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193-635: Along with being the current provincial capital of Manitoba , Winnipeg has served as the capital for two other Canadian territories: the North-West Territories , from 1870 to 1876, and the District of Keewatin , from 1876 to 1905. In the past, Winnipeg has garnered a reputation as the "gang capital" of Canada and, in 2013, the Canadian Police Association claimed that gangs were "a key and distinguishing feature of

386-623: A Canadian Forces base , CFB Winnipeg , operates from the airport and is the regional headquarters of the North American Aerospace Defense Command . The name Manitoba possibly derives from either Cree manitou-wapow or Ojibwe manidoobaa , both meaning ' straits of Manitou , the Great Spirit ' . Alternatively, it may be from the Assiniboine minnetoba , meaning ' Lake of

579-516: A Victorian , Queen Anne Revival style. The second Hall not only served the city government throughout its years, it also provided residence for the city's Board of Trade, the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba's library and reading room, and club rooms of the St. George's and St. Andrew's Societies. The building lasted just under 80 years, being demolished in 1962. While its replacement

772-411: A modernist , International style, the current City Hall was built in 1962–63 for $ 8.2 million—the style symbolizing upcoming centennial celebrations: the 1967 Canadian Centennial , the 1970 Manitoba centennial, and the 1973 Winnipeg centennial. The building's cornerstone was laid by Stephen Juba , Winnipeg's first “immigrant” mayor, and it was officially opened on 5 October 1964. The Civic Centre and

965-413: A Canadian military response, at first it appeared that only a minimal deployment would be needed, and it was only after several British defeats that an offer of a more substantive force was welcomed by London. The Canadian government turned to the mounted police as their main source for experienced mounted soldiers, and members were given leave from the force for the duration of their service. Combined with

1158-625: A Christian denomination: on the 2021 census, 54.2% reported being Christian, followed by 2.7% Sikh , 2.0% Muslim, 1.4% Hindu, 0.9% Jewish, and 0.8% Indigenous spirituality . 36.7% reported no religious affiliation. The largest Christian denominations by number of adherents were the Roman Catholic Church with 21.2%; the United Church of Canada with 5.8%; and the Anglican Church of Canada with 3.3%. Manitoba has

1351-479: A brothel in order to give the impression that the prostitution was not being tolerated. From 1890, pressure from Protestant churches led to a crackdown being launched on prostitution. However, the campaign was ineffective as the NWMP would raid a brothel and offer the madam the choice of paying a fine or leaving town; generally the latter option was taken. No sooner had the brothel been shut down, then another would open

1544-596: A compromise stating Catholics in Manitoba could have their own religious instruction for 30 minutes at the end of the day if there were enough students to warrant it, implemented on a school-by-school basis. By 1911, Winnipeg was the third largest city in Canada, and remained so until overtaken by Vancouver in the 1920s. A boomtown, it grew quickly around the start of the 20th century, with outside investors and immigrants contributing to its success. The drop in growth in

1737-436: A corps of mounted infantry. He publicly likened the police to "gophers", who had retreated and hid during the fighting, and his complaints were picked up by the press. Irvine was criticized in the media for his lack of vigour and, lacking the support of the prime minister, he resigned the next year and was replaced by Lawrence Herchmer . In turn, Irvine complained about Crozier's behaviour and "the impetuosity displayed by both

1930-628: A deployed operating base for CF-18 Hornet fighter–bombers assigned to the Canadian NORAD Region. The two 17 Wing squadrons based in the city are: the 402 ("City of Winnipeg" Squadron), which flies the Canadian designed and produced de Havilland Canada CT-142 Dash 8 navigation trainer in support of the 1 Canadian Forces Flight Training School's Air Combat Systems Officer and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator training programs (which trains all Canadian Air Combat Systems Officer); and

2123-486: A few weeks later, leading to the cycle being repeated. An additional problem for the NWMP was the fact that the pay for an constable was 60 cents per day, making it difficult as an NWMP to recruit "men of good character and steady habits". By 1904, an average of 10% of the force either were being dismissed or had deserted to the United States. Given that the average age for a NWMP constable was between 20 and 25 and

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2316-456: A growing range of demands on the mounted police, and they struggled to cope with the changes. The rising population drove an increase in the criminal cases tackled by the force: less than 1,000 were investigated in 1900, but within four years the number of cases had risen to over 4,000. There was controversy around what role the mounted police should play in the new towns, and the force became concerned that these were pulling in police manpower, at

2509-483: A larger force of 550 men who would be tasked to push south into the border region itself and establish law and order there. Macdonald acquired approval for his new force on May 23, 1873, after Parliament, following a cursory debate, passed the Mounted Police Act into law unopposed. At this point, Macdonald appears to have intended to create a force of mounted police to watch "the frontier from Manitoba to

2702-522: A larger force of rebels at Duck Lake , where his detachment came off much worse in the resulting fight . Emboldened, some of the Cree leaders, including Poundmaker and Big Bear , now joined the Métis in their revolt, although others continued to tacitly support the government, in part the result of the good relationship the police had built up with them. The police rapidly abandoned most of their posts along

2895-464: A long-term alliance with the mounted police. Formal negotiations between the Canadian government and the Blackfoot began in 1877, with Macleod representing Queen Victoria . The resulting Treaty 7 established reserves for the Blackfoot, in exchange for gratuities and the promise of annuities . The Department of Indian Affairs was created to govern the reserves, supported by the police. By 1879,

3088-418: A moderately strong economy based largely on natural resources. Its Gross Domestic Product was C$ 50.834 billion in 2008. The province's economy grew 2.4 percent in 2008, the third consecutive year of growth. The average individual income in Manitoba in 2006 was C$ 25,100 (compared to a national average of C$ 26,500), ranking fifth-highest among the provinces. As of October 2009, Manitoba's unemployment rate

3281-553: A much lower level of violence between the government and indigenous peoples than in the United States. That the NWMP had evicted the American whisky traders whose sales had led to alcoholism becoming a serious problem was greatly appreciated by the First Nations peoples. The Blackfoot chief Crowfoot in 1877 stated: "The Mounted Police protected us as the feathers of the bird protect it from the frosts of winter". The fact that

3474-661: A polarization over the rise of Bolshevism in Russia . The most dramatic result was the Winnipeg general strike of 1919. It began on 15 May and collapsed on 25 June 1919; as the workers gradually returned to their jobs, the Central Strike Committee decided to end the movement. Government efforts to violently crush the strike, including a Royal North-West Mounted Police charge into a crowd of protesters that resulted in multiple casualties and one death, had led to

3667-532: A precise description of the city's boundaries (the city itself being 3 square miles at incorporation): With 4 city wards in total, Winnipeg's first civic election took place on 5 January 1874, for which voters had to be (1) male; (2) 21 years of age; (3) British subjects by birth or naturalization; (4) resident in the City at least 3 months prior to the election; and (5) own property valued at $ 100 or more, or pay at least $ 20 per year in rent. William Nassau Kennedy

3860-462: A proprietary colony. The new Dominion government was keen to expand westwards, in part due to fears that the United States might annex the region. It agreed to purchase the company's lands in exchange for £300,000 and various grants of land, adding around 2,500,000 square miles (6,500,000 km ) of territory to the Dominion in 1870. The NWT varied geographically from the extreme conditions of

4053-567: A province in 1870, all land became the property of the federal government, with homesteads granted to settlers for farming. Transcontinental railways were constructed to simplify trade. Manitoba's economy depended mainly on farming, which persisted until drought and the Great Depression led to further diversification. CFB Winnipeg is a Canadian Forces Base at the Winnipeg International Airport. The base

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4246-646: A provisional government, gain the support of the Cree First Nation, defeat the mounted police and seize the region, forcing the Canadian government to the negotiation table. There had been worries among the police about potential instability since the previous fall, and the force had increased its presence in the area over the winter. As tensions rose, Irvine, who had replaced Macleod as Commissioner in 1880 after accusations of financial mismanagement, began to mobilize any spare police manpower in Regina, bringing

4439-431: A range of other services for the new ranches, carrying out operations along the border to prevent cattle crossing north into the Canadian ranches, running quarantine schemes and helping with veterinary issues. The scale of horse theft by white thieves along the border increased dramatically during the late 1880s, which the police's sporadic deployments were unable to counter. In response, Commissioner Herchmer introduced

4632-490: A reservation only with a pass issued by the local Indian agent and had to return by the time the pass expired. The pass system was brought in as a temporary measure during the North-West Rebellion, but was then made permanent as the government found it a useful means of social control. The NWMP knew that the pass system had no basis in the law and in fact violated Treaty 7 with the Blackfoot, which promised that

