Interactive timeline · 4,000 BCE to 2026

History of Winnipeg

Where the Red meets the Assiniboine: 6,000 years at the Forks in 48 moments.

48 moments8 eras87 sourcesAbout ↓

4,000 BCE – 1669

First Peoples at the Forks

For thousands of years the river junction was a seasonal camp, trade centre and meeting place for many nations.

  1. The ForksIndigenousBig moment

    People camp and trade at the junction of two rivers

    Archaeologists estimate that people have used the Forks for at least 6,000 years. The site sat on seasonal routes between the northern forests and the southern plains, and groups stopped there to fish, hunt, gather supplies and trade. Excavations between 1989 and 1994 uncovered evidence of this long occupation, including an ancient hearth.

    💡 Fun fact

    Did you know? Cree oral history holds that the name Winnipeg refers to 'muddy waters,' after the murky look of the water where the two rivers meet.

    Source: Parks Canada: The Forks National Historic Site, history Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks

  2. The Forks, Assiniboine riverbankIndigenous

    A campsite and trade centre on the Assiniboine

    Near the Assiniboine River at the Forks lies an Indigenous campsite and trade centre about 3,000 years old. Elders describe the Forks as a place where many nations met for trade, healing, politics and sometimes battle, and where no single nation held exclusive rights. In later centuries the Cree and Nakota (Assiniboine) used the area as part of their seasonal rounds, and Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) people arrived by the early 1800s.

    💡 Fun fact

    Did you know? Clarence Nepinak of Pine Creek First Nation has related that the Red River was called Miskosipi, 'Red River,' because so many people died in one battle there that the water ran red.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg

1670 – 1811

Fur Trade Rivalry

French, Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company traders competed for furs and pemmican at the Forks, relying on Indigenous and Métis partners.

  1. Rupert's Land (the Forks)Government

    England's king grants Rupert's Land to the Hudson's Bay Company

    King Charles II granted the Hudson's Bay Company a charter over all lands draining into Hudson Bay, a territory called Rupert's Land that included the Forks. The people who lived there were not consulted. The company traded from posts on the bay for about a century before moving inland in the 1770s.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Manitoba Act

  2. Fort Rouge, the ForksExploration

    La Vérendrye's men reach the Forks and build Fort Rouge

    Employees of the French trader and explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye were the first Europeans recorded at the Forks, in 1734. In 1738 La Vérendrye had Fort Rouge built at the river junction, but it soon fell out of use. The Assiniboine (Nakoda) acted as trade middlemen between other nations and European posts during this period.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: Parks Canada: The Forks National Historic Site, history

  3. Fort Gibraltar, the ForksEconomy

    The North West Company builds Fort Gibraltar

    The Montreal-based North West Company built Fort Gibraltar at the Forks around 1809–1810, replacing temporary trading camps. Métis people, many of whom had moved from the Great Lakes region, supplied the company with pemmican and labour. Sources give slightly different construction dates.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Battle of Seven Oaks

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1812 – 1868

The Red River Settlement

Selkirk's colony survived conflict, floods and hunger and grew into a largely Métis, multilingual society.

  1. Point DouglasSettlementBig moment

    Selkirk's first settlers arrive on the Red River

    In 1811 the Hudson's Bay Company granted Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, about 300,000 square kilometres, which he called Assiniboia. An advance party under Governor Miles Macdonell reached the Red River on August 29, 1812, and began building Fort Douglas at Point Douglas. The Ojibwe, Cree and Métis already living at the Forks were not consulted, and the settlers survived their first winters with food from Métis hunters, North West Company traders and Chief Peguis's Saulteaux band.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Colony Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Battle of Seven Oaks

  2. Red River ColonyEconomy

    The Pemmican Proclamation bans exports of food

    Governor Macdonell prohibited the export of pemmican and other provisions from the colony for one year, saying the settlers needed the supply. The North West Company and the Métis, who depended on the pemmican trade to feed canoe brigades, saw it as an attempt to control their food. The dispute, sometimes called the Pemmican War, led to the colony being abandoned and burned in 1815.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Colony Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Battle of Seven Oaks

