[4] In 1904, the City of Winnipeg Parks Board purchased native animals, including deer, bison, and elk to establish the zoo.

[5] The 1960s saw significant additions, including a gibbon and monkey house, a snow leopard, and another orphaned polar bear cub.

[6] In July 2015, the zoo extended visiting hours every Wednesday until 8 PM due to visitor requests for later closing times to accommodate working schedules.

Initial proposals were for a redesign of the existing polar bear enclosure, but this eventually grew into a much larger Master Plan Development project.

[20][21] The current farm includes the following mammals:[19] The Grasslands & Boreal Forest section features animal species that are native to North America.

[24] The exhibit is named for the town of Churchill, on Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba, which is home to the largest polar bear denning area in the world.

The exhibit features expansive habitats for:[24] The exhibit also features the Gateway to the Arctic, which includes: an underwater viewing tunnel called the Sea Ice Passage that houses polar bears and seals, who are separated by a clear wall; a short-film experience inside the 360-degree Aurora Borealis Theatre; and other interactive and interpretive components.

[25] The International Polar Bear Conservation Center was opened in January 2012, followed by the Journey to Churchill Northern Species exhibit in July 2014 as a permanent area.

The Kinsmen Discovery Center contains six galleries about different life forms—water, grasslands, air, underground, and two forest galleries—and is the Zoo's second biggest indoor exhibit with fish, snakes, reptiles, etc.

[27] Costing $1.75 million, the 743 m2 (8,000 sq ft)[20] Kinsman Discovery Center opened on March 23, 1990, two and a half years late and $550,000 over budget.

[20][21] A statue honoring Winnipeg the Bear—the bear that was made famous as Winnie-the-Pooh—was unveiled in 1992 and has since been relocated to the Nature Playground in the general Park area.

[31] Constructed in 1971 for $500,000, the original 1,230-square-metre (13,200 sq ft) Tropical House building first opened to the public in November 1972 and almost doubled the Zoo's total species.

[51] Located inside the Journey to Churchill exhibit, the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Center (IPBCC), named after Doug and Louise Leatherdale and sponsored by Calm Air, is the Zoo's central hub for research projects and conservation, as well as an interpretive center providing wildlife education.

IPBCC is overseen by an advisory board, currently chaired by Dr. Stephen Petersen, who is also the Zoo's Director of Conservation and Research.

[54] As of 2021, current projects relating to Manitoba species conservation include: At its inception, the Zoo was made free to the public.