4825-471: A rise in violent property crimes . Two months before the end of 2022, Winnipeg broke its own record for the most homicides in a year, with 45 homicides by the beginning of October, and 53 being reported by the end of the year, giving the city a homicide rate of 7.1 per 100,000 people. In 2017, Winnipeg had among the highest number (192) of police officers per capita among major Canadian cities (i.e., those with populations of 500,000 or more). Scott Gillingham

5018-698: A similar manner to the British Indian Army , but he was forced to abandon this approach after the Red River Rebellion of 1870 called their loyalty into question. In June 1873, around 30 members of the Assiniboine First Nation were killed in the Cypress Hills Massacre , creating a national furore. In response, Macdonald used a Privy Council order to enact the new legislation, formally creating

5211-869: A steep drop in agricultural production due to drought led to economic diversification, moving away from a reliance on wheat production. The Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation , forerunner to the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), was founded in 1932. Canada entered the Second World War in 1939. Winnipeg was one of the major commands for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train fighter pilots, and there were air training schools throughout Manitoba. Several Manitoba-based regiments were deployed overseas, including Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry . In an effort to raise money for

5404-408: A system of police patrols across the territories, with scheduled visits and inspections supported by surprise "flying patrols". This approach was enabled by a network of new outposts across the major ranches. Police would visit almost every farm or ranch, seek to get to know every member of the community personally, gather intelligence and ask each settler to record any issues in a patrol book. Along

5597-473: A total of nearly 900 miles (1,400 km). After resupplying, French led some of his force back east, leaving Assistant Commissioner James Macleod to advance on Fort Whoop-Up with the three remaining divisions, approximately 150 men. When the police reached the fort on October 9, they were prepared for a confrontation, but the whisky traders were aware that they were approaching and had long since moved on. The force received new orders from Ottawa to garrison

5790-410: A unit of mounted infantry modelled on the force, believing this would be particularly suitable for taking on Boer scouting parties. Thirty-three serving members of the police joined the unit, including Superintendent Samuel Steel , who became their commanding officer. The Strathconas wore the mounted police's Stetson hat as part of their uniform, while in turn their distinctive boots were adopted by

5983-510: A widely varied landscape, from arctic tundra and the Hudson Bay coastline in the north to dense boreal forest , large freshwater lakes , and prairie grassland in the central and southern regions. Indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Manitoba for thousands of years. In the early 17th century, English and French fur traders began arriving in the area and establishing settlements. The Kingdom of England secured control of

Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg - Misplaced Pages Continue

6176-641: Is Winnipeg , the sixth most populous municipality in Canada. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the Provincial Court . Four of the province's five universities, all four of its professional sports teams, and most of its cultural activities (including Festival du Voyageur and Folklorama ) are located in Winnipeg. The city has an international airport as well as train and bus stations;

6369-631: Is a major tourist attraction; the town is a world capital for polar bear and beluga whale watchers. Manitoba is the only province with an Arctic deep-water seaport, at Churchill. In January 2018, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business claimed Manitoba was the most improved province for tackling red tape . Manitoba's early economy depended on mobility and living off the land. Indigenous Nations (Cree, Ojibwa, Dene, Sioux and Assiniboine) followed herds of bison and congregated to trade among themselves at key meeting places throughout

6562-641: Is cold and windy in the winter and has frequent blizzards due to the openness of the Canadian Prairie landscape. Summers are generally warm to hot, with low to moderate humidity. Southern parts of the province, just north of Tornado Alley , experience tornadoes , with 16 confirmed touchdowns in 2016. In 2007, on 22 and 23 June, numerous tornadoes touched down, the largest an F5 tornado that devastated parts of Elie (the strongest recorded tornado in Canada). The province's northern sections (including

6755-556: Is exposed to cold Arctic high-pressure air masses from the northwest during January and February. In the summer, air masses sometimes come out of the Southern United States , as warm humid air is drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico . Temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) numerous times each summer, and the combination of heat and humidity can bring the humidex value to the mid-40s. Carman, Manitoba , recorded

6948-400: Is governed by a unicameral legislative assembly . The executive branch is formed by the governing party; the party leader is the premier of Manitoba , the head of the executive branch. The head of state, King Charles III , is represented by the lieutenant governor of Manitoba , who is appointed by the governor general of Canada on advice of the prime minister . The head of state

7141-480: Is grain farming in the Carrot Valley Region (near The Pas ). Around 11 per cent of Canada's farmland is in Manitoba. Manitoba has an extreme continental climate . Temperatures and precipitation generally decrease from south to north and increase from east to west. Manitoba is far from the moderating influences of mountain ranges or large bodies of water. Because of the generally flat landscape, it

7334-603: Is home to flight operations support divisions and several training schools, as well as the 1 Canadian Air Division and Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters. 17 Wing of the Canadian Forces is based at CFB Winnipeg; the Wing has three squadrons and six schools. It supports 113 units from Thunder Bay to the Saskatchewan/Alberta border, and from the 49th parallel north to the high Arctic . 17 Wing acts as

7527-537: Is home to the largest Icelandic community outside of Iceland . As of the 2021 Canadian Census , the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (1,288,950 or 98.6%), French (111,790 or 8.55%), Tagalog (73,440 or 5.62%), Punjabi (42,820 or 3.28%), German (41,980 or 3.21%), Hindi (26,980 or 2.06%), Spanish (23,435 or 1.79%), Mandarin (16,765 or 1.28%), Cree (16,115 or 1.23%), and Plautdietsch (15,055 or 1.15%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. Most Manitobans belong to

7720-458: Is primarily a ceremonial role, although the lieutenant governor has the official responsibility of ensuring Manitoba has a duly constituted government. North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police ( NWMP ) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to Canada from

7913-535: Is the lowest at sea level. Riding Mountain , the Pembina Hills , Sandilands Provincial Forest , and the Canadian Shield are also upland regions. Much of the province's sparsely inhabited north and east lie on the irregular granite Canadian Shield, including Whiteshell , Atikaki , and Nopiming Provincial Parks . Extensive agriculture is found only in the province's southern areas, although there

Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg - Misplaced Pages Continue

8106-539: The 2006 federal election ), and Lloyd Axworthy (21 years). Winnipeg City Hall is the municipal government complex and seat of municipal government of Winnipeg . Built in 1962–63 and officially opened in 1964, the current City Hall of Winnipeg (also known as Winnipeg Civic Centre ) is the third municipal administrative facilities to exist for the city. The Civic Centre includes four buildings that were completed in 1964: The Council and Administrative Buildings are joined by an underground corridor, which also connects

8299-579: The Boreal forest of Canada which covers the province's eastern, southeastern, and northern reaches. Forests make up about 263,000 square kilometres (102,000 sq mi), or 48 percent, of the province's land area. The forests consist of pines ( Jack Pine , Red Pine , Eastern White Pine ), spruces ( White Spruce , Black Spruce ), Balsam Fir , Tamarack (larch) , poplars ( Trembling Aspen , Balsam Poplar ), birches ( White Birch , Swamp Birch ) and small pockets of Eastern White Cedar . Two sections of

8492-478: The Canadian Armed Forces include: Royal Canadian Navy Canadian Army Royal Canadian Air Force Between 2009 and 2019, overall crime in Winnipeg has dropped by 4%. Unlawful Death Manitoba Manitoba is a province of Canada at the longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's fifth-most populous province , with a population of 1,342,153 as of 2021. Manitoba has

8685-667: The Hudson's Bay Company , the Red River Rebellion and in response to lawlessness, demonstrated by the subsequent Cypress Hills Massacre and fears of United States military intervention. The NWMP combined military, police and judicial functions along similar lines to the Royal Irish Constabulary . A small, mobile police force was chosen to reduce potential for tensions with the United States and First Nations . The NWMP uniforms included red coats deliberately reminiscent of British and Canadian military uniforms. The NWMP

8878-579: The Labour Party . While the norm in the city's early years was for local elected officials to be English Protestants , there were still exceptions who won elections: Arni Frederickson (Ward 5, 1891) and Arni Eggertson (Ward 4, 1906) were Icelandic ; Moses Finkelstein and Altar Skaletar (Ward 5, 1912) were Jewish ; and Theodore Stefanik (Ward 5, 1911) was the first Ukrainian elected to City Council. Women could not hold office in Winnipeg until 1916, after which Alice A. Holling in 1917 (Ward 7) became

9071-542: The Manitoba Centennial Centre were connected by tunnels in 1967. From 2015 to 2017, the two buildings went through $ 5.4 million in renovations. Its administration building was renamed the Susan A. Thompson Building to recognize the titular first female mayor of Winnipeg , who held office from 1992 to 1998. In the inner courtyard of City Hall, which was refurbished in 2003, are ceramic crests of each of