  3. Seven Oaks (West Kildonan)WarBig moment

    The Battle of Seven Oaks

    About 60 Métis and First Nations men led by Cuthbert Grant were moving pemmican past the colony when HBC Governor Robert Semple and 28 men confronted them at Seven Oaks. In fighting that lasted about 15 minutes, Semple and 20 of his party were killed; on the Métis side, 16-year-old Joseph Letendre died. A British inquiry under William Coltman found that neither side had planned a fight. The Métis call it la Victoire de la Grenouillère, and it is seen as an early assertion of Métis nationhood.

    💡 Fun fact

    Did you know? Witnesses said the Métis dropped onto their backs to reload, and Semple's men, thinking many had been hit, cheered before the firing resumed.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Battle of Seven Oaks

  4. Red River SettlementRights

    Chief Peguis and other chiefs sign a treaty with Lord Selkirk

    The Saulteaux leader Peguis and other chiefs signed an agreement with Lord Selkirk meant to keep the peace and allow European settlers into part of what is now southern Manitoba. Peguis had defended the newcomers since 1812, shown them how to live off the land and helped survivors after Seven Oaks. He later grew disillusioned as settlers trespassed on his people's land and the treaty's terms were not respected.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Peguis

  5. Saint-BonifaceFaith

    Catholic priests arrive and found a school at Saint-Boniface

    Roman Catholic priests reached the colony in 1818, and the school they began on the east bank of the Red River is the origin of today's Université de Saint-Boniface. An Anglican missionary, John West, followed in 1820. Saint-Boniface became the centre of French-speaking and Métis Catholic life in the West.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Colony Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg

  6. The ForksDisaster

    The fur companies merge, then the greatest known flood strikes

    Under British pressure, the North West Company merged into the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, and Fort Gibraltar was renamed Fort Garry the following year. The merger closed about half the fur trade posts in the region, costing many Métis and other Indigenous workers their jobs. In 1826 the largest Red River flood on record virtually destroyed the settlement.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Colony Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Battle of Seven Oaks

  7. Upper Fort GarrySettlement

    Upper Fort Garry is built and the HBC takes over the colony

    The Hudson's Bay Company rebuilt its post at the Forks as Upper Fort Garry in 1835. On May 4, 1836, Selkirk's family transferred Assiniboia to the company, which then governed the colony. Its population grew mainly through retired fur traders and their Indigenous families, forming a society of francophone Métis and English-speaking 'Country-born.'

    💡 Fun fact

    Did you know? The stone gate of Upper Fort Garry still stands near Main Street and is now part of a heritage park.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Colony Source: Manitoba Historical Society: Upper Fort Garry

  8. Upper Fort GarryRights

    The Sayer trial ends the HBC trade monopoly in practice

    On May 17, 1849, Métis trader Pierre-Guillaume Sayer and three others were tried for trading furs in violation of the Hudson's Bay Company's charter, while about 300 armed Métis gathered outside the court. The jury found Sayer guilty but recommended mercy, and the company asked for no punishment and dropped the other charges. Supporters greeted the verdict with shouts of 'le commerce est libre,' and the outcome meant, in effect, free trade for the Métis.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Sayer Trial Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Colony

1869 – 1872

Resistance, Province and Treaty

The Métis-led provisional government negotiated Manitoba's entry into Canada, and Treaty 1 was signed with the Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree.

