Memorable Manitobans: Sigtryggur Jónasson (1852-1942)

Sigtryggur Jónasson Click to enlarge

Pioneer, immigration agent, MLA (1896-1899), MLA (1908-1910).

Sigtryggur Jónasson Click to enlarge

Born in Iceland and educated at home, he came to Canada in 1872 and prospered. He was appointed an immigration agent by the Ontario government in 1874, to guide a large contingent of Icelanders to Kinmount. The settlement did not do well. That same year Rev. John Taylor suggested that the Canadian government establish an Icelandic settlement in Manitoba, and Jonasson became associated with the venture. People from Kinmount came west to the site of present-day Gimli in 1875, and Jonasson went to Iceland to recruit another 1,200 settlers.

He helped produce a constitution and legal code for the new settlement and soon had a newspaper, Framfari (Progress), under way. Jonasson bought a steamer in 1879 to provide transportation to the region, and was active in other business ventures that provided employment for the settlers. He moved to Selkirk in 1880 and was elected Liberal MLA for St. Andrew’s in 1896. After an electoral defeat in the 1899 general election, he served as homestead inspector for the Interlake District from 1901 to 1906. He was elected in the 1907 general election representing the Gimli constituency.

In later years he lived quietly on his homestead. In 1930 he represented Canada at the celebrations of the millennium of the founding of Iceland’s Parliament. He was the author of The Early Icelandic Settlements in Canada (1901).

He died at Arborg on 28 November 1942 and was buried in the Riverton Lutheran Cemetery. He is commemorated by plaques in Gimli and Riverton.

His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

The Early Icelandic Settlements in Canada
MHS Transactions Series 1, No. 59, read 21 March 1901, Winnipeg: Manitoba Free Press.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Sigtryggur Jonasson Memorial Monument (53 Reggie Leach Road East, Riverton)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Riverton Community Cemetery (Riverton, Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Möðruvellir Cemetery (Riverton, Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Engimýri House (Riverton, Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton)

Early Icelandic Settlement in Canada by S. J. Sommerville
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1944-45 Season

John Taylor and the Pioneer Icelandic Settlement in Manitoba and his Plea on Behalf of the Persecuted Jewish People by Wilhelm Kristjanson
MHS Transactions, Series 3, Number 32, 1975-76 Season

Nya Island I Kanada: The Icelandic Settlement of the Interlake Area of Manitoba by Brock Arnason
Manitoba History, Number 27, Spring 1994

Articles on New Iceland and Sigtryggur Jónasson by Nelson Gerrard.

Sources:

“First Icelandic settler dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 November 1942, page 15. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B9, page 121]

Obituary, Western Municipal News, January 1943, page 2.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

We thank Brian Jonasson for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 28 November 2020

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!