St. James-Assiniboia Explained

Official Name:St. James-Assiniboia
Settlement Type:Suburb
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:City
Subdivision Name2:Winnipeg
Coordinates:49.8858°N -97.2428°W
Population:61,764
Population As Of:2011
Area Metro Km2:5306.79
Population Metro:778489
Established Title:Established as municipality
Established Date:1886
Named For:Parish of St. James and the Assiniboine River
Leader Title:MP
Leader Name:Marty Morantz (Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley)
Leader Title1:MLAs
Leader Title2:Councillors
Leader Name1:
Leader Name2:
  • Shawn Dobson (St. James)
  • Evan Duncan (Charleswood – Tuxedo – Westwood)

St. James-Assiniboia is a major community area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[1] As it encapsulates most of the city ward of St. James,[2] which includes the major St. James Street, the area itself is often simply referred to "St. James."[3]

Located in the far western part of the city, it is bounded on the north by the Rural Municipality of Rosser and the Canadian National Railway's Oak Point line, on the south by the Assiniboine River, on the west by the Rural Municipality of Headingley, and on the east by the Canadian Pacific Railway's La Riviere line.[4]

The area today is composed of the several municipalities that existed prior to the amalgamation of Winnipeg in 1971/1972. It began in 1886 as the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia, parts of which broke off to form the RM of St. James in 1921 and the RM of Brooklands in 1922. In 1956, the RM of St. James was incorporated as the City of St. James, absorbing Brooklands 11 years later. In 1969, St. James and Assiniboia merged into the City of St. James-Assiniboia, remaining as such until the 1972 amalgamation.[5] [6]

Geography and governance

"St. James-Assiniboia" refers to the community area defined by the 2016 Canadian census, and can be divided into the neighbourhood clusters of St. James-Assiniboia East and St. James-Assiniboia West.[7] [8]

"St. James," on the other hand, is the electoral ward used by the Winnipeg City Council for local governing purposes. The 2018–2022 councillor for the St. James Ward is Scott Gillingham.

Despite significant overlap, the geography of St. James differs slightly from that of St. James-Assiniboia; the latter extends more west/southwestward and reaches the Assiniboine River, but it does not extend as far east as the St. James ward does. More specifically:

St. James-Assiniboia area

Located in the western section of Winnipeg, it is bounded on the north by the Rural Municipality of Rosser and the Canadian National Railway's Oak Point line, on the south by the Assiniboine River, on the west by the Rural Municipality of Headingley, and on the east by the Canadian Pacific Railway's La Riviere line.

St. James-Assiniboia is composed of the following neighbourhoods: Airport, Assiniboia Downs, Birchwood, Booth, Bruce Park, Buchanan, Crestview, Deer Lodge, Glendale, Jameswood, Kirkfield, Heritage Park, Kensington, King Edward, Murray Industrial Park, Omand's Creek Industrial, Saskatchewan North, Silver Heights, St. James Industrial, Sturgeon Creek, Westwood, and Woodhaven.[7] [8]

St. James ward

St. James is the electoral ward used by the Winnipeg City Council for local governing purposes.

The ward includes the major St. James Street, as well the following neighbourhoods: Airport, Birchwood, Booth, Bruce Park, Buchanan, Crestview Deer Lodge, Heritage Park, Jameswood, Kensington, King Edward, Murray Industrial Park, Polo Park, Saskatchewan North, Silver Heights, St. James Industrial, Sturgeon Creek, West Wolseley, and Woodhaven. Of note, although for census purposes the Polo Park neighbourhood is considered part of the Downtown area rather than St. James-Assiniboia, it is considered part of the city ward of St. James.

Located along Portage Avenue, the greater St. James area was one of the original districts of Winnipeg, with the Royal Canadian Air Force 17 Wing base located in its central hub.

The ward boundary is legally described as the following:[11]

Commence at Sturgeon Road and Portage Avenue; Westward on Portage Ave to the Perimeter Highway; Northward on Perimeter Hwy to city limit (Perimeter Hwy and Saskatchewan Ave); Northward, following along the city limit to Brookside Boulevard; Northward on Brookside to north limit of Lot Z21 Plan 34260; Southward on North Limit of Lot Z21 Plan 34260 to Notre Dame Avenue; Eastward on Notre Dame Ave to Lariviere; Southward on CPR Lariviere to the Assiniboine River; Westward on the Assiniboine River to west limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337; Northward on the west limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337 to the north limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337; Eastward on the northwest limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337 to Harris Boulevard; Northward on Harris Blvd to south limit of Lot 1 Block 1 Plan 599; Westward on south limit of Lot 1 Block 1 Plan 5996 and its easterly extension to the west limit of Lot 6; Block 1 Plan 5996; North on the west limit of Lot 6 Block 1 Plan 5996 and its northerly extension to the point of commencement.