  1. Upper Fort GarryRightsBig moment

    The Red River Resistance and a provisional government

    Canada arranged to acquire Rupert's Land from the HBC without consulting the people of Red River, and in August 1869 it sent surveyors to re-lay the Métis river-lot farms. Louis Riel, born in Saint-Boniface in 1844, led Métis who turned back the appointed lieutenant-governor, William McDougall, and in November 1869 they took Upper Fort Garry. A convention formed a provisional government, soon led by Riel, which won the support of most of the English-speaking community in January 1870 and negotiated terms with Ottawa.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Resistance Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Louis Riel

  2. Upper Fort GarryWar

    The provisional government executes Thomas Scott

    Thomas Scott, an Irish Protestant from Ontario who had joined armed opposition to the provisional government, was court-martialled and shot by a Métis firing squad in the courtyard of Upper Fort Garry. His death inflamed Protestant opinion in Ontario. Ottawa continued to negotiate but refused to grant an unconditional amnesty to Riel and the other leaders.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Thomas Scott Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Resistance

  3. Upper Fort GarryGovernmentBig moment

    The Manitoba Act creates Canada's fifth province

    Based on the provisional government's list of rights, Parliament passed the Manitoba Act, which became law on May 12, 1870; Manitoba joined Canada that July. It protected French and English in the legislature and courts, and Protestant and Catholic schools, and set aside about 1.4 million acres for the children of Métis families. Unlike the original provinces, Manitoba did not control its public lands and natural resources.

    ⚖️ Officially acknowledged

    Officially acknowledgedSurveys and federal laws delayed the land grants for years, and many Métis received scrip that speculators bought cheaply; as little as 15 per cent of the promised 1.4 million acres may have reached Métis families. On March 8, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Manitoba Metis Federation v. Canada that the federal Crown failed to implement the section 31 land grant in keeping with the honour of the Crown.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Manitoba Act Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Manitoba Metis Federation Case

  4. Upper Fort GarryWar

    Troops arrive and Riel flees into exile

    A military force of British and Canadian troops reached Red River in August 1870. With no amnesty granted, Riel and his lieutenants fled just before the troops arrived. About 1,500 soldiers were moved into the province, settlers from Ontario arrived in growing numbers, and many Métis later left for the North-West.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Resistance Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Manitoba Act

  5. Lower Fort GarryRightsBig moment

    Treaty 1 is signed at Lower Fort Garry

    After eight days of talks with about 1,000 Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree people camped at Lower Fort Garry (the Stone Fort), Canada and the First Nations of southern Manitoba signed Treaty 1, the first of 11 Numbered Treaties. Leaders such as Red Eagle (Henry Prince) pressed for clear answers on how their people would be treated. Winnipeg lies within Treaty 1 territory.

    ⚖️ Officially acknowledged

    Officially acknowledgedFarm equipment, animals and clothing promised during the talks were left out of the written treaty and became known as the 'Outside Promises.' Ottawa recognized them only on April 30, 1875, by an order-in-council making the written memorandum part of Treaties 1 and 2. Differences over terms such as 'surrender' remain debated.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Treaties 1 and 2 Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks

1873 – 1918

Gateway to the West

Railways and immigration made Winnipeg one of Canada's largest cities, while French and Catholic rights were rolled back.

  1. WinnipegGovernment

    Winnipeg is incorporated as a city

    Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873, and its first council met in 1874, when the population was about 3,700. In 1872–73, two immigration sheds were built at the Forks to house newcomers arriving by riverboat from the United States while they received land grants. The Winnipeg Free Press was founded in 1872 and the University of Manitoba in 1877.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks

  2. Union StationTransport

    The railway makes Winnipeg the hub of the West

    The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 set off decades of growth fuelled by immigration, high wheat prices and investment. From 1886, rail yards for four railways took over the Forks, and Union Station opened in 1911. By 1911 Winnipeg was Canada's third-largest city and fourth in manufacturing.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks

  3. Manitoba LegislatureRights

    Manitoba abolishes French as an official language and ends Catholic school funding

    The Liberal government of Thomas Greenway passed a law making English the only official language of Manitoba and, the same month, replaced the dual Protestant–Catholic school system with non-denominational public schools. The Manitoba Schools Question became a national crisis; Wilfrid Laurier promised a 'sunny way,' and the Laurier–Greenway Compromise of November 16, 1896, allowed some religious and language instruction. In March 1916 the Thornton Act repealed those provisions, so French could no longer be taught or used for instruction in public schools.

