The Rural Municipality of Assiniboia was one of the three original municipalities that surrounded the City of Winnipeg. It was incorporated in 1880 when the Province of Manitoba divided its entire area into municipalities. In 1969, the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia joined with the City of St. James to form the City of St. James-Assiniboia.

The first Council for the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia met in 1880, with William Tait as Warden. The first Council for the new City of St. James-Assiniboia met on January 7, 1969, with A. W. Hanks as Mayor.

Both the Rural Municipality and the Village of Brooklands were incorporated on June 10, 1921 through Order in Council No. 36806. Originally part of the Rural Municipality of Rosser, Brooklands qualified for village status under section 9 of chapter 133 of The Municipal Act. The Letters Patent incorporating Brooklands as a village describe the municipality’s original boundaries as “comprising not more than 640 acres, formerly comprised within the limits and extent of the Rural Municipality of Rosser, bounded on the south by Notre Dame Avenue, on the east by Keewatin Street, on the north by Geyser Avenue, and on the west by the center line running north and south of section 14 in township 11 in range 2 east of the first principal meridian in the Province of Manitoba.” On October 4, 1961, under section 16 of The Municipal Act and through Order in Council No. 1207, the Village of Brooklands became a Town. Six years later, in 1967, the Town of Brooklands amalgamated into the City of St. James. In 1968, a further merger between the City of St. James and the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia resulted in formation of the new City of St. James-Assiniboia, which in turn joined eleven other municipalities in amalgamation with the City of Winnipeg in 1972.

Note that from 1939 until 1954, the Village of Brooklands was under the jurisdiction of the Municipal and Public Utility Board. In 1959, after approximately four years of independence, the Village was taken back under the supervision of the Public Utility Board. In 1954, after nearly eighteen years under a provincial trustee, Brooklands was granted the right to administer its own school affairs.

As in other municipalities, government organization in Brooklands was dictated by its letters patent. Accordingly, council consisted of a mayor, sometimes called a reeve, and four councilors elected by qualified electors of the village/town. Council duties included the formulation of public policy, implementation and administration. Like other municipal councils, policy administration was delegated to standing committees comprised of council members. Standing committees were: finance, by-laws, public works, social welfare, water works, fire and police services. In addition to these functions, the municipality was responsible for assessment, tax collection, elections, and for at least part of its history, overseeing a school district. In the 1960’s, with powers acquired when it achieved Town status, council established a Parks Board and an Industrial Development Board.

Typically, daily operations within a municipality are carried out by line departments. It is likely that these records were merged into departmental records in the City of St. James following the merger in 1967, and subsequently into record series in the City of St. James-Assiniboia and the City of Winnipeg at amalgamation. Remaining records for the Village and Town of Brooklands provide little information on departmental organization or operations.

The Charles E. Goad Company was established by Charles Goad in Montreal in 1875 and dominated the Canadian fire insurance plan business for more than fifty years. Fire insurance underwriting firms like Goad’s produced detailed plans of urban communities for subscribing fire insurance companies and their agents to assist in assessing fire liability of insurance holders. At the time of his death in 1910, Goad and his surveyors had mapped over thirteen hundred Canadian communities. The company continued under the direction of Goad’s three sons. In 1911, an agreement was reached between the Goad Company and the Canadian Fire Underwriters’ Association (CFUA) by which the Goad’s was to make and revise plans for the CFUA. The agreement was terminated in 1917 and soon after the CFUA acquired exclusive rights to revise and reprint the Goad plans for the use of Association members. The company ceased production of fire insurance plans by 1918 and was dissolved in 1930.

The Rural Municipality of Charleswood was incorporated in 1913 when the community on the south side of the Assiniboine River chose to separate from the Municipality of Assiniboia. The RM included those portions of the Parishes of Headingley and St. Charles that lay south of the river, but excluded any property belonging to the Town of Tuxedo or City of Winnipeg. According to the Charleswood Historical Society, Charleswood was either named after the councilman Charles Kelly or the Parish of St. Charles and the nearby woodlands. An Act to Amend "The Municipal Boundaries Act" officially created the RM. This piece of provincial legislation came into force on February 15, 1913. George Chapman became the first Reeve shortly thereafter.

Councils consisted of a Reeve or Mayor and four Councillors. The functional responsibilities of the RM of Charleswood were defined in versions of The Municipal Act and would later change in 1960 with the creation of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg. At one time, the municipal office would have included the following positions: City Clerk, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Works, Municipal Accountant, Chief Constable, Fire Chief, Shop Foreman, Draughtsman, and Welfare Officer. The law firm Lawrence & Sansome was routinely hired as solicitors and Templeton Engineering served as consultants for many years. In addition to Council, the municipal government included the Town Planning Committee, Public Works Committee, and Charleswood Voluntary Fire Brigade. It was part of the St. James-St. Vital-Fort Garry-Charleswood-Assiniboia-Tuxedo Health Unit.

