The Provincial Act of 1880 which divided the entire province into municipalities partitioned the area surrounding the City of Winnipeg into three municipalities - Assiniboia on the West and South, Kildonan on the North, and St. Boniface on the East. (See Map III). The former two municipalities were entirely rural in character, while St. Boniface contained a small urbanized district on the East bank of the Red River, across from Winnipeg. The municipal boundaries adopted were based primarily on parish divisions: thus Assiniboia was constituted out of the parishes of Headingley, St. Charles, St. James and St. Boniface West, (1) with portions of two additional townships added on: Kildonan consisted of the parishes of the parishes of Kildonan and St. John's; (2) St. Boniface consisted of the parish of St. Boniface East (i.e. that portion of the parish lying on the East side of the Red River), with an additional township. These three original municipalities included virtually the whole of the present Greater Winnipeg area, and substantial territory as well to the East, West and North; only the Southern extremity of the present metropolitan area was not included in the three original municipalities. (Present-day St. Vital coincides approximately with the original municipality of St. Norbert, while present-day Fort Garry coincides approximately with the original municipality of Cartier. As is evident from the map, Cartier and St. Norbert were not actually adjacent to the City of Winnipeg.)
The three original municipalities were, in the following half century, divided and sub-divided, so that from the original three, more than a dozen municipalities were ultimately created. Thus from the original Assiniboia there have emerged the present-day municipalities of Assiniboia, Charleswood, Tuxedo, St. James, Brooklands, part of Fort Garry, and a part of Rosser; the present-day municipality of Old, North, East and West Kildonan spring from the original Kildonan; the City of St. Boniface, and portions of St. Vital, Transcona and Springfield were in the original municipality of St. Boniface.
The original boundaries endured only briefly; within two years, the City of Winnipeg carried out a major annexation of adjacent territory, thereby nearly trebling its area. This annexation, far larger in extent than any subsequently undertaken, (See Map III) was an outgrowth of the great Winnipeg real estate boom of 1881-82. When the Canadian Pacific Railway commenced construction of the speculative line across the Canadian West which opened the Prairies to settlement, a feverish speculative boom developed in the City of Winnipeg, the Gateway to the West. The speculative fever and the sudden upsurge in local economic activity arising out of the large scale railway construction activity brought many thousands of newcomers to the city, doubling its population within a single year. Anticipating a continuation of phenomenal growth, the city annexed huge portions of adjacent Kildonan and Assiniboia, extending its northerly boundary from Aberdeen Avenue to Inkster Avenue (approximately), its Western boundary from Maryland Street to St. James Street, and its Southern boundary from the Assiniboine River to Parker Avenue (See Map III).
In 1883, the urbanized portion of St. Boniface - the district along the East bank of the Red River across from Winnipeg, was incorporated as the Town of St. Boniface, thereby separating out from the municipality of the same name. The Town, comprising an area of 3586 acres, included the South half of present day Elmwood, which was at that time almost completely uninhabited. During the next twenty years there were consequently two St. Bonifaces in Greater Winnipeg - the town and the rural municipality out of which the town had separated. In 1903, the name of the rural municipality was changed to St. Vital, thereby ending the confusion which existed so long as both the town and rural municipality were referred to by the same name.
The boundaries of the rural municipality of St. Boniface were substantially altered in 1891, being reduced in the East and extended in the West and South. Approximately three-quarters of the township (ten, range four east,) which together with the parish of St. Boniface East, had constituted the municipality in 1880, was annexed to the neighboring municipality of Springfield. St. Boniface however was extended in other directions, with the addition of the entire parish of St. Vital, lying both East and West of the Red River, and that portion of the parish of St. Boniface West which had not been annexed by Winnipeg. (1) With this boundary adjustment the rural municipality of St. Boniface included the Northern halves of present-day Fort Garry and St. Vital, as well as territory now contained within the limits of the City of St. Boniface. (See Map III).
The rural municipality of Rosser was organized in 1893, being comprised of land formerly in the municipalities of St. Francis Xavier, Assiniboia, and St. Paul. The portion of Assiniboia which became part of Rosser included the present Village of Brooklands. By a boundary readjustment carried out in 1895, Rosser acquired an area of land hitherto in the municipality of Kildonan, while giving up one township to St. Paul.
Present-day Elmwood straddles the original parishes of St. Boniface and St. John's. The North half of Elmwood, lying in the parish of St. John's, was part of the municipality of Kildonan, when that municipality was first organized in 1876; (2) the South half of Elmwood, lying in the parish of St. Boniface, was part of the rural municipality of St. Boniface when it was organized in 1880, and was included within the limits of the Town of St. Boniface, when the latter separated out from the rural municipality in 1883.
