Assiniboia
Encyclopedia
Assiniboia refers to a number of different locations and administrative jurisdictions in Canada
. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.
, mainly for official purposes, between 1812 and 1869. Nominally the district included all of the territory granted in the Selkirk Concession
, however much of this was ceded to the United States
in 1818 and in 1838 the district was redefined as the circular region within 50 miles of the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The actual area of settlement, centered at present day Winnipeg
, was limited to the Red River valley between Lower Fort Garry
and Pembina, ND and the Assiniboine River
valley between Winnipeg
and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
The District was governed by a Hudson's Bay Company
appointed Governor of Assiniboia who was advised by members of the Council of Assiniboia
.
In 1869 Rupert's Land
, including the District of Assiniboia, was transferred to Canada
without consultation of the residents of the settlement. This, and the arrival of Canadian surveyors, led to the Red River Rebellion
in which a Provisional Government and Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia
was established by Métis
leader Louis Riel
to negotiate the admission of the District as a province of Canada
. The original proposal, which suggested that the new province consist of all of the fertile belt between Winnipeg and British Columbia
, was rejected by the Canadian Federal Government as it conflicted with their plans to manage the settlement of the Northwest Territories
. As a compromise, a small part of the district, consisting mainly of the settled areas, was admitted to Canada as the Province of Manitoba in 1870 though the Federal government retained control of crown land and natural resources until 1930. In some accounts of the history of Manitoba, the term Old Assiniboia is used to describe the pre-1870 settlement, though the terms Red River Colony
, Red River Settlement and Selkirk Settlement are more common.
in 1905, except for the westernmost quarter, which became part of Alberta
.
The territorial capital of Regina
was located in Assiniboia and, on the formation of the province of Saskatchewan in 1905, became the capital of the province. Its location was chosen by Edgar Dewdney
, the territorial lieutenant-governor. Dewdney had reserved for himself substantial land adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway
line on the site of what became the town, and thereby considerably enriched himself. This was the occasion of a considerable scandal in the early days of the Territories.
The District of Assiniboia survived in its original geographical configuration as the Anglican Diocese of Qu'Appelle until the 1970s when the portion of the diocese (and former District of Assiniboia) lying within the province of Alberta was ceded to the Diocese of Calgary.
is also a town in south-central Saskatchewan
.
It is a predominantly agricultural community of approximately 3000 people.
was a federal electoral district
in Saskatchewan
, Canada
, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons
from 1908 to 1988.
. For information on this district, see Assiniboia (Manitoba riding).
It is also a Winnipeg city ward, with subdivisions known as Crestview, Westwood, and St. Charles.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.
(Old) District of Assiniboia
The District of Assiniboia was a name used to describe the Red River ColonyRed River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
, mainly for official purposes, between 1812 and 1869. Nominally the district included all of the territory granted in the Selkirk Concession
Selkirk Concession
The Selkirk Concession was a land grant issued by the Hudson's Bay Company to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811. The land grant included the portions of Rupert's Land or the watershed of Hudson Bay bounded to the north-east by the Rainy River, Lake of the Woods, Winnipeg River and Lake...
, however much of this was ceded to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1818 and in 1838 the district was redefined as the circular region within 50 miles of the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The actual area of settlement, centered at present day Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, was limited to the Red River valley between Lower Fort Garry
Lower Fort Garry
Lower Fort Garry was built in 1830 by the Hudson's Bay Company on the western bank of the Red River, north of the original Fort Garry, which is now in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Treaty 1 was signed there....
and Pembina, ND and the Assiniboine River
Assiniboine River
The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
valley between Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
The District was governed by a Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
appointed Governor of Assiniboia who was advised by members of the Council of Assiniboia
Council of Assiniboia
The Council of Assiniboia was, from 1821 until 1870, the appointed administrative body of Rupert's Land.-History:This Council was created by the Hudson's Bay Company to govern the territory following its merger with the North West Company, and the death of Lord Selkirk...
.
In 1869 Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
, including the District of Assiniboia, was transferred to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
without consultation of the residents of the settlement. This, and the arrival of Canadian surveyors, led to the Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
in which a Provisional Government and Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia
Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia
The Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia was a short lived legislature set up to pass laws for the North-Western Territory and Rupert's Land provisional government led by Louis Riel from 1869 to 1970. The Legislative Assembly was named after the Council of Assiniboia that previously managed the...
was established by Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
leader Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
to negotiate the admission of the District as a province of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The original proposal, which suggested that the new province consist of all of the fertile belt between Winnipeg and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, was rejected by the Canadian Federal Government as it conflicted with their plans to manage the settlement of the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. As a compromise, a small part of the district, consisting mainly of the settled areas, was admitted to Canada as the Province of Manitoba in 1870 though the Federal government retained control of crown land and natural resources until 1930. In some accounts of the history of Manitoba, the term Old Assiniboia is used to describe the pre-1870 settlement, though the terms Red River Colony
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
, Red River Settlement and Selkirk Settlement are more common.
District of Assiniboia
The (Second) District of Assiniboia was later created (1882) as a regional administrative district of Canada's North-West Territories. Most of it was absorbed into the Province of SaskatchewanSaskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in 1905, except for the westernmost quarter, which became part of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
The territorial capital of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
was located in Assiniboia and, on the formation of the province of Saskatchewan in 1905, became the capital of the province. Its location was chosen by Edgar Dewdney
Edgar Dewdney
Edgar Dewdney, PC was a Canadian politician born in Devonshire, England. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.-Early life and career:...
, the territorial lieutenant-governor. Dewdney had reserved for himself substantial land adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
line on the site of what became the town, and thereby considerably enriched himself. This was the occasion of a considerable scandal in the early days of the Territories.
The District of Assiniboia survived in its original geographical configuration as the Anglican Diocese of Qu'Appelle until the 1970s when the portion of the diocese (and former District of Assiniboia) lying within the province of Alberta was ceded to the Diocese of Calgary.
- For more information on the history of the provisional districts see also Districts of the Northwest Territories
Saskatchewan locations
AssiniboiaAssiniboia, Saskatchewan
Assiniboia is a town in south central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located south-southwest of Moose Jaw beside Highway 2 and Highway 13.-History:...
is also a town in south-central Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
It is a predominantly agricultural community of approximately 3000 people.
Federal electoral district
AssiniboiaAssiniboia (electoral district)
Assiniboia was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1908 to 1988. This riding was created in 1907 following the admission of Saskatchewan into the Canadian Confederation in 1905...
was a federal electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from 1908 to 1988.
Manitoba locations
Assiniboia is the name of a current provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of ManitobaManitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. For information on this district, see Assiniboia (Manitoba riding).
It is also a Winnipeg city ward, with subdivisions known as Crestview, Westwood, and St. Charles.