History

See also: Assiniboia and Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia. Historically, the area was a farming community along the north bank of the Assiniboine River populated by an Anglo-Métis, or mixed Scottish/English and Indigenous population, compared to the French-speaking Métis people who settled further upriver at St. François Xavier, Manitoba and along the east banks of the Assiniboine River. Before the province of Manitoba was created in 1870, Assiniboia—named after the river that runs by it, itself named for the Assiniboine First Nation—was governed by the Council of Assiniboia (1835–1870).

In 1853, the Church of England was given a grant of land from the Hudson's Bay Company from which they formed the Parish of St. James.[12] Following the creation of Manitoba, the area of the Parish of St. James was administered by the provincial government; municipal incorporation soon followed. When Treaty 1 was signed in 1871 with the Chippewa (Anishinabe) and Cree Indigenous Peoples, settlement into the region increased and municipal development likewise accelerated.

Within a decade, in 1880, the Province of Manitoba divided its entire area into municipalities, creating the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia and two other municipalities that surrounded the City of Winnipeg. The first council for the RM of Assiniboia met that year, with William Tait as warden.[13] This new municipality encompassed the former parishes of St. James, Headingley, St. Charles, and part of St. Boniface.[14]

The development of these communities as residential suburbs of Winnipeg began in the early 20th century and was greatly enhanced by the extension of streetcar service to Deer Lodge in 1903, the opening of Assiniboine Park in 1904 and its location along Portage Avenue, and proximity to downtown Winnipeg. In 1921, the RM of Assiniboia was partitioned, wherein it maintained its rural parts while its more urban area was incorporated as the Rural Municipality of St. James. The first council for the RM of St. James met that year, with J. W. Godkin as reeve. The following year, the RM of Assiniboia was further divided with the creation of the Rural Municipality of Brooklands.[15]

The area grew rapidly from 1945 to 1970 with the construction of the Silver Heights and Birchwood subdivisions in the 1940s and 1950s, and Westwood, Crestview, and St. Charles in the 1960s. In 1956, the RM of St. James became the City of St. James. The first council for the new city met on that year on April 17, with T. D. Findlay as mayor.

The late 1960s saw the three communities of Assiniboia, Brooklands, and St. James finally join together again: in 1967, Brooklands was merged into St. James, followed in 1968 by the RM of Assiniboia merging with St. James to form the City of St. James-Assiniboia.[16] The first council for the new City of St. James-Assiniboia met on 7 January 1969, with Alfred William Hanks as mayor.

In 1972, the City of St. James-Assiniboia was dissolved and formally amalgamated with the City of Winnipeg and 11 other municipalities to create a unicity.

As the community was developed, by the early 1970s, as far as the Perimeter Highway (Winnipeg's unofficial urban limit), St. James has seen very little development since that time. From 1971 to 2001, the population declined from 66,150 to 58,590 (as per Statistics Canada). The population further declined to 57,855 as of the 2006 census.[17] However, by the 2011 census, it had increased to 61,764.

The City of Winnipeg Archives holds the St. James-Assiniboia Fonds, which includes by-laws and minutes.

Former reeves and mayors

Prior to the amalgamation of Winnipeg in 1971/1972, the St. James-Assiniboia area was its own municipality (City of St. James-Assiniboia), preceded by other smaller municipalities, all of which had their own reeves (for rural municipalities) or mayors (for cities).

Rural Municipality of Assiniboia!Term!Reeve/mayor
1886–88James Green
1888–89John William Tait
1890John Taylor (1834–1925)
1891unknown
1892–1900Alexander Murray (1839–1913)
1901–03Charles George Caron
1904William Bourke (1863–1943)
1905Alexander Murray
1906G. G. Caron
1907–09Samuel Jacob Thompson (1845–1909)
1909–11George Thomas Chapman (1861–1940)
1912Joseph J. McMillan
1913William Mactavish Bannatyne (1864–1931)
1914D. Shelmerdine
1915–16D. C. McColl
1917Charles Holden
1918–20Charles Leonard Richardson (1884–1939)
1921–22James H. Black
1923–24John Lawson McBride (1879–1959)
1925–32John Bunting
1933–39John Salmon Lamont (1885–1964)
1940–41John B. Johnson
1942–43Eric D. Bullock
1944–45John B. Johnson
1946–47B. Findlay
1948–59Joseph Henry Sansome (1907–1983)
1960–61W. H. “Harry” Morgan
1962–67John Harold Belows (1914–2003)
1968W. J. Turner
1969Merged with St. James into St. James-Assiniboia
St. James!Term!Reeve/mayor
RM of St. James (1921)

City of St. James (1956)

