I visited the Prairies last summer for about a week.
The TCH (TCH-1) through urban Winnipeg surprised me. The level of urbanisation and traffic seemed to rival parts of metro New York, and often the right-of-way was too narrow for comfort. Maybe it was just the incredible contrast from the quietness of everywhere else in the province!
The bypass (TCH-101TCH-100/MB-101 rte peripherique) is being upgraded in several spots to a freeway. It appears, as many have stated, too far out to be very useful to locals. Development just doesn't happen the way in Canada as it does in the United States. However, I wouldn't wish the city route on any trucker hauling turnpike doubles (nearly 40m total length) across the province.
Also: Portage (to the west of Winnipeg) appears to be upgrading its bypass; it may be a freeway or mostly-freeway sometime soon.