9264-592: The Meech Lake Accord , a series of constitutional amendments to persuade Quebec to endorse the Canada Act 1982 . Unanimous support in the legislature was needed to bypass public consultation. Cree politician Elijah Harper opposed because he did not believe First Nations had been adequately involved in the Accord's process, and thus the Accord failed. Glen Murray , elected in Winnipeg in 1998, became

9457-736: The Red , Assiniboine , Nelson, Winnipeg , Hayes , Whiteshell and Churchill rivers . Most of Manitoba's inhabited south has developed in the prehistoric bed of Glacial Lake Agassiz . This region, particularly the Red River Valley , is flat and fertile; receding glaciers left hilly and rocky areas throughout the province. The province has a saltwater coastline bordering Hudson Bay and more than 110,000 lakes, covering approximately 15.6 percent or 101,593 square kilometres (39,225 sq mi) of its surface area. Manitoba's major lakes are Lake Manitoba , Lake Winnipegosis , and Lake Winnipeg ,

9650-659: The Red River valley of Manitoba and a further 8,500 European settlers in the colony of British Columbia . Surveys referred to the territories as the "Wild North Land" and the "Great Lone Land". The Canadian border along the southern edge of Alberta was occupied by the Blackfoot Confederacy , a First Nation whose economy was based on hunting bison . The Blackfoot had suffered badly from smallpox , and were under increasing pressure from rival groups of Sioux and Piegans that had crossed into Canada, fleeing

9843-606: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1920. The NWMP was created due to the expansion of the newly formed Dominion of Canada into the NWT during the 1870s. The Dominion had been formed in 1867 by the confederation of the British colonies of Canada , Nova Scotia and New Brunswick , but the extensive lands to the north-west known as Rupert's Land remained governed by the Hudson's Bay Company as

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10036-647: The Second Boer War broke out in 1899, many members of the mounted police wanted to volunteer to serve in South Africa, motivated by sympathy for the British imperial cause and the strong military tradition within the force. Indeed, Commissioner Herchmer had proposed sending a force of 350 men to join the Sudan campaign in 1896, but was turned down by his superiors. Although there was public enthusiasm for

10229-414: The great grey owl , the province's official bird, and the endangered peregrine falcon . Manitoba's lakes host 18 species of game fish, particularly species of trout , pike , and goldeye , as well as many smaller fish. At the 2021 census, Manitoba had a population of 1,342,153, more than half of which is in Winnipeg. Although initial colonization of the province revolved mostly around homesteading,

10422-617: The last ice age glaciers retreated in the southwest about 10,000 years ago; the first exposed land was the Turtle Mountain area. The Ojibwe , Cree , Dene , Sioux , Mandan , and Assiniboine peoples founded settlements, and other tribes entered the area to trade. In Northern Manitoba, quartz was mined to make arrowheads . The first farming in Manitoba was along the Red River, where corn and other seed crops were planted before contact with Europeans. In 1611, Henry Hudson

10615-527: The tenth-largest freshwater lake in the world. A total of 29,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) of traditional First Nations lands and boreal forest on Lake Winnipeg's east side were officially designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Pimachiowin Aki in 2018. Baldy Mountain is the province's highest point at 832 metres (2,730 ft) above sea level , and the Hudson Bay coast

10808-511: The "Herchmer scandals". Lawrence Herchmer had been appointed as commissioner partially because of his positive reputation within the Indian Department, but also because of his Conservative sympathies and his family links to Prime Minister Macdonald. Herchmer's brother William – himself a mounted police superintendent – had arrested the newspaper-owner Nicholas Davin for public drunkenness several years before. Apparently motivated by

11001-516: The 1990s, Canadian Forces Base Shilo was designated as an Area Support Unit, acting as a local base of operations for Southwest Manitoba in times of military and civil emergency. CFB Shilo is the home of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery , both battalions of the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group , and the Royal Canadian Artillery . The Second Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), which

11194-553: The 435 ("Chinthe" Transport and Rescue Squadron), which flies the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tanker/transport in airlift search and rescue roles, and is the only Air Force squadron equipped and trained to conduct air-to-air refuelling of fighter aircraft. Canadian Forces Base Shilo (CFB Shilo) is an Operations and Training base of the Canadian Forces 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Brandon. During

11387-627: The Blackfoot people would be permitted go whatever they liked. The Indians often ignored the pass system, and in May 1893 Commissioner Herchmer ordered the NWMP to stop enforcing the pass system, saying it was illegal under Canadian law, only to be overruled by the Department of Indian Affairs. It was the intention of the Canadian government to colonize the Prairies, and the government believed that settlers would not come unless there were assurances that

11580-468: The British government gave absolute control of the entire Hudson Bay watershed. This watershed was named Rupert's Land, after Prince Rupert , who helped to subsidize the Hudson's Bay Company. York Factory was founded in 1684 after the original fort of the Hudson's Bay Company, Fort Nelson (built in 1682), was destroyed by rival French traders. Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye , visited

11773-603: The Civic Centre to the Manitoba Centennial Centre . During the initial two years of the city's incorporation in November 1873, city council meetings were held in various buildings in Winnipeg, including a furniture store. Winnipeg's first City Hall (1876–83) was built for CA$ 40,000 in 1876, three years after the city was incorporated, and was located on Main Street between William and Market Avenues. Commencing in 1875,

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11966-601: The Depression . Its successor, the New Democratic Party , has enjoyed much support in Winnipeg since the early 1960s. The 1965 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 27, 1965. On July 27, 1971, the City of Winnipeg became a unicity by amalgamating the Town of Tuxedo ; the rural municipalities of Charleswood , Fort Garry , North Kildonan , Old Kildonan ; the cities of East Kildonan , West Kildonan , St. Vital , Transcona , St. Boniface , St. James-Assiniboia ;

12159-498: The First Nations peoples were under control, hence the pass system. The Canadian government began the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway between eastern Canada and British Columbia in 1881, with the aim of opening up the north-western territories for settlement. In response, the mounted police moved their headquarters to the town of Regina , the new territorial capital which had been founded alongside

12352-464: The First Nations. By the 1880s, however, the police also began to tackle horse theft. Horse stealing was common among the First Nations on the prairies: it formed part of intertribal competition and warfare, and the stolen horses enabled their hunting expeditions. In part the police crackdown was driven by the Department for Indian Affairs , who believed that the practice of horse theft was slowing

12545-807: The Liberals in 1932. Other parties, including the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), appeared during the Great Depression; in the 1950s, Manitoban politics became a three-party system, and the Liberals gradually declined in power. The CCF became the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), which came to power in 1969. Since then, the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP have been the dominant parties. Like all Canadian provinces, Manitoba

12738-429: The Mayor and City Council took up residence at 238 King Street in the newly built Coronation Block, which served as an interim "City Hall" between 1883 and 1886. (Eventually needing repairs and becoming a public safety hazard itself, the Coronation Block building was demolished in 2012.) In July 1884, the cornerstone for the second City Hall was laid. This new building, designed by architectural firm Barber and Barber , had

12931-440: The Métis , and then by the threat of a Fenian invasion . Meanwhile, a survey conducted in 1871 by Lieutenant William Butler recommended establishing a mounted force of up to 150 men under a magistrate or commissioner, based along the northern trade routes, leaving the border area as a liminal, ungarrisoned zone. Colonel Patrick Robertson-Ross conducted another survey in 1872, and recommended an alternative strategy of recruiting

13124-401: The Métis. Twenty colonists, including the governor, and one Métis were killed in the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories; a lack of attention to Métis concerns caused Métis leader Louis Riel to establish a local provisional government which formed into the Convention of Forty and

13317-441: The NWMP arrested whites accused of killing First Nations peoples led to the perception among First Nations peoples that the NWMP was high-handed, but fair. The herds of buffalo migrated elsewhere on the plains in 1876 and starvation among the Blackfoot loomed. Crowfoot rejected a proposed alliance with the Sioux against the United States, arguing that the collapse of buffalo hunting and white immigration meant that his people needed

13510-492: The NWMP refused to shut it down, saying the brothel was medically inspected every 9 days and to shut it down would cause venereal diseases to spread, leading to a furor in the Calgary newspapers. Towards the end of the 19th century, immigration, urbanization and industrialization transformed the territories, destroying the old frontier way of life. Three million immigrants arrived in Canada between 1910 and 1914, many of them from eastern Europe , and over half of them settled in

