Winnipeg Whiteout Protection: How Trees Help Keep the Trans-Canada Highway Safe
In Manitoba, a “whiteout” means more than just playoff hockey; it’s a potentially life-threatening winter storm where snow and wind combine to erase the landscape in front of you.
While Winnipeg Jets fans have embraced the term for our raucous playoff tradition, we all know the real thing isn’t something that people usually celebrate.
Between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie the landscape is wide open, having once been the floor of ancient Lake Agassiz and later a massive prairie grassland. The Trans-Canada Highway through this stretch is no obstacle to 70 to 100 km/h winds mixed with blowing snow. These conditions create zero visibility and subsequent road closures to help prevent vehicle collisions and death. When this vital corridor gets shut down, Manitoba’s economy takes a hit, sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars. The ripple effect of that can be felt far beyond the road itself.
Since 2020, Manitoba Habitat Conservancy has been working to revitalize and replant shelterbelts between Portage and Winnipeg along the Trans-Canada Highway. These multi-row lines of trees act as natural windbreaks, reducing snowdrifts and helping keep the road clearer and safer in stormy weather.
“We plant a diversity of tree species that are resilient to stress, disease and pests,” said Scott Beaton, habitat conservation specialist with the conservancy. “To date we have planted 42 kilometres of three-row shelterbelts – about 49,000 trees in total.”
This summer marks the final planting phase of an additional two kilometres and 1,800 trees. After that, maintenance will continue for three years to ensure the young trees survive and fulfill their purpose.
Funding for the Trans-Canada Shelterbelt project is provided by the Manitoba government’s GROW Trust endowment fund with support from Manitoba Infrastructure and the Rural Municipalities of Cartier and Portage la Prairie. Together, they’re working to ensure that even in the harshest winter storms, Manitoba’s busiest highway remains a safe route for travelers and a vital corridor for the province
