St. Norbert (french: Saint-Norbert) is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

(French and English) neighbourhood and the southernmost

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

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 ...

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. While outside the Perimeter Highway (the

orbital road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

that surrounds most of Winnipeg), it is still part of the city. As of the 2016 Census, the population of St. Norbert is 5,850. The community is home to the St. Norbert Farmers' Market, drawing large crowds from Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Other attractions include the St. Norbert Provincial Heritage Park, and the St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre. St. Norbert is the closest community to the

Red River Floodway The Red River Floodway (french: Canal de dérivation de la rivière Rouge) is an artificial flood control waterway in Western Canada. It is a long channel which, during flood periods, takes part of the Red River's flow around the city of Winn ...

gates. St. Norbert is also part of the larger Winnipeg

city ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

of St. Norbert - Seine River, which includes much of the Fort Garry South neighbourhood cluster and a small part of St. Vital. Federally, the area is part of the

Winnipeg South Winnipeg South (french: Winnipeg-Sud) is a Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the southernmost part of the city of Wi ...

electoral district; provincially, it is part of the

Seine River ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...

district.

History

The original inhabitants of what is now St. Norbert were

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, including the

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...

, the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

, and the

Ojibwe 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 ...

(

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Al ...

), who were drawn to this region because of its hunting and fishing opportunities. The community bordered on two rivers—the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and La Salle (called ''Ia riviere Sale'' until 1975)—and a bison trail ran from the south bank of the La Salle River to

bison hunting Bison hunting (hunting of the American bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo) was an activity fundamental to the economy and society of the Plains Indians peoples who inhabited the vast grasslands on the Interior Plains of Nor ...

grounds nearly 50 kilometres away.https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/louis_riel/pdf/st_norbert.pdf In 1822, with the development of the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

in the 18th century, the

Métis nation The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...

was the first to take over the region of current-day St. Norbert. In addition to their commercial endeavours, they cultivated the land into long river

lots Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale together ...

perpendicular to the waterway. The area would soon after be

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

in the early part of the 19th century by former employees of the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

—workers (primarily of French and Métis descent) who were left unemployed following the North West Company’s amalgamation with the

Hudson Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

(HBC) in 1821. St. Norbert’s prime location along major

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

and transportation routes proved advantageous; the

Pembina Trail The Pembina Trail was a 19th century trail used by Métis and European settlers to travel between Fort Garry and Fort Pembina in what is today the Canadian province of Manitoba and U.S. state of North Dakota. The trail followed the west bank of the ...

(now Pembina Highway) passed through St. Norbert as it routed travellers from

Upper Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's ...

(present-day

downtown Winnipeg Downtown Winnipeg is an area of Winnipeg located near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. It is the oldest urban area in Winnipeg, and is home to the city's commercial core, city hall, the seat of Manitoba's provincial government, a ...

, and the primary southern outpost of the HBC) to

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

—the nearest railhead. As such, along with taking part in the bi-annual buffalo hunt, the settlers took on seasonal work for the HBC, hauling goods between the

Red River Settlement The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay C ...

and St. Paul. Following the establishment of the community's first

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in 1857 by

Roman Catholic missionaries A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, many of the community’s inhabitants took on a more

sedentary Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like soci ...

farming life. The parish was given the name ''St. Norbert'' by Bishop

Alexandre-Antonin Taché Alexandre-Antonin Taché, O.M.I., (23 July 1823 – 22 June 1894) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Oblate order, author, and the first Archbishop of Saint Boniface in Manitoba, Canada. Early life Alexandre-Antonin Tac ...

in honour of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Bishop Joseph-Norbert Provencher, the first bishop of

St. Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

. The first parish priest, Father Jean-Marie Lestanc, was followed by Father Charles Mestre in 1860, then by Father Noël-Joseph Ritchot in 1862. Father Mestre helped the parish establish its first cemetery. In December 1858, Bishop Tache brought two

Grey Nuns The Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian religious institute of Roman Catholic religious sisters, founde ...

to St. Norbert to establish a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

and school. In October 1869, a public meeting was held at St. Norbert Roman Catholic Church (built in 1856) during which the '' Comite national des Métis'' was formed, with

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

as secretary. As the first act of the committee, on October 16, the Riel-led Métis erected a

barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denot ...

across the Pembina Trail at St. Norbert to prevent the newly-appointed

lieutenant governor of the Northwest Territories This is a list of historical lieutenant-governors of North-West Territories, Canada. The position of Lieutenant-Governor lasted from the acquisition of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory in 1869 to the creation of Alberta and Saskatch ...

, William McDougall from taking possession of the territory on behalf of the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...

. During this crisis, Riel sent Father Ritchot and two other emissaries to Ottawa to negotiate the entry of Manitoba into

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. Between the time following the crisis and the early 20th century,

French Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, most of whom were farmers, gradually replaced the Métis in St. Norbert until they formed the majority of the population.

