The Rural Municipality of St. François Xavier is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipalities in Canada, a type of municipal status in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada, lying west-northwest 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, ...

. It is part of the

Central Plains Region The Central Plains Region (french: Région des plaines centrales) is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba located in the south central part of the Canadian province of Manitoba, directly west of Winnipeg. Its major ...

as well as the

Winnipeg Metro Region The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region (formerly called the Winnipeg Capital Region and the Manitoba Capital Region) is a metropolitan area in the Canada, Canadian Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Manitoba located in the Red River Valley ...

. It had a population of 1,411 in the 2016 census. It is home to the community of St. François Xavier, the second oldest settlement in Manitoba.

History

The area around current-day St. François, commonly known as White Horse Plain (named after a local legend; ), was inhabited by

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

peoples such as the Cree and Sioux. Around 1824, Métis leader Cuthbert Grant received a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

on White Horse Plain and founded a settlement. He was soon joined by a number of Métis families. The settlement was originally called ''Grantown''.Morton, William. "Memorable Manitobans: Cuthbert James Grant (1793-1854)", Manitoba Historical Society
/ref> In 1828, the Parish of St. François Xavier (named for St. François-Xavier) was established at White Horse Plain by priests from the mission at Saint-Boniface as the second

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

in the North West. The Grantown settlement subsequently took its name from the parish, and St. François Xavier became a municipality in 1880. The focal point for the municipality was the community of St. François Xavier, which was established in 1824 by Reverend Father Boucher. The present St. Francois Xavier Roman Catholic Church was designed by former St. Francois Xavier architect Joseph-Azarie Senecal. The Grey Nuns also had an educational and religious presence in the area for 118 years, ending their involvement in 1968 after their nunnery fell in disrepair.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, St. François Xavier had a population of 1,449 living in 494 of its 514 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,411. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Notable people

* Cuthbert Grant — a Métis leader * Pascal Breland — a Métis political leader, landowner, and negotiator *

Patrice Breland Patrice Breland (March 17, 1837 – April 3, 1908) was a fur trader and political figure in Manitoba. He represented St. Francois Xavier (electoral district), St. Francois Xavier from 1879 to 1883 in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a ...

— reeve for the RM of St. François Xavier from 1891 to 1892 and from 1895 to 1900 * Pierre Falcon — a Métis songwriter

References

R.M. of St. Francois Xavier Community Profile

Community Profile: St. François Xavier Rural Municipality, Manitoba; Statistics Canada

External links

Official website

Map of St. François Xavier R.M. at Statcan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rural Municipality of St. Francois Xavier St. Francois Xavier St. Francois Xavier

History

Demographics

Notable people

See also

References

External links