13703-413: The NWMP with the intention of mobilizing the force and deploying it early the next year. A report then arrived from Alexander Morris , the Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories , blaming the massacre on the activities of whisky traders at Fort Whoop-Up ; Morris predicted that if action was not taken immediately, there would be a major uprising by the First Nations across the region, into which

13896-555: The NWT that they would not leave and the region would be annexed to the United States. In 1874, the NWMP were deployed to the area of the present Alberta border. Their ill-planned and arduous journey of nearly 900 miles (1,400 km) became known as the March West and was portrayed as an epic journey of endurance. Over the next few years, the NWMP established a wide network of forts, posts and patrols and extended Canadian law across

14089-602: The North-West, which reflected the "necessary evil" policy of tolerating prostitution. The fact that the men of the NWMP themselves frequently made use of the services of the prostitutes was another reason to tolerate the brothels. In an editorial, the Regina Leader mockingly noted the "redcoat of the Mounted Policeman is seen flashing in and out from these dens at all hours. As no arrests have been made

14282-652: The Prairie ' (the lake was known to French explorers as Lac des Prairies ). The name was chosen by Thomas Spence for the new republic he proposed for the area south of the lake. Métis leader Louis Riel preferred the name over the proposed alternative of "Assiniboia". It was accepted in Ottawa under the Manitoba Act, 1870 . Modern-day Manitoba was inhabited by the First Nations people shortly after

14475-618: The RNWMP volunteered for military service during the First World War and the future of the badly depleted force was once again in doubt. Towards the end of the war, however, fears grew about a potential Bolshevik conspiracy and the authorities tasked the RNWMP to investigate the threat. In the aftermath of the violence of the Winnipeg General Strike , the government amalgamated the RNWMP and Dominion Police , to form

14668-685: The Red River Valley in the 1730s to help open the area for French exploration and trade. As French explorers entered the area, a Montreal -based company, the North West Company , began trading with the local Indigenous people. Both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company built fur-trading forts; the two companies competed in southern Manitoba, occasionally resulting in violence, until they merged in 1821 (the Hudson's Bay Company Archives in Winnipeg preserve

14861-494: The Sioux, who he believed were gathering in the United States to attack across the border, and urged the government to send the police via a more northerly route. Following instructions from Ottawa, French finally agreed with Morris that the expedition would initially follow the trail, but then would steer away from the border and Sioux territory, and the mounted police finally left Dufferin on July 8, 1874. The 275-strong expedition

15054-419: The Sioux, who were not covered by Treaty 7 and therefore ineligible for government support. Nonetheless, starvation gradually forced the return of most of the newcomers to the United States, and Sitting Bull himself finally surrendered in 1881. Initially, the police focused their law enforcement efforts on dealing with the illegal consumption of alcohol , which was considered to promote violent behaviour among

15247-758: The Susan A. Thompson Building), is seven-stories high and houses: Winnipeg is policed by the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS), which in 2012, had 1,442 police officers. Prior to 2014, Winnipeg Police were headquartered at the Public Safety Building in Winnipeg's Exchange District . In February 1874, John S. Ingram became Winnipeg's first Chief of Police. Failing to control the city's rise in lawlessness, however, Ingram resigned in July 1875, and replaced by D. B. Murray. In 2017, Winnipeg had 192 police officers per 100,000 people, being among

15440-612: The United States might choose to intervene. Macdonald was not entirely convinced by the governor's analysis, but nonetheless he agreed to recruit 150 men and send them west to Lower Fort Garry before winter weather blocked the route. Macdonald's Conservative government then fell from power as a result of the Pacific Scandal , and was replaced by the Liberal administration of Alexander Mackenzie , who placed more credence on Morris's reports and had his own moral concerns about

15633-408: The absence of a formal justice system. In 1869, the government of John A. Macdonald , made plans to create a 200-strong mounted police force to maintain order along the border; such a force, he thought, would enable the colonization of the region and be much cheaper than deploying regular militia units for the task. The implementation of this proposal was delayed, however, first by the rebellion of

15826-409: The area along the line of the route. They enforced the liquor laws, and oversaw the itinerant service workers who accompanied the main construction teams. They defused many of the tensions involving the construction workers and the company, including intervening to resolve cases where the workers had not been paid by the company as promised, but they also intervened to support the railway company. When

16019-468: The area and settled down to build Fort Macleod on an island in Old Man's River. The expedition had been badly planned and executed, and almost failed; the historian William Baker describes it as "a monumental fiasco of poor planning, ignorance, incompetence, and cruelty to men and beasts". Nonetheless, it rapidly became portrayed by the force as epic story of bravery, endurance and determination. With

16212-406: The area to contain good grazing for their horses but it was barren and treeless. French was forced to abandon the plan to head to Whoop-Up and instead travelled 70 miles (110 km) south towards the border, where supplies could be purchased from the United States. Yet more horses died from the cold and hunger, and many of the men were barefoot and in rags by the time they arrived, having travelled

16405-481: The area, many prospectors travelled by foot over arduous mountain routes and along rivers using primitive boats, although no more than 40,000 of them successfully reached the goldfields. A substantial and expensive mounted police detachment was established in the Klondike, amounting to 288 men by 1898, representing around a third of the entire force and including many of its most experienced personnel. The borders in

16598-550: The arrest of the movement's leaders. In the aftermath, eight leaders went on trial, and most were convicted on charges of seditious conspiracy , illegal combinations, and seditious libel ; four were deported under the Canadian Immigration Act . The Great Depression (1929– c.  1939 ) hit especially hard in Western Canada , including Manitoba. The collapse of the world market combined with

16791-592: The arrival of the mounted police, the whisky trade around Fort Macleod collapsed, and the traders shifted into legitimate projects or moved elsewhere. The Blackfoot welcomed the arrival of the police and their leader, Crowfoot , promoted a policy of co-operation. After enduring a difficult winter with only limited supplies, the force broke up their main command, some remaining at Fort Macleod, with others establishing forts at Dufferin, Swan River , Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ellice , with Walsh and Calgary following soon after. Macdonald's newly returned Conservative government

16984-412: The assimilation of the First Nations into broader Canadian society. The authorities were also concerned that if the First Nations were allowed to steal horses from across the border in the United States, it could provoke a military intervention into Canada. From 1885 onward, the NWMP was charged with the enforcing the apartheid-like pass system , under which a First Nations person was permitted to leave

17177-477: The authorities described as the "band of desperadoes" around Fort Whoop-Up, before then dispersing his force to establish police posts stretching across the territories. From Fort Dufferin, French could have simply traced the southern line of the frontier, following a well-established trail created two years before by the British and United States Boundary Commission . Lieutenant Governor Morris disagreed with this approach, arguing that it might encourage an attack by

17370-416: The building was constructed by Robert Dewar on top of a creek that was filled-in for that purpose. The placing of the cornerstone of the city hall on 17 August 1875 was celebrated as a "grand civic holiday," with a large procession down Main Street to the ritual of laying the cornerstone. In the cornerstone, a casket (or time capsule ) was deposited, containing coins, bills, newspapers, and photographs of

17563-487: The campaign for women's votes. On January 28, 1916, the vote for women was legalized. Manitoba was the first province to allow women to vote in provincial elections. This was two years before Canada as a country granted women the right to vote. After the First World War ended, severe discontent among farmers (over wheat prices) and union members (over wage rates) resulted in an upsurge of radicalism , coupled with

17756-405: The character of these visits can be easily surmised!". Commissioner Herchemer complained that venereal diseases caused more medical treatments in the NWMP than any other, leading him to deduct the costs of medical treatment from the venereal diseases from the pay of the men concerned. The policy of the NWMP was to allow red-light districts to exist, and every so often to launch a raid to shut down

17949-526: The city of Thompson ) fall in the subarctic climate zone ( Köppen climate classification Dfc ). This region features long and extremely cold winters and brief, warm summers with little precipitation. Overnight temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) occur on several days each winter. Manitoba natural communities may be grouped within five ecozones: boreal plains , prairie , taiga shield , boreal shield and Hudson plains . Three of these—taiga shield, boreal shield and Hudson plain—contain part of

18142-553: The city. The building was formally opened in March 1876 with a concert in aid of the Winnipeg General Hospital . During these early years, the hall served as a multi-use building. Developing cracks in its walls shortly after it was erected along with other structural flaws for which wooden poles had to be used to prop it up, the building was demolished in 1883. During the construction of the second hall (1884–86),

18335-419: The commissioner hoped would write a positive account of the new force. The expedition made slow time along the boundary trail, progressing only 15 miles (24 km) a day at most. The police were already travelling under unpleasant and arduous conditions, made more difficult by the teamsters having little experience and their horses being unsuitable for draught work. On July 29, the main force then turned off