By the early 1890's, a small community had emerged in the present Elmwood district; the North half, in the municipality of Kildonan, became settled by a number of market gardeners, and the South half, in the town of St. Boniface, chiefly by working men employed in Winnipeg just over the Louise Bridge, or in the local enterprises. (There existed by this time a large packing plant, (1) on the East Bank of the Red River, just North of the Louise Bridge, and a brick yard with associated clay pit which lay between present-day Elmwood and St. Boniface).
While technically they were residents of the Town of St. Boniface, the persons who lived in the South half of Elmwood felt little community of interest with the remainder of the town: physically their district was separated from the rest of the town by two major barriers - the Nairn farm, and the extensive pit from which clay was taken for the manufacture of bricks, and which extended practically from the Red River to the Two Mile Road - now known as the Bird's Hill Road. Differences of language and religion constituted further barriers, for the district was almost entirely English-speaking and Protestant, in contrast to French Catholic St. Boniface.
Dissatisfied with the services they were receiving from the Town of St. Boniface, residents of South Elmwood petitioned for annexation to the municipality of Kildonan immediately to the North, and this was formally enacted in 1895. The new arrangement failed to provide a permanent solution. The population of Elmwood increased rapidly during the decade following the annexation of the South half to Kildonan, as large numbers of urban workers built homes in the district. By 1905 the community numbered well in excess of a thousand persons, and its members began to clamour for urban services such as a water supply and a sewage disposal system. These Kildonans were unwilling to supply.
The community accordingly sought annexation to Winnipeg across the River, as a means of achieving urban services. Winnipeg expressed its willingness to annex Elmwood. When a group of Elmwood residents voiced opposition to amalgamation with Winnipeg, the Provincial Government insisted that a plebiscite be held of the district's residents, and that the annexation be carried out only if favoured by a majority vote. The plebiscite was held early in 1906, and the majority approved annexation to Winnipeg by the overwhelming vote of 405 to 22. Prior to the plebicite Kildonan municipal officials made it clear that they were unwilling to retain Elmwood within their municipality: the reeve of Kildonan stated that Elmwood must either become annexed to Winnipeg or incorporate as a separate town.
Legislation formally annexing Elmwood to Winnipeg was enacted by the Provincial Legislature in 1906, and Elmwood became Ward Seven of the city, being accordingly entitled to its own representation in the City Council. The City built the Redwood Bridge (in 1908) and across the Red River to serve Elmwood, constructed a Fire Hall, installed a sewage system and water supply, as it had promised to do, and provided to that area the same level of public services as was available to the remainder of the City.
Residents of Ward Four of Kildonan, adjoining the North boundary of Winnipeg on the West side of the Red River also expressed, in 1906, a desire to be annexed to Winnipeg. The City indicated its willingness, provided a majority of the ratepayers in the Ward were agreeable. A plebicite was held early in 1906 and the majority approved the proposal by the decisive vote of 100 to 47. The Provincial Legislature accordingly passed the necessary legislation in the same year; with the new territory, Winnipeg's North limit was extended to McAdam Avenue (approximately), where it has since remained.
The rapid colonization of Western Canada and the vast construction activity proceeding throughout the West during the fifteen years preceding the outbreak of the Great War supported a huge increase in the population and facilities of Winnipeg. Thanks to its geographical location, its established connections, and its freight rate privileges, the city occupied a key position in the Western economy, and its expansion paralleled the phenomenal growth of Western Canada. The City's population increased five-fold during the fifteen year period, from about 40 thousand in 1900 to more than 200 thousand in 1914, and its commercial, industrial and public facilities expanded correspondingly. The pace of the expansion increased crescendo: during the six years 1900 to 1914 inclusive, the City of Winnipeg grew at a rate unprecedented at the time and unequalled since; during this period was constructed most of the larger office buildings now standing in the downtown area, and a major proportion of the residential buildings now in use.
Responsible people held the view in 1910 that the city's marvelous rate of growth would continue for another generation: only a small fraction of the West's arable land had so far been taken up; the present pace of colonization could easily continue, they felt, into the indefinite future, supporting the continuing growth of Winnipeg. A not uncommon forecast predicted that by 1930 the West would have a population of several millions, and Winnipeg a population of one million.