    ⚖️ Officially acknowledged

    Officially acknowledgedThe 1890 law conflicted with section 23 of the Manitoba Act. In 1985 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously in Reference re Manitoba Language Rights that the province's English-only laws were invalid, giving them temporary force until Manitoba re-enacted them in both languages.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Manitoba Schools Question Source: Centre for Constitutional Studies: Reference re Manitoba Language Rights

  4. North EndSettlement

    Immigration transforms the city and its North End

    Winnipeg's population surged between 1900 and 1913 as immigrants arrived from Britain, Ontario and central and eastern Europe. Many newcomers faced discrimination in housing and jobs, and public health and services struggled to keep up. By 1920 the city was divided into separate and often hostile ethnic communities.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg

  5. North End, WinnipegRights

    Ukrainian Winnipeggers are registered and interned as 'enemy aliens'

    Under the War Measures Act, the federal government interned more than 8,500 people across Canada between 1914 and 1920, most of them Ukrainian immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and required thousands more to register and report to police. Hostility continued after the war: on February 10, 1919, the Winnipeg Telegram ran an editorial headed 'Enemy Aliens Must Go.'

    ⚖️ Officially acknowledged

    Officially acknowledgedThe Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act, providing for commemoration and education about the internment, became law on November 25, 2005; the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund was established in 2008.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Ukrainian Internment in Canada

  6. Walker TheatreRights

    Manitoba women are the first in Canada to win the vote

    In 1914 the Political Equality League staged a mock parliament at Winnipeg's Walker Theatre, with Nellie McClung playing a premier who mocked the idea of men voting. On January 28, 1916, Manitoba women became the first in Canada to win the right to vote and hold provincial office; Saskatchewan and Alberta followed that spring. Asian and Indigenous women faced longer struggles for the vote.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Women's Suffrage in Canada

  7. WinnipegDisaster

    The 1918 influenza epidemic

    Influenza arrived with three sick soldiers on a troop train on September 30, 1918, and Manitoba recorded its first civilian death around October 3. On October 12 schools and universities closed and public meetings of more than six people were banned. By January 1919, Winnipeg had reported 12,863 cases and 824 deaths.

    Source: Manitoba Historical Society, Manitoba History no. 23: Influenza in Winnipeg, 1918–1919

1919 – 1959

Strike, War and Flood

The General Strike, the Depression, the Second World War and the 1950 flood shaped a maturing city.

  1. Shoal Lake 40 First NationRights

    The Shoal Lake aqueduct brings water to Winnipeg

    Built from 1915, the gravity-fed aqueduct carries water from Shoal Lake on the Ontario–Manitoba border, about 155 kilometres according to CBC; water reached the McPhillips reservoir on March 20, 1919, and the project cost $17 million. To build its intake, more than 1,200 hectares of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation's land at Indian Bay, including a burial ground, was expropriated. The community was moved to a peninsula that a canal for the project then turned into an island.

    ⚖️ Established fact

    Established factCBC reported that the band received just over $2,000 for the land and was left without a reliable route in or out; residents relied on ice roads and an unreliable barge, and people died crossing. A boil-water advisory in place from 1997 lasted 24 years while Winnipeg drew treated water from the same lake.

    Source: CBC News: A century of water: As Winnipeg aqueduct turns 100, Shoal Lake finds freedom Source: Manitoba Historical Society: The Building of the Winnipeg Aqueduct

  2. Main Street at City HallRightsBig moment

    The Winnipeg General Strike

    After talks in the building and metal trades broke down, the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council called a general strike, and about 30,000 workers left their jobs, shutting factories, shops, transit and city services. The Citizens' Committee of 1,000 opposed the strike, and on June 17 the government arrested strike leaders. On June 21, 'Bloody Saturday,' the Royal North-West Mounted Police charged a crowd at City Hall, injuring about 30 people and killing two; the strike ended days later.

