Ify Chiwetelu's top three Churchill, Manitoba moments

By Now or Never host Ify Chiwetelu

This week, Now or Never headed north to the small town of Churchill, Man. I don't know much about polar bears, and possibly even less about small towns, so the entire trip was filled with surprises. Here are my top three favourite moments:

Tundra Buggy

Many people come to Churchill and go out on the tundra — with one of the many tour operators — to look for polar bears. But how many people go out and get a chance to drive a Tundra Buggy? When I first heard about the Tundra Buggy, I expected a rugged vehicle making its way steadily across cold, flat land. I was wrong. This giant vehicle, that is basically a school bus on steroids, climbed over rocks and crashed through barely frozen pools of water. Driving it at points felt like an unwelcome roller-coaster ride that I may still be recovering from.

Polar Bear Holding Facility

Watch a polar bear air lift from Churchill's 'bear jail'

7 years ago

Duration 0:42

Two bears with a history of causing trouble in town. One committed a couple of B&Es. The other has been lifted out of town, but keeps coming back. The helicopter will take them 50 miles out, hopefully to a spot that's safer for them, and for humans.

Two words: Bear. Jail. The Churchill Polar Bear Holding Facility is a temporary home for wayward polar bears... bears who have an affinity for coming into town, maybe helping themselves through a window or two. We asked our cab driver Sandy to take us up to the detention centre, and we stumbled on a lot more than we bargained for. Two bears were about to be lifted out by a helicopter to be dropped off 50 kilometres from town. Word got around fast! Moments after we arrived, tour buses and trucks filled with people lined the streets to watch it all go down.

Community

By far, the biggest surprise of my time in Churchill was the people — more specifically the sense of community. Every Churchillian we spoke to shared the different ways that the people of Churchill have supported each other. From Erin Greene telling us how, after her near fatal bear attack, the town rallied to pay all her medical bills, or Molly Meeko sharing that people regularly knock on her door to ask if she has enough food for her and her six kids... the sense of community and drive to look after their own is Churchill's worst kept secret.

My favourite moments by far were getting to connect with people and hear stories of life in Churchill, many of which started with "I meant to stay for just one week…" and ended with "I will never leave."