18528-664: The conflict. Sergeant Arthur Richardson , a member of the Strathconas, won the Victoria Cross for rescuing a Canadian soldier under heavy fire at Wolve Spruit. In 1904, the Crown renamed the force the Royal Northwest Mounted Police to honour its contributions in the war. The mounted police continued to face criticism after 1885, through a sequence of allegations in the popular press known as

18721-466: The construction teams. The new industrial workforce often lived and worked under very poor conditions, and enjoyed few employment rights . Workers who left their jobs in protest could find themselves arrested by the mounted police under the terms of the Masters and Servants Act for deserting their employment, or alternatively detained under the vagrancy laws. Although the position of organized labour

18914-559: The construction work. The mounted police made arrests and the government reduced their rations: by 1883, the threat of starvation had forced the First Nations to relocate to the northern side of the line. In 1885, the North-West Rebellion broke out along the North Saskatchewan River valley. Driven by a combination of political and economic issues, Louis Riel and his Métis followers intended to form

19107-554: The control of Rupert's Land was passed from Great Britain to the Government of Canada in 1869, Manitoba attained full-fledged rights and responsibilities of self-government as the first Canadian province carved out of Rupert's Land . The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba was established on 14 July 1870. Political parties first emerged between 1878 and 1883, with a two-party system ( Liberals and Conservatives ). The United Farmers of Manitoba appeared in 1922, and later merged with

19300-437: The difficulties faced by ordinary workers, and were often unwilling to actively assist the company owners if there was a risk it might cause disturbances to break out. Up until the 1890s, the government had no presence in the far north-west of Canada. In 1894, the rise of gold mining and a growing population led to calls for Ottawa to intervene, both to control whisky trading and to protect the local First Nations. In response,

19493-537: The dispute. Police deployed there again in 1906 for nine months during a dispute between the company, now called the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company , and the workforce over union recognition , pay and working conditions. A team of 82 regular police were reinforced by 11 special constables recruited from within the company, with an undercover constable deployed to infiltrate the strike and send back intelligence. Efforts were made to collect information on

19686-585: The earnings of the union leaders, probably intended for use in discrediting them. The police maintained order and escorted non-striking workers past the picket lines . Historians hold differing views as to whether the mounted police were neutral in these disputes or sided with the employers, although all agree that the position of the police in managing the strikes became more difficult as organized labour became better established. The mounted police disliked labour agitators and strikers with eastern or southern European backgrounds, but they also had some sympathy for

19879-569: The east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territory of Nunavut to the north, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. Manitoba is at the centre of the Hudson Bay drainage basin, with a high volume of the water draining into Lake Winnipeg and then north down the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. This basin's rivers reach far west to the mountains, far south into the United States, and east into Ontario. Major watercourses include

20072-610: The end of French schools. In 1890, the Manitoba legislature passed a law removing funding for French Catholic schools . The French Catholic minority asked the federal government for support; however, the Orange Order and other anti-Catholic forces mobilized nationwide to oppose them. The federal Conservatives proposed remedial legislation to override Manitoba, but they were blocked by the Liberals , led by Wilfrid Laurier . Once elected Prime Minister in 1896, Laurier implemented

20265-429: The expansion of the United States military across the southern plains. Whisky-traders from the United States had come across the border, selling alcohol to the indigenous peoples, fuelling social problems and outbreaks of violence. Although the region remained relatively safe, there was no civil government, and military explorers highlighted the "lawlessness" and lack of "security for life or property" that resulted from

20458-408: The expense of the wider, less populated areas of the Prairies, where the patrolling system had already had to be cut back. A special railway branch was briefly established in 1888, using undercover officers positioned along the railway line to gather intelligence, and plans were put forward, but not enacted, to create a larger detective branch . Attempts were made to enforce the prostitution laws in

20651-626: The far north, through to the edges of the Great Plains in the south, covered by flat, semi-arid grasslands. A rocky area known as the Shield , which was unsuitable for arable farming , had formed a natural barrier to European colonists gradually spreading across from the eastern colonies. As a result, the territories remained thinly populated, with only around 150,000 First Nations , Inuit and occasional small groups of Europeans, and more substantial communities of around 12,000 Métis settled in

20844-419: The final completion of the project. The construction of the railway introduced new tensions between the government and the First Nations. The authorities wished to move the indigenous peoples to reserves north of the railway in order to cut them off from the United States border. For their part, the First Nations were unhappy about the railway being built through their lands, stole company horses and disrupted

21037-414: The first openly gay mayor of a large North American city. The province was impacted by major flooding in 2009 and 2011 . In 2004, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to ban indoor smoking in public places. In 2013, Manitoba was the second province to introduce accessibility legislation, protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to

21230-431: The first recruits had gone on to become ranchers themselves after leaving the force. Illegal squatting by poorer settlers started to become a problem, however, boiling over into open disputes during the 1890s, and the mounted police were deployed to evict them. The task was unpopular among the force, but it grudgingly complied until government policy towards the smaller settlers finally changed in 1896. The police provided

21423-431: The first woman to run for Council. (Holling lost to Alexander McLennan, 693 to 358.) In December 1920, Jessie Kirk became the first woman elected to Council. Kirk served a two-year term on Council for Ward 2, running again in 1922, 1923, 1926, and 1934, but was defeated each time. From 15 May to 28 June in 1919, Winnipeg was the site of a general strike . There were violent protests during this strikes, several deaths at

21616-614: The flood led then-Premier Duff Roblin to advocate for the construction of the Red River Floodway ; it was completed in 1968 after six years of excavation. Permanent dikes were erected in eight towns south of Winnipeg, and clay dikes and diversion dams were built in the Winnipeg area. In 1997, the " Flood of the Century " caused over C$ 400 million in damages in Manitoba, but the floodway prevented Winnipeg from flooding. In 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to pass

21809-504: The following year and, by the summer, around 5,600 Sioux had crossed the border despite opposition from the Blackfoot. The mounted police helped to facilitate the negotiations with the Sioux, in which Assistant Commissioner Acheson Irvine played a prominent part. The Sioux declined to return south, however, and the police had to deploy around 200 men to Fort Walsh to oversee the immigrant community. The police lived in primitive conditions and voluntarily shared some of their own supplies with

22002-560: The foot of the Rocky Mountains", probably with its headquarters in Winnipeg . He was heavily influenced by the model of the Royal Irish Constabulary , which combined aspects of a traditional military unit with the judicial functions of the magistrates' courts, and believed that the new force should be able to provide a local system of government in otherwise ungoverned areas. Originally, Macdonald also had wanted to form units of Métis policemen, commanded by white Canadian officers in

22195-411: The force grew and the police soon found themselves almost entirely occupied in attempting to enforce the unpopular laws. Legal changes were pushed through in 1892, removing prohibition and allowing the licensing of public bars; the new law was enforced by local town inspectors, removing most of the force's responsibility for the problem. As there were almost no white women on the Prairies, the influx of

22388-550: The force turned to the vagrancy laws as an alternative approach for removing First Nations from selected areas. Police used agents employed to collect intelligence from within First Nation and Métis communities, and, from 1887, they also employed members of the First Nations as special constables, typically deploying them as scouts and trackers . These scouts wore an informal uniform and were empowered to arrest other members of their communities, but not whites. Enforcing

22581-476: The force up to an operational strength of 562. When the rebellion finally broke out in Batoche in March, Irvine advanced quickly through the snow from Regina to Prince Albert , which he garrisoned with 90 police. Superintendent Leif Crozier took a force of police, civilian volunteers and a 7-pounder (3 kg) gun to Fort Carlton and attempted to seize a cache of supplies. In the process, Crozier confronted

22774-405: The force was called in to manage industrial disputes on a range of occasions between 1887 and 1906. In the mining town of Lethbridge , for example, the Alberta Railway and Coal Company locked out its workforce in 1894 during an attempt to cut staff and reduce wages; a team of ten police was deployed to maintain order, in particular any risks posed by eastern European immigrants, and to mediate in

22967-450: The frontier was changing rapidly, with large cattle ranches being established across the Canadian plains. The government also introduced a new Indian Policy, seeking to sign treaties with the First Nations, establish reserves and a system of annuities, which would then hopefully be followed by the integration of the First Nations into the agricultural economy. The mounted police's approach to enabling this process has been characterized by

23160-429: The general resentment. Many members of the force drank alcohol themselves, including liquor confiscated from smugglers, and police beer canteens were established to provide members of the force a legal alternative. Settlers also began to routinely evade the laws in the larger towns, despite mounted police searches, the deployment of undercover officers, and large fines being imposed by the courts. Public hostility towards