Charleswood was a predominantly rural area supported by agricultural production, dairy and poultry farms, and mink ranches. Following the Second World War, there was a marked increase in population and an expansion of residential areas. One development that dates from this time was a settlement for ex-servicemen called Roblin Park, a project made possible by the Veteran’s Land Act. The growth of Charleswood into “the Suburb Beautiful” was accompanied by the increase and diversification of local services and businesses. The municipal government mirrored these changes and constructed the first Municipal Civic Centre in 1965.

The RM of Charleswood ceased to exist in 1972, when Chapter 105 of the Statutes of Manitoba came into force unifying twelve area municipalities and the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg into one city government. Following amalgamation, Charleswood Park was created as part of the new municipal structure.

Acting on advice from the Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Committee in 2011, the Executive Policy Committee of the City of Winnipeg directed city staff to coordinate a free art activity with a future-oriented sustainability theme through existing child and youth drop-in programs in City recreation centres. A working group consisting of representatives from Planning, Property and Development (Environmental Coordinator), Community Services, the City of Winnipeg Archives, and the Winnipeg Arts Council planned the activity and engaged a mentoring artist, Craig Love, to work with City recreation technicians to deliver the art activity to children and youth at five City of Winnipeg recreation centres (East End Cultural Centre, Norberry-Glenlee, Westdale Community Centre, Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre, and Turtle Island Neighbourhood Centre). During spring break, children and youth participants made quilt-like squares using mostly natural, sustainable, and some recycled materials. Themes that inspired the children included the earth, ecology, nature, home, and sustainability. The activity promoted greater understanding of how and why daily efforts of sustainability matter. The forty craft works created represent the children’s wish-list for the future of the city and the world. After public exhibition at City Hall in mid-April and at the Millennium Library on Earth Day itself (Sunday, April 22), five representative squares, a folder of conceptual drawings created by the children as they planned their projects, and a photographic record of the project were delivered to the City of Winnipeg Archives so that they can be made available at a future date. Photographs of the five representative works were used to advertise Earth Day 2012 and posted to the Winnipeg Arts Council website. The photographer for the project was William Eakin.

Following the Provincial Act of 1880, the Province of Manitoba was split into rural municipalities. The areas surrounding the City of Winnipeg were divided into three municipalities: Assiniboia, St. Boniface, and Kildonan. In 1914, the Municipality of Kildonan was split between the river into East and West Kildonan. The Municipality of East Kildonan was incorporated in 1914 as a result of the division. In 1924 the northerly agricultural portion of the Rural Municipality of East Kildonan seceded to become the Rural Municipality of North Kildonan, while the southern urban portion drew into the Municipality of East Kildonan. The first Council meeting for the Rural Municipality of East Kildonan was convened in 1914, with D. Munroe as Reeve. East Kildonan was incorporated as a City in 1957. The first Council for the City of East Kildonan met on July 2, 1957, with George Nordland Suttie as Mayor. The City of East Kildonan was dissolved in 1972 when it joined other municipalities in amalgamating with the City of Winnipeg.

The Rural Municipality of Fort Garry, Manitoba was incorporated in 1912 and dissolved in 1972 when it joined eleven other municipalities in amalgamation with the City of Winnipeg. Prior to creation of the Province of Manitoba, the area was administered by the Council of Assiniboia (1835-1870). Following the Dominion Government of Canada’s purchase of land from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1869, the newly formed Province of Manitoba had jurisdiction and began the process of municipal incorporation. The name “Fort Garry” continues as electoral ward Charleswood – Fort Garry within the City of Winnipeg.

The Greater Winnipeg Water District (GWWD) was incorporated in 1913 to supply water to the City of Winnipeg and surrounding municipalities. In May 1914, construction began on the aqueduct to bring water from Shoal Lake to Winnipeg. In March 1919, water from Shoal Lake flowed into Winnipeg’s taps and on September 9, 1919, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales (The Prince Edward) dedicated the aqueduct. In 1935, the Greater Winnipeg Sanitary District (GWSD) was incorporated to manage wastewater collection and treatment for the participating sections of the GWWD. These two corporations existed until 1961, when their functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg.

The GWWD was originally comprised of the City of Winnipeg, the City of St. Boniface, the Town of Transcona, the Rural Municipality of St. Vital, and parts of Fort Garry, Assiniboia, and Kildonan. By 1960, the area serviced by the GWWD also included parts of St. James and Tuxedo.

