La Broquerie is a

local urban district A local urban district is a type of unincorporated community within the Canadian province of Manitoba. According to ''The Municipal Act'', a local urban district is a locality wholly within a rural municipality that "has at least 250 residents and ...

in the

Rural Municipality of La Broquerie La Broquerie (french: Municipalité rurale de La Broquerie) is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada, located in the southeastern part of the province, just south and east of the city of Steinbach. The municipality ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. It is a predominantly

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

community located approximately 10 kilometres east of

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...

and 70 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, at the confluence of Highways 52,

210 Year 210 ( CCX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 963 ''Ab urbe condita ...

, and

302 __NOTOC__ Year 302 (CCCII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius or, less frequently, year 1055 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination ...

. For most of the community’s history, La Broquerie has been ranked as Manitoba’s largest dairy producer. A distinctive display at the south entrance to the community features a moderately sized, decorative cow. The area's geography makes it attractive to winter sports. One can snowmobile and cross-country ski along the nature trails in the town as well as throughout the entire

Sandilands Provincial Forest The Sandilands Provincial Forest is a Forests of Canada, forest located within the Eastman Region, southeastern area of Manitoba, Canada, and consists of thousands of acres of sand hills, forest, wetlands, and mostly unpopulated crown lands. Sand ...

area. The community also has a golf course, La Verendrye Golf, named after the family of 18th century explorers. The St. Joachim Museum contains historic artifacts pertaining to the history of the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

settlers since 1877.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, La Broquerie had a population of 1,715 living in 620 of its 653 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,401. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Sports

Hockey is a huge part of life in La Broquerie and has been for 60 years. In the early 1950s, local residents spent months cutting and logging wood for the building of a new arena. The arena was built by hand with the help of countless local volunteers. Over the years, the arena burnt down on three occasions, and on all three occasions, local residents lobbied local businessmen and different levels of government to rebuild it. The volunteer board that has been overseeing the entire hockey program for 60 years is the Club Sportif.

Le Club Sportif, the body which oversees the hockey program in the community, is a model of organization to be envied.

The local hockey team is known as the "Habs". This year, every age level has at least one Habs team, and some have two, starting with the Timbits (age 4-6) all the way to the Senior Habs, who play hockey in the

Carillon Senior Hockey League Carillon Senior Hockey League is a Canadian senior men's ice hockey league that plays out of southeastern Manitoba. It is affiliated with Hockey Manitoba, the provincial branch of Hockey Canada. History The league was created in 2003 on the premi ...

. The Senior Habs have won five league championships in the past ten years. In 2006-2007, the Habs finished in first place in the league standings, sweeping the league championship finals, and winning the Provincial Senior "A" hockey championship.

History

La Broquerie's history is well documented through the La Broquerie Historical Trail; a series of 15 interpretive signs that share the history of the community. QR codes lead the visitor to exclusive anecdotes shared by local ambassadors. There is also a Parish centennial that was produced to commemorate the St-Joachim Catholic Parish's centennial, celebrated in 1984.

Notable people

Mélanie Rocan Mélanie Rocan (born 1980) is a Canadian artist from La Broquerie, Manitoba. She works mostly in various paint mediums. She also has been known to work in multimedia, especially when working collaboratively. Education Rocan began her undergradu ...

, Painter *

Daniel Tetrault Daniel Tetrault (born September 4, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, having last played for and was a team captain with the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL. Tetrault was originally drafted 91st overall by the Montreal Canadiens i ...

, hockey player * Albert Vielfaure, politician

References

{{MBDivision2 Designated places in Manitoba Local urban districts in Manitoba Unincorporated communities in Eastman Region, Manitoba Manitoba communities with majority francophone populations