23353-516: The government captured Big Bear and the remnants of the rebel Cree. Riel was imprisoned by the mounted police at Regina, given a short trial, and hanged. Middleton criticized Irvine and the mounted police for having remained in Prince Albert throughout the campaign, and for failing to reinforce him during the Battle of Batoche. The general recommended closing the force, and replacing it with

23546-591: The hands of the Royal North-West Mounted Police , and the arrest of many of Winnipeg's future politicians. The unrest was adapted into a stage musical in 2005 called Strike! , itself being adapted into a 2019 film directed by Robert Adetuyi , titled Stand! . Though it was not chartered until 1932, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation would be born out of the 1919 labour unrest, as well as out of

23739-551: The hardy dare-devils" who rushed to join up to fight for Queen and Country in South Africa. Herchmer recruited and commanded a group of 144 mounted police volunteers, who made up almost half of the new 2nd Battalion of the Canadian Mounted Rifles ; many of the other volunteers in the battalion were also ex-policemen. The NWMP influence on the Canadian Mounted Rifles battalion was strong; of

23932-551: The highest number of cops per capita among major Canadian cities (i.e., those with populations of 500,000 or more). However, this number would be down from 200 in 2015, a change consistent with an overall decline in police officers per capita across Canada, which saw a 1% drop last year and a 1% decline the year before. The City of Winnipeg has five distinct police districts. West Kildonan St. Vital Elmwood East Kildonan North Kildonan Transcona Fort Rouge Fort Garry Winnipeg-based units/groups belonging to

24125-423: The historian Ronald Atkin as a "benevolent despotism", and by John Jennings as a "legal tyranny". The police insisted that the Canadian law should be applied rigidly to the First Nations, but at the same time were relatively supportive of the First Nations when responding to the claims of the growing number of white ranchers. The force built cordial personal relationships with the First Nations' leaders, which led to

24318-678: The history of this era). Great Britain secured the territory in 1763 after their victory over France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War , better known as the French and Indian War in North America; lasting from 1754 to 1763. The founding of the first agricultural community and settlements in 1812 by Lord Selkirk , north of the area which is now downtown Winnipeg, led to conflict between British colonists and

24511-598: The influx of prospectors. NWMP volunteers were sent to fight in the Second Boer War and, in recognition for that and 30 years of service policing the North-West and Yukon Territories, King Edward VII , awarded the title Royal to the North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) in 1904. Plans for disbanding the Royal North-West Mounted Police were abandoned in the face of popular oppositions and regional politicians. Large numbers of

24704-426: The job by receiving 42.51% of the vote. This came after the resignation of Glen Murray as mayor of Winnipeg to run in the 2004 federal election . Katz was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 elections on 25 October 2006. After promising in his first election to run for only two terms, Katz ran for a third term in 2010. He was re-elected in the 2010 elections . Brian Bowman , the city's first Indigenous mayor,

24897-798: The last century has seen a shift towards urbanization; Manitoba is the only Canadian province with over fifty-five percent of its population in a single city. The largest ethnic group in Manitoba is English (16.1%), followed by Scottish (14.5%), German (13.6%), Ukrainian (12.6%), Irish (11.0%), French (9.3%), Canadian (8.4%), Filipino (7.0%), Métis (6.8%), Polish (6.0%), First Nations (4.5%), Mennonite (3.9%), Russian (3.7%), Dutch (3.3%), Indian (3.0%), and Icelandic (2.4%). Indigenous peoples (including Métis) are Manitoba's fastest-growing ethnic group, representing 13.6 percent of Manitoba's population as of 2001 (some reserves refused to allow census-takers to enumerate their populations or were otherwise incompletely counted). Gimli, Manitoba

25090-625: The last of the Canadian buffalo herds had been eliminated by hunting, and the Indians became dependent on supplies issued by the police to avoid starvation. At the same time, the police were managing the Sitting Bull incident. In 1876 the United States military led a campaign against the Sioux in Dakota; the Sioux's leader, Sitting Bull, concluded that the conflict was unwinnable, and chose to seek sanctuary in Canada. Sitting Bull arrived in May

25283-465: The late 19th century with the chiefs of First Nations that lived in the area. They made specific promises of land for every family. As a result, a reserve system was established under the jurisdiction of the federal government . The prescribed amount of land promised to the native peoples was not always given; this led Indigenous groups to assert rights to the land through land claims , many of which are still ongoing. The original province of Manitoba

25476-574: The leading sources of potatoes. Portage la Prairie is a major potato processing centre. Richardson International , one of the largest oat mills in the world, also has a plant in the municipality . Manitoba's largest employers are government and government-funded institutions, including crown corporations and services like hospitals and universities . Major private-sector employers are The Great-West Life Assurance Company , Cargill Ltd. , and Richardson International. Manitoba also has large manufacturing and tourism sectors. Churchill's Arctic wildlife

25669-660: The main column, intending to retake Batoche. The second column advanced to Battleford and then marched south to Cut Knife Creek, with 74 mounted police forming the advance guard. There the column surprised Poundmakers's camp , but the attack by the advance troops failed and the government forces were forced to retreat. After many delays, Middleton finally attacked the rebel capital, winning the Battle of Batoche and forcing Riel to surrender, before relieving Prince Albert on May 20. The third column marched to Edmonton, supported by 20 mounted police and their 9-pounder (4 kg) gun, where

25862-531: The majority were unmarried, there was a marked tendency for them to associate with the "sporting women" as prostitutes were euphemistically described. The NWMP "necessary evil" policy caused much tension with Protestant churches and civic groups that demanded that prostitution be stamped out in the early 20th century. In 1907, following complaints that a brothel full of Japanese prostitutes was operating in Nose Creek just outside of Calgary, Superintendent Dean of

26055-513: The male work crews for the railroad together with the mines being opened in the foothills of the Rocky mountains created an immense demand for prostitution, which flourished as a result. Prostitution was illegal, but the NWMP tended to see it as a "necessary evil", arguing that the male workers wanted sex, and that to shut down the brothels would cause unmanageable social tensions. Between 1874 and 1890, there were only 12 convictions for prostitution in

26248-504: The management of local game hunting, operating the postal and telegraph system, acting as coroners and running the mining registration system. The historian Morris Zaslow describes the Yukon as forming a "police state" during this period, and William Morrison has highlighted the force's paternalistic willingness to invent and enforce non-existent laws whenever they considered it necessary. The police acted efficiently and with probity during

26441-522: The mounted police carried out a survey along the Yukon River and gathered customs duties. Fears grew that the United States might try to seize the mineral-rich region, and a twenty-man police team was established at Forty Mile in 1895. Although there was very little actual crime, frictions soon rose between the police and the Miners' Committees, which had been created to provide informal justice during

26634-440: The movement of the First Nations was introduced by the government after the rebellion. Known as the pass system, this required any individual leaving a reserve to possess a pass signed by a government agent, or to face arrest by the police. The police received advice that the new policy was illegal, as it contravened Treaty 7, which had given guarantees of free movement, but they continued to enforce it for several years. Eventually

26827-418: The new council took place on 4 January 1972. Since 50 councillors proved too unwieldy, the city wards were reduced to 29 in 1977. In 1992, the city wards were reduced even further to the present 15 and city councillors became full-time politicians. On 22 June 2004, Sam Katz was elected as the first Jewish mayor of Winnipeg. He beat out prominent politicians Dan Vandal , Al Golden, and MaryAnn Mihychuk for

27020-433: The new mounted police to carry out the operation. Another 150 men were recruited in eastern Canada and sent west by rail through the United States to rendezvous with the first part of the force at Fort Dufferin . The mounted police's deployment onto the plains in 1874 became known as the "March West". The commissioner of the new force, Colonel George French , was ordered to proceed west from Fort Dufferin to deal with what

27213-467: The new towns – previously these had been largely ignored – with the police informally regulating the local sex industries. There was pressure on the mounted police to assist local government in a wide variety of ways, often opposed by the police themselves. These included supporting public health efforts, distributing relief, fighting and investigating fires, and continuing to manage the movement of cattle. New railway lines continued to be constructed, and

27406-650: The newspapers. Reflecting the improved image of the NWMP, in 1897 as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, a group of NWMP riders clad in their colorful scarlet uniforms marched down the streets of London as part of the Canadian contingent. The NWMP riders caused a sensation in London, and it was from that time onward the romantic image of the Mounties became popular in Britain. When

27599-416: The northern reach of its western neighbours Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia . The Manitoba Schools Question showed the deep divergence of cultural values in the territory. The Catholic Franco-Manitobans had been guaranteed a state-supported separate school system in the original constitution of Manitoba, but a grassroots political movement among English Protestants from 1888 to 1890 demanded