The GWWD had two boards: the Administration Board and the Board of Commissioners. The Administration Board had the policy-making function and was originally composed of the Mayor and four Councillors of the City of Winnipeg, the Mayor and one Councillor of the City of St. Boniface, the Mayor of Transcona, and the Reeves of the four other municipalities. The Administration Board’s Chairman was the Mayor of Winnipeg. The Board of Commissioners was responsible for operations and it had up to three members. Usually, the Board of Commissioners was composed of a Chairman, Treasurer and one other Commissioner. The Chairman was the City Engineer, and the Treasurer was the Commissioner of Finance of the City of Winnipeg. The third Commissioner was appointed by the Administration Board. A Board of Equalization, appointed by the Public Utilities Commissioner, was also established to determine the assessment levied on the taxable land in each municipality.

The aqueduct was largely built by three contractors, although the GWWD tendered and administered ninety-nine contracts during construction. The three main contractors were J.H. Tremblay Co. Ltd., Thos. Kelly & Sons, and the Winnipeg Aqueduct Construction Co. Ltd.

As no roads existed along the proposed route of the aqueduct, the GWWD created and operated the Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway to run parallel to the route to facilitate the movement of materials and workers. Construction of the railway track began in 1914 and was completed in 1915. The track runs from its terminus in St. Boniface to Waugh, Manitoba near Shoal Lake. After the aqueduct was completed, the railway was also used to carry freight and passengers in an effort to reduce the costs of construction. Freight included firewood, pulpwood, poles, railway ties, ice, mail, milk, gravel and sand. Although initially only three trains ran a week, at the peak of its operation up to four trains a day hauled gravel for use as an aggregate in concrete manufacture.

The first meeting of the GWWD Administration Board took place on July 30, 1913. By the fall of 1913, active work was underway and survey parties were determining the most economical route from Shoal Lake. As the waters of Shoal Lake are part of the Lake of the Woods, which crosses the boundary into the United States, it was necessary to secure the approval of the International Joint Commission. It was also necessary to secure the consent of the Ontario Government as the boundary line between the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario passes through Indian Bay, a tributary of Shoal Lake. Further sections of the aqueduct were located on reserve land belonging to Kekekoziibii Shoal Lake 40 First Nation and the sale of this land was required. The provisions of the Indian Act allowed for reserve lands to be sold with the price of the land set by the Governor in Council and the proceeds of the sale going to the Band. The Department of Indian Affairs valued three thousand acres of Kekekoziibii Shoal Lake 40 First Nation's reserve land at fifty cents per acre. Approximately fifty-five acres on the mainland were valued at three dollars an acre. As the Falcon River ran into the proposed intake area in Indian Bay, a diversion was built so that the waters of Falcon River, which had an unwanted colour, ran into Snowshoe Bay instead. The Falcon River diversion, consisting of a 2.4 km dyke and 840 m channel, solved the problem of unwanted colouration of the water supply, but had the effect of limiting Kekekoziibii Shoal Lake 40 First Nation's access to the mainland.

The City of Winnipeg Archives acknowledges the following sources:

City of Winnipeg, compiled by the City Clerk. Municipal Manual 1955. Winnipeg: Henderson Directories, [1955].

City of Winnipeg, Water and Waste Department, “The Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway.” Last updated June 29, 2018. Available: https://www.winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/dept/railway.stm

Ennis, David A. “Developing a Domestic Water Supply for Winnipeg from Shoal Lake and Lake of the Woods: The Greater Winnipeg Water District Aqueduct.” Master’s thesis. University of Manitoba, 2011.

Special thanks to the Water and Waste Department for supplying key details.

The municipality of Kildonan was originally formed from the municipality of Kildonan and St. John’s (incorporated in 1876) after the passing by the Provincial Government of the Municipal Incorporation Act of 1873. The municipality of Kildonan and St. John’s was renamed Kildonan after the Provincial Act of 1880, with jurisdiction over land on both the east and west sides of the Red River. The name “Kildonan” dates from 1817, when the Earl of Selkirk created the Parish of Kildonan while visiting the colony he had established in 1812. The name refers to the Strath of Kildonan on the Sutherland estate in Scotland from whence a number of his settlers had come.

The Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Metro) was established by Manitoba’s Metropolitan Winnipeg Act in 1960 to govern the distribution of services between the City and surrounding areas. It was dissolved in 1972 when suburban municipalities amalgamated with Winnipeg under the project called Unicity. Metro had jurisdiction over inter-municipal services such as water, parks and public transportation. It was responsible for municipal boards and commissions as well as services previously administered by suburban municipalities. Metro was affiliated with suburban municipal governments, rural and otherwise, for Brooklands, Charleswood, East Kildonan, Fort Garry, North Kildonan, Old Kildonan, Saint-Boniface, Saint-Vital, St. James, Transcona, Tuxedo, and West Kildonan. In 1969 the Province of Manitoba undertook a review of this system, which led to Metro’s dissolution. It was governed by a Council and Committees system, the administrative functions being organised into divisions, and each reporting to the Executive Director of the Corporation. In its time, Metro was the second two-tiered municipal government in North America.