The Rural Municipality of Hanover is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

(RM) in

southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

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, located southeast of

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 ...

in Division No. 2. It is Manitoba's most populous

and fourth-most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

overall (behind the cities of Winnipeg,

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, and Steinbach) as of the 2021 census.

History

The area of Hanover was part of the traditional lands of the

Ojibway The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

-speaking natives. In the summer of 1871, the federal government signed treaties with these people and relocated them to reserves such as the

Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation (Ojibwe: ''Okwewanashko-ziibiing'', meaning: "Rag Weed River")Ross, Jordan. “Aug 2021: Roseau River First Nation Organizes Honour Walk.” The Carillon, August 7, 2021https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/the-car ...

to the south and the

Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Brokenhead Ojibway Nation (BON, oj, Baaskaandibewi-ziibiing, meaning ''at the brokenhead River'') is an Anishinaabe ( Saulteaux/ Ojibwa) First Nation located approximately northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The main reserve of Brokenhead 4 is su ...

to the north. From the lands left behind, the Manitoba government set aside the

East Reserve The East Reserve was a block settlement in Manitoba set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1873 (although settlement did not occur until 1874). Most of the East Reserve's earliest settlers ...

, slightly smaller than what is now the RM of Hanover, for Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites immigrants from the

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1873, these Mennonites signed an agreement with the Canadian government known as the Privilegium, which guaranteed land, freedom of religion, private schools, and military exemption. The East Reserve was divided into two municipalities in the early 1880s, as most of the southern Manitoba was organizing itself into new rural municipalities. In 1880, the north part of the East Reserve became the Rural Municipality of Hespeler, named in honour of

William Hespeler William Hespeler (December 29, 1830 – April 18, 1921), born ''Wilhelm'', was a German-Canadian businessman, immigration agent, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He served as Speaker of the Legislature and as honorary co ...

, who had brought many of the Mennonite immigrants to the area. The RM of Hanover, to the south, was established on 25 May 1881. The two municipalities shared administrative staff and merged into the single municipality of Hanover in 1890. Other settlers in the area were mainly French and

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

. The neighbouring City of Steinbach and Town of Niverville were originally within Hanover but are now separate urban municipalities. Steinbach was first incorporated in 1946 (as a Town) and Niverville in 1969. Hanover's municipal headquarters were located in Steinbach until a new office building was constructed near

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

in 2001.

Demographics

Hanover is the province's most populated rural municipality, ahead of the

Rural Municipality of Springfield Springfield is a rural municipality (RM) in Manitoba, Canada. It stretches from urban industrial development on the eastern boundary of the City of Winnipeg, through urban, rural residential, agricultural and natural landscapes, to the Agassiz Pro ...

, and fourth-most populated municipality overall, slightly behind the City of Steinbach. 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 ...

, Hanover had a population of 17,216 living in 5,141 of its 5,305 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 15,540. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The largest communities in Hanover are the local urban districts of

, Grunthal and Blumenort, which have populations of 2,828, 1,782 and 1,778, respectively.

Transportation

Hanover is served by three provincial highways: PTH 52, PTH 12, and PTH 59; the latter two link the municipality with the City of

, the provincial capital. There are no major rivers or rail lines running through Hanover; however, the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

Railway's Emerson subdivision forms a portion of the municipality's boundary with the

Rural Municipality of Ritchot The Rural Municipality of Ritchot (french: Municipalité rurale de Ritchot) is a rural municipality in the Winnipeg Capital Region, bordering the south side of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The separately-administered town of Niverville lies adja ...

. The Steinbach South Airport is a privately-run airport located within municipal boundaries near Steinbach.

Communities

;Local urban districts * Blumenort * Grunthal * Kleefeld *

New Bothwell New Bothwell, originally called Kronsthal, is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, Manitoba, Canada. It is located approximately northwest of Steinbach on Provincial Road 216, one kilometre south of Provincial Road 311 ...

;Other communities * Barkfield *

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

* Friedensfeld * Hochstadt *

Pansy The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', p ...

* Randolph * Sarto * Tourond

References

External links

Official website

Map of Hanover R.M. at Statistics Canada
{{Authority control Rural municipalities in Manitoba