27792-450: The officers of the battalion, 13 out of 19 were NWMP men. Of the policemen who volunteered to fight in South Africa, 67.4% were British-born while the remainder were Canadian-born, reflecting the tendency of male British immigrants in Canada to be the ones most likely to volunteer for service in South Africa. Soon after the battalion's arrival in South Africa, however, Herchmer's superior, Major General Edward Hutton , concluded that Herchmer

27985-479: The old City of Winnipeg; and the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg . The first election for the newly combined city was held on 6 October 1971. The City Council consisted of 50 councillors and one mayor. The councillors were elected on the basis of one councillor per city ward while the mayor was elected by the city-at-large. The term of office was three years. The inaugural meeting of

28178-467: The period, largely curbing criminality in the region, although their task was helped by the geography of the Klondike, which made it relatively easy to bar entry to undesirables. The Klondike gold rush attracted immense worldwide publicity at the time, and the contrast between the relative order of Dawson City in the Yukon vs. the more chaotic and violent situation in Skagway, Alaska caused much comment in

28371-399: The police and volunteers" at Duck Lake; when the details became public, Crozier resigned. In the years after the rebellion, the government's National Policy to settle the north-west continued; by 1885, white settlers became the majority in the region as the railway brought in immigrants, and their numbers almost doubled over the course of the 1890s. The establishment of the mounted police

28564-459: The police as their official footwear in 1901. The South African Constabulary was created in October 1900 to police the recaptured territories; it mirrored the mounted police, with its members again wearing the force's Stetson hat; it incorporated forty-two members of the mounted police and one of its divisions was commanded by Steele. The mounted police volunteers suffered seven casualties during

28757-595: The police were tasked to assist in the building the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific lines, as well as the Crow's Nest Pass branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, following the pattern set by their earlier work in the 1880s. There was a heavy legal load on the force's commissioned officers both in their role as magistrates and as informal arbitrators between company management and

28950-425: The population grew. Cattle ranchers had moved into the territories within a year of the police arriving, initially clustering around the police posts for protection. The government began to promote the development of the large ranches during the 1870s and early 1880s, enclosing land up to 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) in size and excluding smaller farmers. The police had close links to the ranch owners, and many of

29143-638: The posts with Maxim guns . The police checked for illegal weapons and prevented the entry of criminals and collected customs duties, while helping protect and guide the flow of migrants, mediating in their disputes and providing practical advice. The mounted police established their headquarters in the boomtown of Dawson City and patrolled out across the Yukon Territory, creating a network of thirty-three posts. Detectives were deployed to infiltrate American organizations to seek out potential conspiracies. The police's role also encompassed fire safety,

29336-517: The presence of the endangered western prairie fringed orchid . Manitoba is especially noted for its northern polar bear population; Churchill is commonly referred to as the "Polar Bear Capital". In the waters off the northern coast of the province are numerous marine species, including the beluga whale . Other populations of animals, including moose , white-tailed deer , mule deer , black and brown bears , coyote , cougar , red fox , Canada lynx , and grey wolf , are distributed throughout

29529-399: The pressures of maintaining the commitments in the Yukon, this reduced the number of the police in the remaining territories to only 682 men by 1900. The similarity of the vast expenses of the veld to the Prairies was felt to make the NWMP well qualified for operations in South Africa. Herchmer was an efficient bureaucrat, but his authoritarian leadership style made him ill-suited to "handle

29722-528: The previous few years. The police brought the issue to a head in June 1896, sending a team into one of the mining camps to overturn the decisions of the local committee. In 1896, huge amounts of gold were discovered in the Klondike valley. Once news of this circulated the following year, around 100,000 people rushed to the Klondike in search of wealth, most with no experience in the mining industry. To reach

29915-464: The prohibition on liquor began to cause the force increasing problems. The liquor laws had been designed to prevent the First Nations from drinking alcohol, but their terms also applied to the increasing numbers of white settlers in the late 1880s. Although some temperance groups applauded the measures, most settlers opposed them. Special permits to import alcohol for personal consumption could be granted, but these were not issued impartially, adding to

30108-455: The province are not dominated by forest. The province's northeast corner bordering Hudson Bay is above the treeline and considered tundra . The tallgrass prairie once dominated the south-central and southeastern regions, including the Red River Valley. Mixed grass prairie is found in the southwestern region. Agriculture has replaced much of the natural vegetation but prairie can still be found in parks and protected areas; some are notable for

30301-419: The province, especially in the provincial and national parks . There is a large population of red-sided garter snakes near Narcisse ; the overwintering dens there are seasonally home to the world's largest concentration of snakes. Manitoba's bird diversity is enhanced by its position on two major migration routes, with 392 confirmed identified species; 287 of these nesting within the province. These include

30494-474: The province. After the arrival of the first European traders in the 17th century, the economy centred on the trade of beaver pelts and other furs. Diversification of the economy came when Lord Selkirk brought the first agricultural settlers in 1811, though the triumph of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) over its competitors ensured the primacy of the fur trade over widespread agricultural colonization. HBC control of Rupert's Land ended in 1868; when Manitoba became

30687-501: The railway line. The force was increased in size to 500 in 1882 to cope with the increased tasks being demanded of it, and the police began to use the railway to bring in recruits more easily from the eastern provinces. The mounted police took on a range of tasks associated with the new project. Teams of police escorted the construction teams as they moved across the Rocky Mountains , having been given special jurisdiction over

30880-425: The railway staff went on strike for higher wages in 1883, the mounted police guarded the company's trains, escorted in new drivers and, when necessary, drove the locomotives themselves; two years later the police broke up a protest over unpaid wages by over a thousand construction workers, arresting the main leaders. The head of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Van Horne , thanked the force for its contribution to

31073-411: The region had been disputed since the American purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, and most of the influx of prospectors were American. Amid fresh concerns that the United States might annex the gold fields, the mounted police were tasked to assert Canadian control along the border line. The force set up control posts at the borders of the Yukon and at easily controlled mountain passes, equipping

31266-495: The region in 1673 and created a territory named Rupert's Land , which was placed under the administration of the Hudson's Bay Company . Rupert's Land, which included all of present-day Manitoba, grew and evolved from 1673 until 1869 with significant settlements of Indigenous and Métis people in the Red River Colony . Negotiations for the creation of the province of Manitoba commenced in 1869, but deep disagreements over

31459-417: The region. The living conditions of the NWMP on the prairies were spartan and often uncomfortable, and only slowly improved over the course of the century. By 1896, the government planned to pass policing responsibilities to the provinces and ultimately disband the NWMP. However, with the discovery of gold in the Klondike , the NWMP was redeployed to protect Canada's sovereignty over the region and to manage

31652-638: The right to self-determination led to an armed conflict, known as the Red River Rebellion , between the federal government and the people (particularly Métis) of the Red River Colony. The resolution of the conflict and further negotiations led to Manitoba becoming the fifth province to join Canadian Confederation , when the Parliament of Canada passed the Manitoba Act on 15 July 1870. Manitoba's capital and largest city

31845-596: The rural municipalities that were amalgamated into the City of Winnipeg in 1972. Commemorating the second City Hall is a Historic Winnipeg plaque found behind the City Hall sign near the northwest corner of the Council Building of the current City Hall. The current Hall consists of two individual buildings: one for Winnipeg City Council and the other for administrative works, both joined by an underground corridor. Faced with Tyndall stone and Quebec Granite,

32038-495: The second half of the decade was a result of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, which reduced reliance on transcontinental railways for trade, as well as a decrease in immigration due to the outbreak of the First World War . Over 18,000 Manitoba residents enlisted in the first year of the war; by the end of the war, 14 Manitobans had received the Victoria Cross . During the First World War, Nellie McClung started

32231-404: The second-highest humidex ever in Canada in 2007, with 53.0. According to Environment Canada , Manitoba ranked first for clearest skies year round and ranked second for clearest skies in the summer and for the sunniest province in the winter and spring. Southern Manitoba (including the city of Winnipeg), falls into the humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfb). This area is cold and windy in

32424-584: The subsequent elected Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia on 9 March 1870. This assembly subsequently sent three delegates to Ottawa to negotiate with the Canadian government . This resulted in the Manitoba Act and that province's entry into Confederation . Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald introduced the Manitoba Act in the House of Commons of Canada , the bill was given Royal Assent and Manitoba

32617-408: The territories. The urban population grew significantly as new towns were established across the Prairies. Many of the immigrants were employed by the growing industries of the region, especially the large mining and manufacturing centres enabled by the Canadian Pacific Railway. As society changed, there were fears of immigrants and criminals exploiting the new rail network. As a result, there were

