Lost your only car key near Kenora — or out at the lake?
I'm Leo — a mobile auto locksmith based in Winnipeg, registered to work in Ontario too. I make planned drives east to Kenora, Keewatin and the Lake of the Woods cottage country to cut and program car keys right at your vehicle: a cabin driveway, a boat-launch lot, the shoulder of Highway 17. No tow into town, no waiting on a dealer's parts order. Honest version up front — it's about a two-hour drive, so it's scheduled, not a twenty-minute rescue.
Before you text — the honest version
Kenora is roughly two hours from my door in Winnipeg, so this works differently than a city call. Read it before you book:
What you get
A real auto locksmith at your vehicle, dealer-level access, keys cut and programmed on the spot — no tow into town.
What it isn't
A fast rescue. It's a scheduled trip — booked ahead, quoted in writing, with a deposit to lock the day and mileage in the number.
One hard line
Car keys only — not cabin doors, padlocks, or boat locks.
The drive out, honestly
Winnipeg to the lake — and exactly how far I'll go.
There's no shop near you; there's a van leaving Winnipeg. Highway 17 east runs through Manitoba's Whiteshell, crosses into Ontario, and lands in Kenora about two hours later — then keeps going south into cottage country. Here's the route I actually drive, where the province line falls, and where I stop.
Winnipeg — the Perimeter
Start · MBWhere the van and the equipment live. Mileage starts counting the moment I cross the Perimeter Highway heading east — at a flat 90¢/km, named in your quote.
Falcon Lake & West Hawk Lake
≈1.5 hrs · MBThe Whiteshell resort lakes, still on the Manitoba side and right on my route. A car stranded here can sometimes line up with a trip already heading east — text your spot and I'll tell you straight.
Kenora & Keewatin
≈2 hrs · ONThe main reason I built this page. Lost keys at the marina, a spare cut in a driveway off Highway 17, a fob that quit in a parking lot — Kenora and neighbouring Keewatin are the core of what I cover in Ontario.
Sioux Narrows & the south shore
~1 hr past Kenora · ONHighway 71 down the east side of Lake of the Woods — Sioux Narrows and roughly an hour south toward Nestor Falls is about as far as I'll commit to. Past that the round trip stops making sense for you or me, and I'll say so.
Not on this list but close to it? Text the location anyway. The honest worst case is me telling you it's too far and pointing you somewhere nearer.
Why people text me from out here
The job that's worth a two-hour drive.
Cottage country is the worst place to lose a key. There's no dealer around the corner, the nearest tow could be an hour and a hundred-plus dollars away, and the lock shops in the area lean toward houses and businesses, not the chip in a modern car key. The trip that makes sense is the one where I arrive with the cutting and programming kit and you drive away — most often a full set of lost keys rebuilt from scratch.
Everything that travels for a Winnipeg call travels here too: a spare key cut and programmed before the long weekend so you're never stranded again, fob programming for a remote that died at the dock, a key cut by decoding the lock when there's no original left, or a plain car lockout when the keys are sitting on the seat. Same skills, same dealer-level access, just a longer driveway to reach.
The boundary that doesn't move with the distance: automotive only. I don't do cabin doors, padlocks, boathouse locks, or safes — not in Winnipeg, not on the lake. If the lock isn't on a vehicle, I'll send you to someone who does buildings rather than fake it.
To quote a Kenora-area trip
- ✓Year / make / model + what's wrong, by text
- ✓Where the car sits — town, cottage, or highway marker
- ✓A photo of the VIN and your key, if you still have one
- ✓Written quote back — the job, the mileage, the deposit
- ✓Photo ID + ownership proof at the car, then I start
Not sure why the VIN helps? Here's what it does and doesn't reveal.
What it costs out here
City prices for the work, honest math for the drive.
The key work itself costs the same as it does in Winnipeg — the pricing-page floors don't change because the car is on a lake. What's added for a Kenora-area trip is travel and a deposit, and both are written into the quote before I commit to driving.
The work — same as the city
- Lost all keys (none start the car)$280+
- Spare / extra key — transponder$90+
- Remote head / flip key$160+
- Proximity smart key$180+
- Key fob programming$90+
- Car lockout (keys locked inside)$65
The trip — the only extras
Mileage — 90¢/km
A flat ninety cents per kilometre for distance beyond the Winnipeg Perimeter. One line, counted both ways, shown in the quote.
Deposit to schedule
A deposit locks in the trip and goes toward your total. The balance is due when the key works — same as always. It's only non-refundable if the vehicle turns out not to be serviceable once I arrive.
Plus applicable tax
Tax is added to the total and itemized on your receipt. No vague "service fees," no surprise line when I pull up.
The number you agree to by text is the number you pay. If you'd rather not send the VIN before booking, that's fine — the quote just comes back as a small range until I see the car.
Registered to work here — not just visiting
An Ontario business, not a plate from across the border.