1921Joseph William Godkin
1922–23John George Smith (1873–1947)
1924Alexander “Alex” Christie (1878–1947)
1925–29Joseph Henry Cotter (1872–1937)
1930–32Alexander Christie
1933–37Ronald Henry Hooper (1885–1969)
1938–45David Alexander Best (1880–1949)
1946–53Reginald Frederick Wightman (1899–1981)
1954–61Thomas Burns Findlay (1902–1972)
1960–69Alfred William "Bill" Hanks (1894–1985)
City of St. James-Assiniboia
1970–71Alfred William "Bill" Hanks (1894–1985)
Brooklands!Term!Reeve/mayor
1922–1923George Raymond Alexander Brown (1897–1968)
1924–1925John Haddow (1855–1932)
1926–1930John McLean
1931William Leask (1910–1999)
1931–1944John Reeves (1887–1964) (manager)
1944–1950Crispin Oddy (1881–1972)
1951Nicholas Solilak (1915–1991)
1952–1953Stanley V. Bowers (1906–1997)
1954–1955Daniel Harry Juba (1909–1986)
1956–1957Walter Bannister (1920–1996)
1958–1959Harry Stiller (1918–1987)
1960–1966Walter Bannister
1967Merged into City of St. James

Demographics

St. James-Assiniboia is primarily residential and is mainly a middle-class area but there are poorer pockets in the eastern part of St. James, and wealthier areas near the St. Charles Country Club, and along the Assiniboine River. Historically, the area was a farming community along the north bank of the Assiniboine River populated by an Anglo-Métis, or mixed Scottish/English and aboriginal population, compared to the French-speaking Métis people who settled further upriver at St. François Xavier, Manitoba, and along the east banks of the Assiniboine River.

Notable people

Sports, recreation, and leisure

There is some industrial development in the Murray Industrial Park in the north central part of the neighbourhood and near the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, which is located in St. James. There is substantial commercial development along Portage Avenue, the area's main thoroughfare, and near the western edge of the community near the Perimeter Highway, where the Unicity Shopping Mall once stood.

Junior hockey teams

TeamFoundedLeagueArenaChampionships*
Winnipeg Saints1956MJHLSt. James Civic Centre (2011−2012)0
St. James Canucks1978MMJHLSt. James Civic Centre (1978−)1
St. James Canadians (defunct)1956MJHLSt. James Civic Centre (1967−2004)3

St. James Civic Centre

See main article: St. James Civic Centre. The St. James Civic Centre is a public recreation complex that serves the western part of Winnipeg. The complex, which was built in 1967, features an indoor ice hockey arena, swimming pool, and auditorium, and is owned and operated by the City of Winnipeg. It is home to the St. James Canucks of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League and previously home to the St. James Canadians and Winnipeg Saints of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Community Area Profiles – 2016 Census. 2021-06-11. City of Winnipeg. English.
  2. Web site: St. James Electoral Wards. 2021-06-11. City of Winnipeg. English.
  3. Web site: Neighbourhoods Tourism Winnipeg. 2021-06-11. www.tourismwinnipeg.com.
  4. Sherlock's Map of Winnipeg and Surrounding Areas. Maps 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 21, and 22. .
  5. Web site: Manitoba Communities: St. James (Unincorporated City). 2021-06-11. www.mhs.mb.ca.
  6. Web site: Manitoba Communities: Assiniboia (Unincorporated Rural Municipality). 2021-06-11. www.mhs.mb.ca.
  7. Web site: June 6, 2015. St. James – Assiniboia East Neighbourhood Cluster 2016 Census. 2021-06-11. City of Winnipeg. English.
  8. Web site: July 27, 2015. St. James – Assiniboia West Neighbourhood Cluster 2016 Census. 2021-06-11. City of Winnipeg. English.
  9. Web site: Charleswood – Tuxedo – Westwood Ward Electoral Wards. 2021-06-12. City of Winnipeg. English.
  10. Web site: Downtown West Neighbourhood Cluster 2016 Census. 2021-06-12. City of Winnipeg. English.
  11. https://winnipeg.ca/clerks/election/election2018/pdfs/legal_descriptions/StJames2018.pdf
  12. Web site: St. James-Assiniboia (Man.) – Winnipeg in Focus. winnipeginfocus.winnipeg.ca. en. 2018-03-03.
  13. Web site: Rural Municipality of Assiniboia – City of Winnipeg Archives. 2021-06-12. winnipeginfocus.winnipeg.ca.
  14. http://winnipeg.ca/ppd/Documents/Heritage/ListHistoricalResources/Woodhaven-Gate-long.pdf
  15. Web site: Manitoba Communities: Brooklands (Unincorporated Town). 2021-06-12. www.mhs.mb.ca.
  16. City Clerk. "More than the Sum of its Parts." City of Winnipeg.
  17. http://www.winnipeg.ca/census/2006/Community%20Area/St.%20James-Assiniboia%20Community%20Area/St.%20James-Assiniboia%20Community%20Area.pdf 2006 Census returns − St. James-Assiniboia
  18. News: Former FP Sports Editor, Maurice Smith, dead at 75. February 21, 1985. Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. 51.