Winnipeg Rifles Winnipeg Rifles Winnipeg Rifles are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Rifles are members of the Canadian Junior Football League and play their home games at Investors Group Field, home of the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Junior football in Winnipeg dates back to the 1920s, with the formation of the Manitoba Junior Football League. In 1953, teams from Winnipeg began playing in the CJFL, the most successful being the Winnipeg Rods, who won three championships. Those teams would eventually fold or merge. The Winnipeg Hawkeyes were the last Winnipeg-based team prior to the Rifles, folding in 1996.
History of Winnipeg and railway connection to St. Paul began the following year, via the Pembina Branch. The Pembina Branch ran on the east side of the Red River and terminated in St. Boniface. From there, passengers and goods were transported across the river to Winnipeg by ferry. The Canadian Pacific Railway completed the first direct rail link from eastern Canada in 1881, when the railway crossed the newly-constructed bridge across the Red River at Point Douglas, the Louise Bridge. The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway opened the door to mass immigration and settlement of Winnipeg and the Canadian Prairies. Today, the