Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

St. John's Cathedral

The first Protestant Church in the Red River Settlement was established on this site in 1822 by John West, a Church of England clergyman sent by the Hudson's Bay Company. West and his successors ministered to the needs of fur traders and settlers at Red River, founded schools, and established Indian missions. Subsequently, the Cathedral became the administrative, educational, and missionary centre of the Anglican Church in Western Canada.

Four churches have occupied this site. A stone church replaced the original Red River frame structure in 1833. A second stone church, erected in 1862, was replaced in 1926 by the present Cathedral. Designed in the Gothic style by Winnipeg architects Gilbert Parfitt and Edgar Prain, it incorporates stone taken from the earlier churches. The Cathedral contains many mementoes of St. John's history and is notable for its stained glass. Many prominent missionaries and citizens are buried in the Cathedral cemetery.