Manitoba Communities: Portage la Prairie (Rural Municipality)

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Population | Mayors / Reeves | Memorable Manitobans | Historic Sites | History Books | Maps | Contact Information | Sources

This municipality was formed around a community that dates from before 1870, at a place where boats on the Assiniboine River were taken out and portaged [carried] over the prairie to Lake Manitoba to the north.

Present Status

Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie (22 December 1883)

Incorporation History

Rural Municipality of Portage (14 February 1880)

Adjoining Municipalities

Cartier, Grey, North Norfolk, St. Francois Xavier, South Norfolk, Westbourne, Woodlands

Constituent Communities

Airport Colony, Alpha, Arona, Bloom, Burnside, Curtis, Delta Beach, Edwin, Elm River Colony, Fortier, Fulton, Genest, Gervais, High Bluff, Hobson, Huddlestone, Kelvin, Layland, Longburn, Macdonald, Newton, Oakland, Oakville, Poplar Point, Portage la Prairie (City), Rignold, Skelding, Southport, St. Ambroise, St. Marks

Land Area (square km)

1961.97

Population

Year

Total

1871

995

1881

4041

1891

4082

1901

5109

1911

5584

1921

6586

1931

6779

1941

7630

1951

6700

1956

9208

1961

8079

1966

7481

1971

7514

1976

7029

1981

7054

1986

7233

1991

7156

1996

6627

2001

6791

2006

6793

2011

6525

2016

6975

2021

6888

Reeves

Term

Reeve

1880

H. M. Campbell (?-?) - Warden

1881-1882

John Wilton (1810-1900) - Warden

1883-1884

Matthew Ferriss (1818-1900) - Warden and Reeve

1885-1886

Lachlan W. McLean (1846-1913)

1886-1888

Thomas Hatton Metcalfe (1839-1921)

1888-1890

W. F. Smith

1890-1891

J. W. Jackson

1891-1892

Gardner Greenlay (?-?)

1892-1893

James McBain

1893-1895

William Fulton (1846-1920)

1895-1897

Maxwell Wilton (1837-1925)

1897-1899

James Bray

1899-1900

William Thomas Muir (c1857-1900)

1900-1902

George Lytle (1845-1908)

1902-1904

C. E. Grobb

1904-1906

John Weir (1867-1959)

1906-1908

William McBride

1908-1910

George Cadman

1910-1912

Robert J. Caskey

1912-1914

Henry George “Harry” Leader (1880-1946)

1914-1922

Edwin Herbert Muir (1868-1954)

1922-1925

Robert McDermott (1868-1947)

1925-1928

David Thompson

1928-1931

John Pigott “Jack” Bend (1883-1969)

1931-1933

Charles A. Curtis

1933-1935

Wilfred Metcalfe

1935-1937

O. C. Neuman

1937-1940

Thomas Weir McCartney (1874-1940)

1940-1949

Allen McCoag McCallister (1879-1951)

1949-1961

J. Lawrence Smith (1889-1967)

1961-1963

T. N. Kitchen

1963-1977

Robert Samuel Adrain (1912-1996)

1977-1986

Sydney J. Lye

1986-2005

James Alexander “Jim” Knight (1934-2022)

2005-2006

?

2006-2010

J. T. “Toby” Trimble

2010-2018

?

2018-?

Kameron Blight

Secretary-Treasurers

Term

Secretary-Treasurer

1893-1930

David McCowan (1849-1930)

1930-1946

?

1946-1983

William Malcolm “Bill” McMillan (1914-2004)

Memorable Manitobans

Search the MHS collection of biographies for ones connected to Portage la Prairie:

Custom Search

Historic Sites

Go here for a list of historic sites in Portage la Prairie.

History Books

Go here for a list of history books for Portage la Prairie.

Maps

Contact Information

35 Tupper Street South
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, R1N 1W7
Telephone: 204-857-3821
Email: info@rmofportage.ca

Sources

Manitoba Gazette, 1887-1959. Manitoba Legislative Library.

Portage la Prairie, 1870-1970 by Anne M. Collier, 1970.

Geographic Names of Manitoba, Manitoba Conservation, 2000.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 August 2023