Niagara Falls Ontario isn't really that healthy a town either. Maybe it's something in the water?That's really true about Niagara Falls. I'm not from there, but visiting there for a day and seeing/driving through Niagara Falls, Ontario, it's pretty obvious that Niagara Falls, New York should've been doing something different if it didn't want to be an utter pit past the tourist blocks of town.
Winnipeg is surrounded by some serioud dikes and such, so it could still happen. Maybe if the CSA succeeded, and through some miracle got Missouri? Or if the US never managed the Louisiana purchase (or at least it happened much later)?More potential than it ended up being, but you'll have to solve the fact the place is one of the most flood-prone parts of the country. It's completely surrounded by giant walls to stop flooding, that's a problem it's rivals like St. Louis don't have to deal to the extent Cairo does.