Manitoba Communities: North Kildonan (Unincorporated Rural Municipality)Link to:
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When the Rural Municipality of East Kildonan was created in 1914 it was a community divided. The south was interested in development and was investing large sums to expand civic services. The north, with a population of just 1000, was a rural enclave with many of its farms dating back to the Selkirk Settler era. Concerned about rising taxes, the north sought to split off. In 1925 the Rural Municipality of North Kildonan came into being with H. C. Whellams as its first Reeve along with councillors J. H. Coulter, L. De Jong, J. De Graaf, and A. M. McKay. North Kildonan was forced to assume nearly $100,000 in debt after the division. To pay it off, council vowed not to borrow money from banks, hired no permanent staff and operated out of rented property. When the debt was paid off in 1946, a celebratory banquet was held at the Marlborough Hotel.
In 1927-1928, a parcel of 20 acres of land was assembled near present-day Edison Avenue and Henderson Highway. It was subdivided into 21 lots and marketed to Mennonite settlers. From that initial collection of chicken farmers and commercial gardeners grew a strong community that by the time of amalgamation numbered 5,000 and still make up a strong part of the community’s fabric.
Post-Second World War suburban expansion brought development to North Kildonan. New housing, roads and schools were added and by the time it amalgamated with the city of Winnipeg in 1972 it boasted a population of 19,000. Its final council consisted of Mayor David W. Pekary with councilors Leo J. Rougeau, Harry Meronek, Charles A. Barry, and Barry J. Filbert.
Present Status
City of Winnipeg (1 January 1972)
Incorporation History
Rural Municipality of North Kildonan (1 January 1925)
Amalgamation of Assiniboia, Brooklands, Charleswood, East Kildonan, Fort Garry, North Kildonan, Old Kildonan, St. Boniface, St. James, St. Vital, Transcona, Tuxedo, West Kildonan, and Winnipeg (1 January 1972)Land Area (square km)
?
Year
Total
1931
1347
1941
1946
1951
3222
1956
4451
1961
8888
1966
11955
1971
17713
Known originally as Reeve, the title of the chief executive officer of the municipality became Mayor in 1949.
Term
Reeve
1925-1937
Herbert C. Whellams (1867-1950)
1938-1943
James Gallagher (1883-1965)
1944-1945
Cornelius Huebert (c1905-1973)
1946-1953
James Thomson Findlay Aitken (1900-1971)
1954-1957
Jack Lawrence Pearce (1923-2010)
1958-1961
John Dickson (1908-1961)
1961-1962
Merrill Bruce Whitehead (1913-1988) - Acting
1962-1963
Jack Lawrence Pearce (1923-2010)
1964-1965
Stanley Copp (1915-1987)
1966-1971
David Wilfred Pekary (1926-2007)
1972
Merged into Winnipeg
Term
Secretary-Treasurer / Clerk
1925-1945
M. H. Matheson
1946-1962
Angus MacAulay
1963-1971
Lawrence Klump
Term
Assistant Secretary-Treasurer / Clerk
1945
Elizabeth Walker
1946-1949
Chrissie MacAulay
1950-1951
K. S. Biggs
1952-1955
Ina MacAulay
1955-1958
Joe Desharnais
1959-1962
Lawrence Klump
1963-1965
Stanley Schick
1965-1971
Allan Renolds
Councillor
Term(s)
Arinbjorn Sigurgeirsson Bardal (1866-1951)
1926-1942
Charles Barry
1954-1959, 1964-1971
Stanley Copp
1945-1954
John H. Coulter (?-1941)
1925-1941
Peter Crook
1960-1965
Gordon Crozier
1963-1966
J. F. Daman
1941-1943
Abe De Fehr
1958
Henry De Fehr
1945-1957
Frank De Graff
1944-1957
John De Graff (1900-1954)
1925-1935
P. De Graff
1938-1943
L. De Jong
1925-1928
Vern Dyck
1965-1966
George H. Enns
1968-1969
Barry Filbert
1967-1968, 1970-1971
Jean B. Fortier
1929
James Gallagher
1930-1937
Basteaan Lemmen
1938-1953
F. L. Macatavish
1936-1937
Adam Magas
1958
Angus Matheson McKay (1862-1953)
1925
Harry Meronek
1969-1971
David Wilfred Pekary (1926-2007)
1964-1965
Alfred Penner
1966-1967
Henry Redekopp
1961-1964
Leo Rougeau
1955-1962, 1965-1971
R. Schwartz
1959-1960
Merrill Bruce Whitehead (1913-1988)
1959-1963
Term
Engineer
1956-1964
Carson H. Templeton (c1917-2004)
1965
Bernie Barry
1966
Bail Rotoff
1967-1971
Carson H. Templeton (c1917-2004)
Term
Chief Constable
1926-1946
William Stalker
1946-1952
John J. Stalker
1952-1953
East Kildonan Police
1953-1954
A. Bachelor
1954
Joseph Walker
1954
William Simpson
1955-1968
George Love
1968-1971
John Urochenko
Term
Fire Chief
1954-1959
Charles Barry
1959-1964
Jack Hoppenbrouwer
1964-1966
George Einfeld
1966-1971
Donald Tymko
Term
Health Officer
1925-1932
D. Wallace
1933-1945
C. W. Duncan
1946
Glen Hamilton
1947
C. W. Duncan
1948-1971
Kildonan-St. Paul Health Unit
Term
Assessor
1925-1960
Hugh Rotherham Eade (1882-1976)
Manitoba Gazette, 1887-1959. Manitoba Legislative Library.
“North Kildonan now free of debt,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 1946, page 3.
“Taxes made North Kildonan,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 1971, page 21.
North Kildonan History, Miles Macdonell Alumni Association.
Map of East and North Kildonan Municipalities, TimeLinks.
Rural Municipality of North Kildonan - Pathways, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Fiftieth anniversary of the Mennonite settlement in North Kildonan, 1928-1978, Our Roots.
We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Jim Smith, Christian Cassidy, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 21 November 2017