Far-sighted promoters and speculators, envisioning the future growth of the local population, and the spread of the built-up area far beyond its present limits, subdivided land up to twelve miles distant from the city centre. Large areas of empty land within and adjacent to the city, were serviced with water mains and sewers, in anticipation of the houses shortly expected to be built. Winnipeg ratepayers overwhelmingly approved an ambitious scheme to construct a costly 94 mile aqueduct to Shoal Lake that would furnish a water supply adequate for a population of 850 thousand. The Street Railway Company extended its service to points well outside the City limits, including Headingley to the West, Selkirk to the North, and St. Norbert to the South.
With street railway transportation available to districts well outside the City, many individuals, attracted by the considerably lower price of building lots, and the substantially lower tax rates, built houses in the new suburban subdivisions, despite the availability of land within the City itself. Speculation kept the price of City lots at very high levels, while City taxes greatly exceeded those charged in suburban municipalities which supplied a far smaller range of public services. With the growth of suburban populations to substantial proportions, the existing municipal boundaries became out-dated. Each of the three suburban municipalities straddled a river: Assiniboia was comprised of land on both sides of the Assiniboine, while Kildonan and St. Vital (and St. Paul) straddled the Red River.
So long as the rivers had constituted the chief means of transportation and communication, they had joined rather than divided people living on opposite banks, save during the fall freeze-up and spring break-up periods, when rivers could not safely be crossed. By 1910 however, the rivers were supplanted as the chief means of local transportation, by roads and the street railway; the rivers henceforth no longer joined communities, the now divided them. In each suburban municipality the main municipal offices and facilities such as the municipal hall, post office, and schools were located on one side of the river; in Assiniboia on the North side of the Assiniboine, in Kildonan on the West side of the Red, in St. Vital on the East side of the Red River. As the communities on the opposite banks grew to substantial proportions, they objected to the inconvenience of crossing the river to obtain service, and broke away to set up their own municipality. Thus in 1912 the West side of St. Vital separated out to become the independent municipality of Fort Garry; (1) in the following year the South side of Assiniboia was incorporated as the municipality of Charleswood; Kildonan split along the river into East and West Kildonan in 1914, and in the following year St. Paul split into East and West St. Paul.
Two additional municipalities were carved out during this period. A group of real estate promoters purchased a substantial acreage of land on the South side of Assiniboia, which they incorporated in 1911 as the Town of Tuxedo, to be developed as a high class residential suburb. The town of Transcona was incorporated in 1912, comprised of portions of Springfield, Kildonan and St. Vital; it was almost exclusively a railway centre, containing the main shops and yards of the Grand Trunk Pacific and the National Transcontinental Railway (ultimately taken over by the Canadian National Railway) and large marshaling yards of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The Town of St. Boniface, incorporated in 1883, comprised an area, approximately square in shape, 3,856 acres in area, on the East bank of the Red River, across from Winnipeg. Loss of the Elmwood district in 1895 reduced the town's size by approximately one-quarter. The town became incorporated as a City in 1908 and therewith acquired additional territory to the East, increasing its area to 3,261 acres. In 1914 the City annexed a huge portion of adjoining St. Vital, increasing its area to 11,641 acres, or more than treble the previous figure. (2) (See map III.)
Four additional municipalities came into existence during the early post-war years in consequence of sharp differences between the urban and rural populations of existing municipalities. The small, urbanized Southeast corner of Rosser separated out to form the Village of Brooklands in 1919, while the Eastern urbanized portion of Assiniboia separated out in the following year to become the municipality of St. James. In both cases the parent municipality, controlled by the rural element, antagonized its urban segment by refusing to provide facilities which the latter demanded; in both cases, as well, the municipal hall was located at a distance of several miles from the urbanized section.
In the two Kildonans, on the other hand, where the urban populations were dormant, the rural elements broke away to form their own municipalities. Thus in 1921 the rural portion of West Kildonan, unwilling to participate ii the ambitious schemes projected by the urban element, broke away to form the municipality of Old Kildonan. Three years later, complaining that the municipality, dominated by the urban portion, was assessing their land at excessive levels, the rural section of East Kildonan separated out to form the municipality of North Kildonan. Thus by 1924 St. Vital and Fort Garry were the only two municipalities in the Greater Winnipeg area which contained substantial rural as well as urban populations.
No further municipal divisions have occurred since East Kildonan was split; municipal boundaries have remained virtually unaltered from that time on. One major change did occur ii regard to School Division boundaries: until 1924 the City of St. Boniface constituted only one School District; in that year however the residents of Norwood, a district of St. Boniface which came to be settled primarily by Anglo-Saxon families early in the twentieth century, petitioned for a separate School District, and the provincial authorities granted the request.