    ⚖️ Established fact

    Established factThe federal government sided with employers, threatened to fire federal workers, amended the Immigration Act so British-born immigrants could be deported, and broadened the Criminal Code's definition of sedition. Seven strike leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy and jailed for six months to two years.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg General Strike of 1919

  3. Winnipeg (team home); Games in AntwerpSport

    The Winnipeg Falcons win the first Olympic hockey gold

    The Falcons, a team made up almost entirely of players of Icelandic heritage, won the Allan Cup and then represented Canada at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. They outscored opponents 29–1 on the way to gold in the first Olympic hockey tournament. Hockey Canada now recognizes them as the first team to win Olympic gold in the sport.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg Falcons

  4. Valour RoadWar

    Pine Street becomes Valour Road

    Three First World War soldiers who had lived on Pine Street in the West End, Leo Clarke, Frederick William Hall and Robert Shankland, were each awarded the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest military honour; Clarke and Hall were killed in action. In 1925 the street was renamed Valour Road, and the Women's Canadian Club of Winnipeg put up a commemorative light post and plaque.

    Source: Manitoba Historical Society: Valour Road Light Post and Plaque Source: Veterans Affairs Canada: Valour Road

  5. Downtown WinnipegWar

    If Day: a staged Nazi occupation sells war bonds

    To promote the Victory Loan campaign, organizers staged a mock invasion and occupation of Winnipeg, a military exercise involving about 3,500 personnel. Volunteers from the Winnipeg Board of Trade played the occupying force with real military equipment, while reserve units staged a defence with blank artillery rounds. The Manitoba campaign aimed to raise $45 million.

    💡 Fun fact

    Did you know? The name came from asking what would happen 'if' Nazi Germany invaded Canada.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: If Day

  6. WinnipegDisasterBig moment

    The 1950 Red River flood

    The worst Red River flood since 1861 peaked at 9.2 metres (30.2 feet) at James Avenue and stayed above flood stage for 51 days. A state of emergency was declared, and the army and Red Cross helped evacuate about 100,000 people, one third of Winnipeg, the largest evacuation in Canadian history until 1979. About 10,000 homes were destroyed and 5,000 buildings damaged.

    Source: Government of Manitoba: Historic Flood – 1950 Source: Manitoba Historical Society: Red River Floodway

  7. Assiniboia Residential School, WinnipegRights

    Assiniboia Residential School operates in Winnipeg

    The Assiniboia Residential School, a Catholic-run school in the federal residential school system, operated in Winnipeg from 1958 to 1973. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, based at the University of Manitoba, lists it among the schools whose students it remembers.

    ⚖️ Officially acknowledged

    Officially acknowledgedOn June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized in the House of Commons on behalf of the Government of Canada to former students of Indian Residential Schools.

    Source: NCTR: Assiniboia Residential School Source: Crown-Indigenous Relations: Statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools

1960 – 1999

Floodway and Unicity

Winnipeg built its floodway, merged its municipalities into one city and redeveloped the Forks.

  1. WinnipegSport

    Winnipeg hosts the Pan American Games

    Winnipeg hosted the fifth Pan American Games in Canada's centennial year, and hosted the Games again in 1999. The city also became known for curling: its rinks won the Canadian championship at least 12 times between 1928 and 1993. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup 10 times between 1935 and 1993.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg

  2. Red River Floodway inletScience

    The Red River Floodway, 'Duff's Ditch,' is completed

    After the 1950 flood, Premier Duff Roblin pushed for a channel to divert part of the Red River around Winnipeg. Construction ran from October 6, 1962, to March 1968 at a cost of $63 million, moving about 76.5 million cubic metres of earth to form a 47-kilometre channel. First used in 1969, it was designated a National Historic Site in 2001.

