Saint Boniface, Manitoba
| Saint Boniface | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
 |
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| Country | Canada |
| Province | Manitoba |
| City | Winnipeg |
| Established | 1818 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough |
| • Governing Body | |
| • MP | |
| Area | |
| • Total | 24.455 km2 (9.442 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Total | 65,000 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-4) |
Saint Boniface is a city ward of Winnipeg that is the center of much of the Franco-Manitoban community. It features such landmarks as the Cathédrale de Saint Boniface (St. Boniface Cathedral), Boulevard Provencher, the Provencher Bridge, Esplanade Riel, St. Boniface Hospital, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the Royal Canadian Mint. It covers the southeast part of the city and includes le Vieux Saint-Boniface (Old St. Boniface), Norwood, Windsor Park, Southdale, Southland Park, Royalwood, Sage Creek and Island Lakes, plus a large industrial area. The ward is represented by a member of Winnipeg City Council, and also corresponds to the neighbourhood clusters of St. Boniface East and West. The population is 65,000 (Statistics Canada Census 2006).
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[edit] History
Succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years before European exploration. It was an area of historic Ojibwe occupation.
Fur traders and European mercenaries hired by Lord Selkirk to protect his fledgling Red River Colony were among the area's first European settlers. With the founding of a Roman Catholic mission in 1818, St Boniface began its role in Canadian religious, political and cultural history - as mother parish for many French settlements in Western Canada; as the birthplace of Louis Riel and fellow Métis who struggled to obtain favourable terms for Manitoba's entry into Confederation; and as a focus of resistance to controversial 1890 legislation to alter Manitoba's school system and abolish French as an official language in the province (see Manitoba Schools Question).
French religious orders, including the Sisters of Charity of Montréal (Grey Nuns) who arrived in 1844, founded the early educational, cultural and social-service institutions. The Collège de Saint-Boniface (dating to 1818), a founding college of University of Manitoba, and St Boniface General Hospital grew from these institutions. The early economy was oriented to agriculture.
Industrialization arrived in the early twentieth century. The Union Stockyards, developed 1912-13, became the largest livestock exchange in Canada and a center of the meat-packing and -processing industry. By the early 1900s, numerous light and heavy industries were established. St Boniface was incorporated as a town in 1883 and as a city in 1908.
In 1971, St. Boniface was amalgamated, along with several neighboring communities, into the City of Winnipeg.[1] As one of the larger French communities outside Québec, it has often been a centre of struggles to preserve French-Canadian language and culture within Manitoba.
[edit] Culture
Le Festival du Voyageur is held annually in February outdoors at Whittier Park and Fort Gibraltar.
[edit] Notable natives and residents
- Len Cariou - Broadway actor
- Butch Goring - professional hockey player
- George R. D. Goulet - best-selling Métis author
- Bob Hunter - Greenpeace founder
- Earl Mindell - Writer & nutritionist
- Maurice Paquin, Singer & comedian
- Louis Riel - Métis leader and founder of Manitoba
- Gabrielle Roy - French-language author
- Lucille Starr - (née Savoie) singer
- Beatrice Culleton Mosionier - author of April Raintree
- Patrick Joseph Courcelles - Canadian Foreign Service Officer in Guadalajara
[edit] Media
Francophone radio stations CKXL-FM and CKSB, and Radio-Canada television station CBWFT are located in St. Boniface.
[edit] Sports
St. Boniface is represented by the St. Boniface Riels hockey team which plays in the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League.
| Team | Founded | League | Arena | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Boniface Riels | 1971 | MMJHL | Southdale Arena | 5 |
[edit] External links
- Tourisme Riel
- Saint Boniface Heritage Centre
- History of St. Boniface Cathedral
- Festival de Voyageur
- St. Boniface Detailed Area Plan (1973) - (Warning: transcription incomplete)
[edit] References
- ^ "Winnipeg: Government and Politics". The Canadian Encyclopedia. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC919693. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
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