managed to remove herself from her rig and return to the homestead. Sensing something was obviously amiss, West's wife and employees set out to determine what had happened. 'It turned out I'd broken my neck, and had crushed my legs and pelvis,' West continues. 'I was flown to HSC, then to Toronto, where I stayed in bed for almost a year, pretty much paralyzed.' The 60-seat Stead Ranch Steak House is located north of Winnipeg and is situated in a converted century-old barn on Stead Road, just east of Gull Lake. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) West credits the nearby South Beach Casino for assisting in his rehabilitation. For months after returning home, he was granted access to the resort's indoor swimming pool. Finally, despite a pronounced limp, he reopened the restaurant in 2023 with the assistance of Joanne. While he is no longer involved with the cooking end of things — he has trouble standing for long durations — he stays busy accepting reservations and greeting regulars who make the trek from Winnipeg, Selkirk, Lac du Bonnet and the Grand Beach area. A wall of fame at Stead Ranch Steak House also features copies of owner Robert West's many recordings. The bar-eatery also features a raised stage with PA system and full drum kit to host live music performances. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) Stead Ranch Steak House owner Robert West at the restaurant (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press) 'We also get a lot of Americans in the winter months who come up for the ice fishing,' he adds, mentioning the locale, which is presently open three nights a week year-round, Thursday to Saturday, was utilized in the filming of Road of Iniquity, a 2018 flick produced by Cree actor and former Member of Parliament Tina Keeper. West is also writing and recording again. This month he'll head into the studio to put the finishing touches to his latest project, which will include a Johnny Cash-like ode titled Ten-pound Ball (Hanging off a Two-foot Chain). As for retirement plans, West says if he has his druthers, he won't be going anywhere, any time soon. 'Hey, I'm only 74. I'll have long enough to rest when I'm in the ground, for good.' If you value coverage of Manitoba's arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
02-08-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sarah Nurse ready to make waves with new PWHL team in Vancouver
VANCOUVER – When Sarah Nurse first stepped onto the Aquabus dock at Vancouver's Granville Island, she was a little apprehensive. The Hamilton hockey player was unaccustomed to being just a few feet away from ocean waters, with no rails or safety barriers in sight. But it didn't take long for the best-known player on the roster of Vancouver's new Professional Women's Hockey League team to find her footing. Within half an hour, Canada's most valuable player in the 2022 Olympic women's hockey tournament in Beijing had her hands on the vessel's wheel — steering the rainbow-hued commuter ferry through the busy waters of False Creek during a Friday sightseeing tour ahead of a holiday weekend. Nurse has never been shy about navigating uncharted waters. In 2023, she became the first female player ever to grace the cover of EA Sports' NHL video game. Then, as one of five members of the executive board of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association, she helped draft the PWHL's first collective bargaining agreement and bring the league to life. Now, after just two years, the PWHL has expanded to eight teams and stretched its footprint west with new franchises in Vancouver and Seattle. After she was left unprotected by the Toronto Sceptres in June's expansion draft, Nurse made the decision to become a part of another new thing and signed a one-year contract as a free agent. 'The opportunity for me to be able to help start an expansion franchise in a market that really has never had women's hockey before was really cool for me,' Nurse said. 'I haven't spent a lot of time in the city, but I've always admired it from afar. I don't know why I said this, but I was like, 'If I don't live in Toronto, I think Vancouver would be the place that I lived in.' So, unintentionally manifested this, I guess.' The roster-building process for the PWHL's expansion squads was designed to preserve the league's strong parity. When the dust settled, Vancouver's roster included Nurse's Olympic teammates Emerance Maschmeyer and Claire Thompson, former Toronto teammates Izzy Daniel and North Vancouver's Hannah Miller, and Finnish hockey legend Michelle Karvinen. Brian Idalski, whose long history in the women's game includes coaching Miller, Karvinen and Vancouver forward Michela Cava in the Russian women's league, will be behind the bench. After analyzing the roster assembled by general manager Cara Gardner Morey, Nurse was optimistic about her new team's prospects. 'I'm excited to see how the pieces are going to fall together,' she said. 'We want to be a competitor. How amazing would it be to bring home a Walter Cup in Year 1? I think that's definitely the goal whenever you start a hockey season.' Nurse was joined on her ferry excursion by Vancouver teammates Kristen Campbell and Jenn Gardiner. Campbell was named the PWHL's goalie of the year with Toronto in 2024 and was acquired by Vancouver in a draft-day trade. Gardiner of nearby Cloverdale, B.C., signed a one-year, free-agent contract after she was a finalist for rookie of the year with the Montreal Victoire. Despite her success in Montreal, Gardiner couldn't resist returning to her hometown after witnessing the market's enthusiasm for PWHL hockey. She played in front of 19,038 raucous fans at a sold-out Rogers Arena when the Victoire beat the Sceptres 4-2 in January's Takeover Tour game. 'I couldn't have chosen a better city for my first year in that in the league last year,' Gardiner said. 'It was really nice that my teammates were very supportive of me going back home to play. They know how much the game on January eighth meant to me, and growing the game out in B.C.' PWHL Vancouver hits the ice this fall at the Pacific Coliseum on the PNE grounds. The arena, which opened in 1968, hasn't been home to a hockey team since the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants moved to Langley in 2016. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Extensive renovations are currently underway at both the Coliseum and next door at the Agrodome, which will serve as the team's practice facility. When complete, Vancouver will be the only PWHL team to hold primary-tenant status at its home arena, which offers business and marketing advantages. The schedule for the PWHL's third year has not yet been released, but season-ticket packages for Vancouver were on sale. Each team played 30 games starting Nov. 30 last season. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2025.