    💡 Fun fact

    Did you know? Critics mocked the project as 'Duff's Ditch'; the nickname stuck, but it became a term of affection.

    Source: Manitoba Historical Society: Red River Floodway Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg

  3. WinnipegGovernment

    Unicity merges the region, and the Jets take the ice

    The province merged Winnipeg with its surrounding municipalities, including the largely francophone St. Boniface, into a single city known as Unicity, following the metropolitan government created in 1960. The same year the Winnipeg Jets joined the new World Hockey Association, winning three of its seven championships, and moved to the NHL in 1979. The original Jets were sold and moved to Arizona in 1996.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg Jets

  4. Manitoba LegislatureRights

    The Supreme Court rules Manitoba's English-only laws invalid

    Ruling unanimously on a federal reference, the Supreme Court of Canada found that Manitoba had violated section 23 of the Manitoba Act by passing laws only in English since 1890. To avoid a legal vacuum, the court kept the laws in temporary force while the province translated and re-enacted them in English and French.

    Source: Centre for Constitutional Studies: Reference re Manitoba Language Rights

  5. The ForksCulture

    The Forks reopens to the public

    In 1987 the federal and provincial governments and the City of Winnipeg began redeveloping the river junction, which had been rail yards and industrial land since the 1870s. It opened to the public in 1989, with old railway buildings turned into a market and museums. Part of the area had been designated The Forks National Historic Site in 1974.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks

  6. Brunkild dike and WinnipegDisaster

    The 'Flood of the Century'

    After a blizzard dropped about 50 centimetres of snow on Winnipeg in early April, the Red River rose to near-record levels. Manitoba asked for military help on April 10, and the Canadian Forces' Operation Assistance helped fill millions of sandbags and build the Brunkild 'Z' dike in four days. The floodway diverted part of the flow around the city; it was later expanded to handle a one-in-700-year flood.

    Source: Valour Canada: Red River Flood 1997 Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Red River Flood (Maclean's, 1997) Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Winnipeg

  7. WinnipegSport

    Winnipeg hosts the Pan Am Games a second time

    More than 5,000 athletes from 41 countries competed at the 1999 Pan American Games, which opened in Winnipeg on July 23 and ran for 17 days with more than 20,000 local volunteers. Canadian athletes won 196 medals, second only to the United States. The Shaw Park baseball stadium was built for the Games, and the Pan Am Pool, built for the 1967 Games, was renovated.

    Source: Global News: 'The city was on a high': 1999 Pan Am Games held in Winnipeg 20 years ago Source: Global News: Pan Am Games kickstarted Winnipeg's revitalization, says 1999 chair

2000 – today

Twenty-First Century

The Jets returned, a national human rights museum opened, and governments and courts addressed past wrongs.

  2. The ForksRights

    Tina Fontaine's death, and a national human rights museum opens

    On August 12, 2014, a monument to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls was unveiled at the Forks; days later the body of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine of Sagkeeng First Nation was found in the Red River about a kilometre away, prompting renewed calls for a national inquiry. On September 19, 2014, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, first proposed by Israel Asper, opened at the Forks.

    ⚖️ Disputed

    DisputedThe National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report on June 3, 2019, concluding that the violence amounted to genocide. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he accepted the findings, while Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said they disagreed with the use of the term.

    Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Forks Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Canadian Museum for Human Rights Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada

  3. Manitoba LegislatureRights

    Manitoba apologizes for the Sixties Scoop

    At the Manitoba Legislature, Premier Greg Selinger apologized on behalf of the province for the Sixties Scoop, the first such apology by a Canadian province. Between the 1960s and 1980s an estimated 20,000 Indigenous children nationwide were taken from their families by child-welfare services and placed mostly with non-Indigenous families, some in the United States and overseas.

    ⚖️ Officially acknowledged

    Officially acknowledgedPremier Greg Selinger apologized on behalf of the Province of Manitoba on June 18, 2015. Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Murray Sinclair welcomed it but said an apology without action is meaningless.

