Manitoba Communities: North Kildonan (Unincorporated Rural Municipality)

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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)	?

Population

Year	Total
1931	1347
1941	1946
1951	3222
1956	4451
1961	8888
1966	11955
1971	17713

Reeves and Mayors

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

Secretary-Treasurers / Clerks

Term	Secretary-Treasurer / Clerk
1925-1945	M. H. Matheson
1946-1962	Angus MacAulay
1963-1971	Lawrence Klump

Assistant Secretary-Treasurers / Clerks

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

Aldermen / Councillors

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

Engineers

Term	Engineer
1956-1964	Carson H. Templeton (c1917-2004)
1965	Bernie Barry
1966	Bail Rotoff
1967-1971	Carson H. Templeton (c1917-2004)

Chief Constables

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

Fire Chiefs

Term	Fire Chief
1954-1959	Charles Barry
1959-1964	Jack Hoppenbrouwer
1964-1966	George Einfeld
1966-1971	Donald Tymko

Health Officers

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

Assessors

Term	Assessor
1925-1960	Hugh Rotherham Eade (1882-1976)

Sources:

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