Ontario doesn't require a provincial locksmith licence — locksmith is a non-compulsory trade here, so no licence stands between someone and your car. That makes it your job to check who you're trusting. I make it easy: I'm registered in both provinces, and both records are public.
Beyond the paperwork, the things that actually protect you: commercial general liability insurance, NASTF VSP authorization for secure access to manufacturer key and immobilizer data, and a firm rule that I check photo ID against proof of ownership before I cut a single key. More about who I am, and how to spot a locksmith you shouldn't trust.
Ontario
ActiveRAXO LOCKSMITHS — registered with the Ontario Business Registry as a sole proprietorship in my name.
BIN 1001625465 · since May 2026
Manitoba
Home baseRAXO Locksmiths — a trade name of RAXO Group Inc., the Winnipeg corporation behind everything I run.
Corp #10249209 · Registry #10259548
Both are searchable in their provincial registries in under a minute. Real locksmiths register; that's the point of showing you the numbers.
Kenora-area questions, answered straight.
The out-of-town ones I actually get. General service questions live on the full FAQ page.
Do you actually drive out to Kenora?
Yes, but be clear-eyed about what that means: I'm based in Winnipeg, and Kenora is roughly a two-hour drive east on Highway 17. So this is a planned trip, not a drop-everything call-out. Text me the vehicle, what's wrong, and where it sits, and I'll book a time that works — usually a day or two out, sometimes sooner if I'm already heading that way. Anyone promising to be at your car near Kenora in twenty minutes either isn't coming from Winnipeg or isn't telling you the truth.
I lost my only key at a cottage on Lake of the Woods — can you still make one?
That's the job I'm built for out here. With no key to copy, I decode the locks at the vehicle, cut a fresh key to that code, and program it to your car through dealer-level access — the same information a dealership would use — so the car starts and locks again. It happens right where the car is parked: a cabin driveway, a boat-launch lot, the side of the highway. I need government photo ID and proof you own the vehicle before I cut anything, and a deposit to lock in the trip out.
How much does it cost compared to Winnipeg, and is there a travel charge?
The work itself is priced the same as it is in the city — the floors on my pricing page hold whether the car is in Winnipeg or on the lake. What's added for a Kenora-area job is travel: a flat 90 cents per kilometre beyond the Winnipeg Perimeter, plus a deposit to schedule the trip. Both go in the written quote before I commit to the drive, so the number you agree to is the number you pay — no surprise distance line when I arrive.
Why a deposit out here when Winnipeg jobs are pay-when-it-works?
Because a Kenora run is a half-day of driving before I touch a key, so the deposit holds the day and covers the trip. In the city I eat the drive and you pay only once the key works; that doesn't scale to a four-hour round trip. The balance is still due when the key works. The one case where the deposit isn't refundable is if the vehicle turns out not to be serviceable once I'm there — for example it was described wrong, or there's damage that makes the key job impossible — because the drive still happened. I'll always confirm the details by text first so that's a rare surprise.
Do you need a licence to be a locksmith in Ontario?
No — Ontario doesn't require a provincial locksmith licence. Locksmith is a non-compulsory trade here, which means there's no licence standing between someone and your car. That's exactly why it's worth checking who you let near it. What I can show you instead: a business registered in Ontario and in Manitoba, commercial general liability insurance, NASTF VSP authorization for secure access to manufacturer key and immobilizer data, and a hard rule that I verify ID and ownership before I cut a key. Those are the things that actually protect you.
Are you really registered to work in Ontario, not just visiting from Manitoba?
Registered in both. In Manitoba I operate as RAXO Locksmiths, a trade name of RAXO Group Inc. (Corp #10249209). In Ontario, RAXO LOCKSMITHS is registered with the Ontario Business Registry under Business Identification Number 1001625465, active since May 2026. Both are public records you can look up before you ever text me — which is the whole point of registering rather than just driving across the border and hoping nobody asks.
What if I'm stranded on Highway 17 between Winnipeg and Kenora?
The route runs through the Whiteshell — Falcon Lake and West Hawk Lake on the Manitoba side — and those are on my way out, so a stranded car along that stretch can sometimes line up with a trip. Text me your location and the vehicle. If I'm already booked to head east, it may slot in; if not, I'll give you an honest window rather than leave you waiting on a maybe. Either way you'll get a real answer, not a dispatcher's guess.
Do you do cabin doors, padlocks, or boat locks while you're out there?
No — car keys only, everywhere I work. No cabin or cottage doors, no padlocks, no boathouse or boat locks, no safes. It's the same boundary I keep in Winnipeg: if it's not an automotive key or a car lockout, it's not my call, and I'll point you to someone who handles building locks rather than pretend it is.
Book a Kenora-area trip — quote in writing.
Tell me the vehicle and where it sits — a town, a cottage, a highway marker. I'll text back one number with the work, the mileage, and the deposit, before anyone commits to a drive.
Stuck out east? Let's get a plan, not a panic.
Text me the vehicle and where it's sitting near Kenora or the lake. You'll get an honest window and a written number — work, mileage, and deposit — before I turn the key in my own van.