    Source: CBC News: Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger apologizes for Sixties Scoop

  4. Shoal Lake 40 First NationRights

    Freedom Road ends Shoal Lake 40's isolation

    Freedom Road, a 24-kilometre all-season road linking Shoal Lake 40 First Nation to the Trans-Canada Highway, was completed in 2019, a century after the aqueduct cut the community off. That made it possible to build a $33-million water treatment plant, and on September 15, 2021, the community's water advisories were lifted after 24 years. Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said there was no excuse for the advisories lasting so long.

    Source: CBC News: After 24 years of water advisories, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation can drink from the tap

  5. WinnipegSport

    The Blue Bombers end a 29-year Grey Cup drought

    The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33–12 in the 107th Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on November 24, 2019, their first championship since 1990; running back Andrew Harris was named most valuable player. After the 2020 season was cancelled during the pandemic, the Bombers repeated on December 12, 2021, beating Hamilton 33–25 in overtime in Hamilton.

    Source: Global News: Blue Bombers win Grey Cup (2019) Source: Global News: 2021 Grey Cup, Blue Bombers vs. Tiger-Cats

  6. Maples Long-Term Care HomeDisaster

    COVID-19 and the care home outbreaks

    Manitoba announced its first case of COVID-19 on March 12, 2020, declared a state of emergency on March 20, and on March 27 reported its first death, a Winnipeg woman in her 60s. The second wave, from October 2020, hit personal care homes hardest: an outbreak at the Maples Long-Term Care Home in Winnipeg was linked to 56 deaths. A review commissioned by the province cited unclear pandemic planning and short staffing.

    Source: CBC Manitoba: Looking back at 6 months of COVID-19 in Manitoba Source: Global News: Manitoba care home review recommendations (August 2021)
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About this timeline

Winnipeg in a nutshell

People have gathered where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet for at least 6,000 years, long before fur traders built posts there in the 1700s. The Red River Settlement, the Métis-led Resistance of 1869–70 and the Manitoba Act turned the Forks into the capital of a new province, and Winnipeg grew into the rail, grain and wholesale hub of the West. The city's later history includes the 1919 General Strike, repeated floods, and an ongoing reckoning with its treatment of First Nations and Métis peoples.

When was Winnipeg founded?
Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873. The Red River Settlement began nearby in 1812, and people have used the Forks for at least 6,000 years.
How did Winnipeg get its name?
The name comes from Lake Winnipeg and is usually traced to a Cree word meaning 'muddy waters.'
What was Winnipeg called before?
The area was part of the Red River Settlement (also called the Red River Colony or Assiniboia) and grew around Fort Garry. The village that became the city was known as Winnipeg by the 1860s.
Winnipeg today in numbersAll histories

9 moments on this page carry a government record note.

FAQ

Winnipeg history questions

When was Winnipeg founded?

Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873. The Red River Settlement began nearby in 1812, and people have used the Forks for at least 6,000 years.

How did Winnipeg get its name?

The name comes from Lake Winnipeg and is usually traced to a Cree word meaning 'muddy waters.'

What was Winnipeg called before?

The area was part of the Red River Settlement (also called the Red River Colony or Assiniboia) and grew around Fort Garry. The village that became the city was known as Winnipeg by the 1860s.

Why is the Forks important?

It is where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet, a gathering place for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, the site of successive fur trade forts, and a National Historic Site since 1974.

What happened in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike?

About 30,000 workers walked off the job from May 15 to June 25, 1919. Strike leaders were arrested, and on June 21 police charged a crowd, killing two people and injuring about 30.

More Canadian history

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Written from the sources linked on each moment: the Canadian Encyclopedia, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Parks Canada, Library and Archives Canada, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, provincial and city archives, and others. Where governments acted wrongly, we say so and note whether it has been officially acknowledged, is established by the record, or is disputed. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.