32810-517: The trail and headed across the much drier and rougher prairies to the north-west. The police had no water bottles and soon both their food and water ran out; as the weather worsened, their horses began to die. When the force arrived at what they thought was Fort Whoop-Up at the junction of the Bow and South Saskatchewan rivers on September 10, there was nothing to be seen, as the fort was in fact around 75 miles (121 km) away. The police had expected

33003-443: The two buildings feature a bronze frame, screen, and hardware elements; with public-area interior wall finishes being limestone, granite, brick, and plaster. The dedication to the City Hall, dedicated during the official opening ceremony for the City Hall on 5 October 1964, is inscribed into the west wall of the Council Building lobby. The Council Building, located on Princess Street, contains: The Administration Building, (now called

33196-584: The urban landscape in Winnipeg." In 2019, there were an estimated 4,000 local gang members in Winnipeg—around 1,500 full members and 2,500 associates—spread out between 25 and 30 separate gangs. From 2018 to 2019, the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area had the largest Crime Severity Index increase (+22) in the number of homicides in Canada overall. Winnipeg in 2019 also dealt with a record breaking year in homicides with 44 and

33389-408: The valley, falling back to more easily defensible locations; Inspector Francis Dickens was forced to flee Fort Pitt with his men on a makeshift boat. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 militia (the nascent Canadian army after the departure of British troops) commanded by Major-General Frederick Middleton hurried west along the Canadian Pacific Railway. Middleton split his forces into three groups and led

33582-474: The war effort, the Victory Loan campaign organized " If Day " in 1942. The event featured a simulated Nazi invasion and occupation of Manitoba, and eventually raised over C$ 65 million. Winnipeg was inundated during the 1950 Red River Flood and had to be partially evacuated. In that year, the Red River reached its highest level since 1861 and flooded most of the Red River Valley. The damage caused by

33775-456: The way, the police helped to distribute relief, including to the Métis communities affected by the rebellion, provided emergency medical assistance, and delivered mail to the more remote areas. Under the new patrol system, the mounted police travelled a total of 1,500,000 miles (2,400,000 km) on average each year on horseback. Backed by harsh sentences from the courts, the process virtually eliminated rural crime. A new system of controlling

33968-577: The whisky trade. These worries were amplified by calls from Washington for Ottawa to secure the frontier and so prevent American Indians from purchasing whisky in Canada. Mackenzie initially suggested sending a joint Canadian-United States military expedition, but, after the Governor General and others noted the serious implications of inviting the United States Army to deploy into Canadian territory, he instead agreed to deploy

34161-457: The winter and often has blizzards because of the open landscape. Summers are warm with a moderate length. This region is the most humid area in the prairie provinces, with moderate precipitation. Southwestern Manitoba, though under the same climate classification as the rest of Southern Manitoba, is closer to the semi-arid interior of Palliser's Triangle . The area is drier and more prone to droughts than other parts of southern Manitoba. This area

34354-444: Was 5.8 percent. Manitoba's economy relies heavily on agriculture, tourism, electricity, oil, mining, and forestry. Agriculture is vital and is found mostly in the southern half of the province, although grain farming occurs as far north as The Pas. The most common agricultural activity is cattle husbandry, followed by assorted grains and oilseed . Manitoba is the nation's largest producer of sunflower seed and dry beans, and one of

34547-511: Was a square one-eighteenth of its current size, and was known colloquially as the "postage stamp province". Its borders were expanded in 1881, taking land from the Northwest Territories and the District of Keewatin , but Ontario claimed a large portion of the land; the disputed portion was awarded to Ontario in 1889. Manitoba grew to its current size in 1912, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories to reach 60°N, uniform with

34740-480: Was brought into Canada as a province in 1870. Louis Riel was pursued by British army officer Garnet Wolseley because of the rebellion, and Riel fled into exile. The Canadian government blocked the Métis' attempts to obtain land promised to them as part of Manitoba's entry into confederation. Facing racism from the new flood of white settlers from Ontario, large numbers of Métis moved to what would become Saskatchewan and Alberta . Numbered Treaties were signed in

34933-410: Was critical of the way that the Liberals had stood up the force, ordering an inspection in 1875 that concluded that "for a newly-raised force, hastily enrolled and equipped, it is in very fair order", but recommended a variety of improvements, including to the quality of the commissioned officers. Commissioner French was forced to resign the following year, and was replaced by James Macleod. Meanwhile,

35126-413: Was divided into six divisions, supported by 310 horses, 143 draught oxen and 187 Red River carts and wagons, in all stretching out 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along the track. The force took two 9-pounder (4 kg) guns and two mortars for additional protection, cattle for food, and mowing machines to make hay. French had negotiated that the expedition be accompanied by Henri Julien , a journalist whom

35319-529: Was elected as the 43rd Mayor of the City of Winnipeg in a landslide victory on 22 October 2014 . Winnipeg is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by eight Members of Parliament : as of 2019, the eight include four from the Liberal Party , two from the Conservative Party , and two from the New Democratic Party . Winnipeg's longest-serving Members of Parliament include J.S. Woodsworth (21 years), Stanley Knowles (38 years), David Orlikow (25 years), Bill Blaikie (almost 27 years and re-elected in

35512-456: Was elected as the 44th Mayor of the City of Winnipeg after a very tight race against Glen Murray , on October 26, 2022 . Winnipeg is also represented in the Canadian House of Commons by eight Members of Parliament . Winnipeg officially became a city on 8 November 1873, with the passing of An Act to Incorporate the City of Winnipeg by the Manitoba Legislature . The Act would outline the essential powers of Winnipeg City Council, and provide

35705-401: Was established by the Canadian government during the ministry of Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald who defined its purpose as "the preservation of peace and the prevention of crime" in the vast NWT. Macdonald envisioned the police force as a para-military force, writing that the "best force would be mounted riflemen, trained to act as cavalry... and styled police". Macdonald's principal fear

35898-414: Was increased to 1,000 men in the aftermath of the rebellion, officially in order to cope with the growing white population, but also to prevent any future uprising by the Métis and First Nations. Levels of crime were initially low, with the police's implementation of the law relatively informal, and focused on upholding the spirit, rather than the letter, of the law, but the force soon faced new challenges as

36091-453: Was initially planned for construction around 1913, the First World War would get in the way of these plans and not resurface until the late 1950s. When planning for Winnipeg's third city hall, City Council considered various different sites in and around the core downtown area. However, they would eventually decide to remain in the Exchange District , the city's traditional central business district, adjacent to Old Market Square . With

36284-409: Was one of the first Europeans to sail into what is now known as Hudson Bay, where he was abandoned by his crew. Thomas Button travelled this area in 1612 in an unsuccessful attempt to find and rescue Hudson. When the British ship Nonsuch sailed into Hudson Bay in 1668–1669, she became the first trading vessel to reach the area; that voyage led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company, to which

36477-494: Was originally stationed in Winnipeg (first at Fort Osborne, then in Kapyong Barracks), has operated out of CFB Shilo since 2004. CFB Shilo hosts a training unit, 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre. It serves as a base for support units of 3rd Canadian Division , also including 3 CDSG Signals Squadron, Shared Services Unit (West), 11 CF Health Services Centre, 1 Dental Unit, 1 Military Police Regiment, and an Integrated Personnel Support Centre. The base houses 1,700 soldiers. After

36670-408: Was that the activities of American traders such as the Cypress Hills Massacre would lead to the First Nations peoples killing the American traders, which would lead to the United States military being deployed into the NWT to protect the lives of American citizens on the grounds that Canada was unable to maintain law and order in the region. Macdonald's greatest fear was that if the Americans occupied

36863-504: Was the acting City Clerk and Registrar for the first election, and found that only 398 residents of the new City of Winnipeg met the qualifications to vote. With this election, Francis Evans Cornish became the first mayor of Winnipeg. In 1887, civic suffrage was afforded to women in Winnipeg, 80 of whom would be eligible to vote in that year's civic election and 476 in the election of 1888. Starting in 1900, in both provincial and federal elections, central Winnipeg elected politicians from

37056-417: Was unsuited for military command and retired him from duty. Herchmer complained to the prime minister, who then dismissed him from the police altogether, replacing him with Aylesworth Perry , a career policeman and a supporter of the Liberal government. The mounted police influenced the creation of other imperial units during the conflict. Lord Strathcona , the Canadian High Commissioner in London, raised

37249-408: Was weak in Canada – the trade unions only had very limited legal rights – the number of industrial disputes grew significantly over this period. The resulting lockouts and strikes sometimes required armed government intervention. The militia was most commonly used for this purpose, but the mounted police were cheaper to deploy and were considered to be more politically reliable. As a result,

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