Whiteshell park safety upgrades to begin Monday

Construction at Whiteshell Provincial Park is set to begin Monday, as a portion of the Trans Canada Trail closed Friday in preparation of safety upgrades at a site where two brothers drowned last month.

The province confirmed Friday that a section of trail running from the southwestern point where it meets Sturgeon Falls Road through to Sturgeon Falls will be closed during the work.

The closure is expected to remain in place for up to eight weeks, depending on progress and weather.

The improvements were announced by the province after brothers Maximo Au Ramirez, 10, and Aaron Au Ramirez, 13, went missing in the fast-moving rapids at Sturgeon Falls on July 18. Their bodies were found days later.

The project will include a 300-metre fence about four feet high, wrapping around the end of the trail to prevent visitors from reaching the rocks and water.

Six warning signs and three fenced lookout points will also be installed at the site.

The province has said the project will include a new portage for kayakers and canoeists, allowing paddlers to bypass the dangerous rapids.

Sturgeon Falls is located between Nutimik and Numao lakes along the Winnipeg River system. The falls can be accessed by a 1.9-kilometre trail from the Nutimik Lake campground.

“We have a responsibility to do everything we can to make this site safer and to prevent another family from going through this kind of heartbreak,” Environment Minister Mike Moyes said previously.

In addition to Maximo and Aaron, 38-year-old Harpreet Kaur Girn drowned at Sturgeon Falls in 2025, while 12-year-old Usaid Habib drowned there in 2023.

Visitors are asked to respect posted signage and stay out of the closed area while construction is underway.