Context

The Grain Exchange Building is an integral part of the development of the city, the prairies and Canada. Locally, the construction of the new exchange building on Lombard Avenue had an impact on Winnipeg's physical development. It shifted the grain trade, and associated financial and other services, away from Market Square, thereby assuring that the city's new financial district would locate on either side of Main Street.

The Grain Exchange also assured Winnipeg a central role in the development for the wheat economy and therefore in the economic growth of the prairies. Winnipeg had been western Canada's major center when the boom of the 20th century began, and this position was further solidified by having the Grain Exchange located within city limits. Although Winnipeg's regional importance diminished over time, it remained the center of the wheat trade in Canada for many decades due to the presence of the Grain Exchange.

Nationally, the Grain Exchange had been the only body of its kind and therefore the world's contact with one of the major global grain producers. People from other countries involved in buying, shipping or distributing grain had to come to the Grain Exchange in Winnipeg.

Landmark

This building is highly conspicuous on a city-wide scale, and its importance to the city, given the value of wheat to the development of Winnipeg, is great.