Worker dies after canopy collapses at Fairmont hotel construction site

Incident involved employee of subcontractor working on renovations at downtown hotel, company says

A worker is dead after a canopy collapsed at a downtown Winnipeg construction site.

The employee of a subcontractor died after the incident at the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel work site Thursday, Graham Construction said.

The company said in an email Friday afternoon that it's co-operating with Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health, which is investigating.

A provincial spokesperson said in an email the worker was fatally injured when part of an overhead canopy collapsed while crews were doing asbestos remediation work.

The spokesperson said the worker was not alone at the time. They said Workplace Safety and Health is continuing to monitor cleanup at the site and that no further information on the investigation can be released at this time.

Police were dispatched to the work site around 5 p.m. Thursday to help the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service respond to a workplace incident at the site, a police spokesperson said earlier Friday.

Information on the City of Winnipeg's website shows first responders were sent to the scene just before 3:30 p.m.

A drone shot showing the Fairmont Winnipeg Hotel work site Friday. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

Barb Perreaux, a spokesperson for Fairmont owner Lombard Hospitality, told CBC News the company had been made aware of a serious incident but would not provide details out of respect for those involved.

Perreaux said the subcontractor was doing work as part of the hotel's renovation project.

Fairmont Winnipeg to close to guests in summer as hotel undergoes extensive renovations

No provincial stop-work orders had been issued for the site as of Friday afternoon.

The RCMP have responded to six other fatal workplace accidents in Manitoba this year. In 2025, four people died immediately or shortly after such incidents in the province, according to accepted claim statistics from the Workers Compensation Board.

Refresh coming to Fairmont Winnipeg after hotel acquired by James Richardson & Sons

The Fairmont Hotel, near the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street, closed to guests on July 1 for the renovations, which Lombard Hospitality has previously said will return the building to its position as "the city's pre-eminent luxury hotel."

The hotel was first known as the Winnipeg Inn, then the Westin Winnipeg, and then briefly as the Lombard Hotel. It was rebranded as the Fairmont Winnipeg in November 2000.

Lombard Hospitality is a subsidiary of James Richardson & Sons. The Richardson family, which originally developed and owned the hotel from 1970 until 2000, reacquired it in 2024.

With files from Josh Crabb, Meaghan Ketcheson and Darren Bernhardt