Geography

St. Norbert is the southern gateway into the city of

. Located just south of the Perimeter Highway, the community consists of what is called St. Norbert Village (the original community) and several modern suburbs. The village is geographically bounded by the

and

La Salle River The La Salle is a river in Manitoba, Canada, with its source near Portage la Prairie and terminating in the Red River in Saint Norbert (southern Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. ...

s, and by the Perimeter Highway.

St. Norbert - Seine River

St. Norbert is part of the larger Winnipeg

of St. Norbert - Seine River, which includes much of the Fort Garry South neighbourhood cluster and a small part of St. Vital. In addition to that of St. Norbert, neighbourhoods in the St. Norbert - Seine River ward include: * Normand Park * River Park South * Dakota Crossing * St. Vital Perimeter South *

Maple Grove Park Maple Grove Rugby Park is an park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Located in the St. Vital neighbourhood, the park is bordered by the Perimeter Highway to the south, St. Mary's Road to the east, and the Red River to the north and west. King' ...

Fort Richmond Fort Richmond is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 2008, out of parts of St. Norbert and Fort Garry. As of electoral redistribution in 2018, which took effect the followi ...

* Cloutier Drive * Richmond Lakes * University * Parc La Salle * Turnbull Drive * Perrault * Trappistes * La Barriere

Architecture and points of interest

Attractions and points of interest in St. Norbert include: * La Barrière Park * Place Saint-Norbert * St. Norbert Farmers' Market — Manitoba’s largest

open-air market A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

* St. Norbert Provincial Heritage Park * St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre *

Trappist Monastery Provincial Park Trappist Monastery Provincial Park is a provincial park in the St. Norbert area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is in size. Designated a provincial park by the Government of Manitoba in 2002, it is considered to be a Class V protected area u ...

Asile Ritchot

Visible from Pembina Highway, one of the most recognizable landmarks in St. Norbert is the Asile Ritchot, a large three-story building marked by a huge centre dome. Begun in the 1870s, the first building on the site was the home of politician and businessman Monsieur Joseph Lemay. The building eventually came into the possession of the local church, and in 1903, Father Noël-Joseph Ritchot arranged the donation of the building and of surrounding land to les Soeurs de Misericorde (Sisters of Mercy). The Sisters called the building Asile Ritchot and operated an orphanage there from 1904 to 1948. In 1911, a large expansion was begun. The new brick building was three stories tall, and featured the landmark centre dome. When Asile Ritchot closed its doors in 1948, the building was taken over by the

Oblate Fathers In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

, and used as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. In 1970, the X-Kalay Foundation (now called the Behavioral Health Foundation) took over the building and currently operates a successful

halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

for the support and rehabilitation of individuals with drug or alcohol issues.

Trappist monastery

Another architectural landmark in St. Norbert is the former

Trappist monastery The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

, now an arts and cultural centre. In 1891, the Abbot of Bellefontaine in France agreed to establish a Trappist monastery on a secluded piece of parish land along the

, and monks arrived in St. Norbert in 1892. The order was dedicated to a life of prayer and hard work, following the basic tenets of St. Benedict – charity, obedience, and humility. The monks succeeded in building a large and prosperous agricultural operation complete with a sawmill, forge, apiary, cheese house, bakery and greenhouses. Between 30 and 45 monks inhabited the monastery at any given time. By 1975, St. Norbert had become a much more urban area, and the Trappist monks relocated to a more protected and rural location in

Holland, Manitoba Holland, Manitoba is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Victoria, in Manitoba. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 34, along the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. It ...

. In 1983, vandals set fire to the vacant chapel and monastery, reducing the historic buildings to shells. The guesthouse, located some distance away, remained untouched. In 1988, the Province of Manitoba designated the location a provincial historic site. The guesthouse became the home of the St. Norbert Arts Centre in 1991. In 2002, the provincial government announced the creation of the two-hectare

, preserving the historic ruins and preventing future commercial development on the site.

St. Norbert Catholic Parish

The St. Norbert Catholic Parish (French: ''Paroisse Catholique Saint-Norbert'') is a

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in St. Norbert. The first church was built on the current site in 1857, and was made of logs. The newer building that replaced it in 1883 burned down in 1929. The current church was completed in 1937. The building has twin towers, and houses the body of Father Joseph Noël Ritchot, St. Norbert’s parish priest from 1862 to 1905. Father Ritchot was a supporter of the Métis people, and of

. Richot was a member of a delegation that travelled to Ottawa to meet with representatives of the Canadian government regarding the 1870 transfer of land in the

from the

Hudson’s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

to the

Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...

. Across from the church is the tiny open-air Chapel of Our Lady of Good Help (''la Chapelle de Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours''). Ritchot and his parishioners built the chapel in 1875, to commemorate the success of the Métis resistance of 1869–70. That dispute, eventually settled through negotiation, resulted in the inclusion of Métis land, language, and school rights in '' The Manitoba Act'' of 1870, the basis of the

’s entry into

. In 1989, the chapel was declared a Manitoba provincial heritage site.

References

{{Coord, 49, 45, 59, N, 97, 08, 50, W, display=title Neighbourhoods in Winnipeg Wards in Winnipeg Manitoba communities with majority francophone populations