Cause and Effect and IKEA

With the fervor surrounding the grand opening of IKEA’s Winnipeg store (their first new market in Canada since 1982, btw), the media, Twitter, bloggers, internet-trolls, your mom are all giving IKEA way to much credit.  They are confusing cause and effect.

IKEA this year and The Jets return last year are not revitalizing our fair city. They are proof that we are once again a thriving “world class” city. A city Winnipeggers can be proud of, a city that is once again One Great City.

Obviously IKEA and The Jets are two huge milestones. But there is a lot of other developments underway. Almost 2 years ago I wrote a post on /r/Winnipeg about how great I thought 2013 would be. As examples of the city’s progress I listed:

• IKEA
• 5 Target stores
• An NHL team (cross your fingers)
• Canadian Human rights museum
• At least, two more awesome buildings downtown (Avenue building and Royal Bank renovations)
• New Airport
• A bunch of completed infrastructure projects (Disraeli, Osborne St Bridge, West Perimeter upgrades)
• Phase 1 of BRT
• alcohol in grocery stores (hopefully)
• New Bombers stadium at the U of M
• Renovated Children’s Museum
• New area code (431)

I’m sure there are tonnes and tonnes of smaller projects that could be added to the list.

The classic Winnipeg apathy and self-loathing that has been such a part of the Winnipeg zeitgeist for as long as I can remember is no longer relevant.  The proof is in the lingonberry pudding.