The city of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, has backed a $17 million loan to the Assiniboine Park Zoo for the completion of their Journey to Churchill exhibit on polar bears. The exhibit, which costs approximately $70 million, is planned to open in October 2013 and will be an interactive experience, while affiliated with the efforts of the Polar Bear Conservation Center.

Including a 360-degree Aurora Borealis theater, tundra tours, a children's play area and a tundra garden, the new zoo will feature the arctic like no other. New restaurants and gift shops will also be included in the construction.

Conservation efforts for polar bears in Manitoba will be a primary goal of the new exhibit, with relocation efforts for orphaned cubs and rescue of injured animals being a concern. The city's backing of the loan means a clear goal for the zoo, and without it the project never would have come to pass.

Sam Katz, Winnipeg mayor, said that while the city did not intend to back the loan originally, they had to "come up with a way to resolve the guarantee issue, or Journey to Churchill would not become a reality."