Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Sources
In 1898, four nuns from the Soeurs de Misericorde (Sisters of Mercy) came from Montreal to open a mission in Winnipeg to care for unwed mothers and fatherless children. Demand grew quickly so, between 1899 and 1900, they constructed a three-storey wood frame structure as a maternity hospital. In 1907, it was more than doubled in size with the construction of centre and north wings, both of which remain today, designed by architects Joseph-Azarie Senecal and Daniel Smith. (The original 1899-1900 south wing is gone.) In 1917, the Misericordia Maternity Hospital became the Misericordia General Hospital to serve the growing neighborhoods of Wolseley, West Broadway, Crescentwood, Fort Rouge, and River Heights.
Numerous additions to the original building have occurred through the years. A School of Nursing was inaugurated in 1916 and a nurses’ residence was built in 1930. The Maryland wing (designed by the firm of Northwood and Chivers) was added in 1950 and the Cornish wing was built in 1957. The Riverview Annex from 1971 provided a modern Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit. In 1998, the facility was down-graded from an acute-care centre to the Misericordia Urgent Care Centre. Most recently, the Maryland wing, home of the Buhler Eye Care Centre, opened in January 2015 at cost of $43 million.
The former nurses’ residence was demolished in late November or early December 2020.
An honour roll listing hospital employees who served during the Second World War in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Army Medical Corps, Royal Canadian Navy, and US forces is displayed on the sixth floor of the Wolseley Wing in the corporate offices area of the floor. The only casualty on the roll is nurse Agnes Wightman Wilkie (1904-1942), who is also listed on the Carman War Memorial and the Westminster United Church War Memorial.
The original Misericordia Maternity Hospital, built between 1899 and 1900 (circa 1903)
Source: An Illustrated Souvenir of Winnipeg
Postcard view of the Misericordia Hospital after the 1907 construction of the centre wing and north wing at right (circa 1910)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2014-0297
The centre and north wings of the 1907 expansion (October 2014)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The centre wing of the 1907 expansion (August 2022)
Source: George Penner
Misericordia Health Centre building (October 2015)
Source: George Penner
Morgue in the 1907 portion of the building (December 2016)
Source: Holly Thorne
Former swimming pool in the hospital basement (December 2016)
Source: Holly Thorne
Former greenhouse in the 1907 portion of the building (December 2016)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The centre and north wings of the 1907 expansion (December 2023)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Wartime honour roll for staff of the Misericordia Hospital (March 2025)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87966, W97.16017
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Joseph-Azarie Senecal (1841-1917)
Memorable Manitobans: Daniel Smith (1840-1913)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: L. P. Court / Wilfred Apartments / West Gate Apartments / Misericordia Hospital Nurses’ Home (21 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cornish Court / Misericordia Hospital Nurses’ Home (19 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg)
MHS Centennial Organization: Villa Rosa
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1906/1688, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Misericordia Hospital Winnipeg: 60th anniversary, 1924-1984, Misericordia Nurses Alumni, c1984. [Manitoba Legislative Library, RA893.W5.M5]
“Nurses pleased Misericordia saved,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 August 1996, page 3.
“Misericordia’s new urgent care facility expected to be busy,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 December 1998, page 6.
“Misericordia Health Centre opens its new $43 million Maryland building,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 January 2015.
“Misericordia Sisters asks Manitoba health minister to change his mind,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 June 2017.
Misericordia’s Historical Chronology.
We thank Doug Chivers, George Penner, Holly Thorne, Nathan Kramer, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 16 March 2025
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