St. James-Assiniboia is a major community area in

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 ...

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. As it encapsulates most of the

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 t ...

of St. James, which includes the major St. James Street, the area itself is often simply referred to "St. James." Located in the far western part of the city, it is bounded on the north by the

Rural Municipality of Rosser Rosser is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba, lying adjacent to the northwest side of Winnipeg and part of the Winnipeg Metro Region. Its population as of the 2016 Census was 1,372. It is situated along Provincial Tr ...

and the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

's Oak Point line, on the south by the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River (''; french: Rivière Assiniboine'') 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 sin ...

, on the west by the

Rural Municipality of Headingley Headingley (sometimes spelled Headingly) is a rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada. It is located directly west of Winnipeg and had a population of 3,579 people as of the 2016 census. The Trans-Canada Highway and the Assiniboine River run thro ...

, and on the east by the

Canadian Pacific Railway 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 Canad ...

's La Riviere line.''Sherlock's Map of Winnipeg and Surrounding Areas.'' Maps 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 21, and 22. . The area today is composed of the several

municipalities 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 ...

that existed prior to the

amalgamation of Winnipeg The amalgamation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was the municipal incorporation of the old City of Winnipeg, 11 surrounding municipalities, and the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Metro) into a one Unified City of Winnipeg, or Unicity. Th ...

in 1971/1972. It began in 1886 as the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia, parts of which broke off to form the RM of St. James in 1921 and the RM of Brooklands in 1922. In 1956, the RM of St. James was incorporated as the City of St. James, absorbing Brooklands 11 years later. In 1969, St. James and Assiniboia merged into the City of St. James-Assiniboia, remaining as such until the 1972 amalgamation.

Geography and governance

"St. James-Assiniboia" refers to the community area defined by the

2016 Canadian census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census ...

, and can be divided into the neighbourhood clusters of St. James-Assiniboia East and St. James-Assiniboia West. "St. James," on the other hand, is the

electoral 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 ...

used by the Winnipeg City Council for local governing purposes. The 2018–2022 councillor for the St. James Ward is Scott Gillingham. Despite significant overlap, the geography of St. James differs slightly from that of St. James-Assiniboia; the latter extends more west/southwestward and reaches the

, but it does not extend as far east as the St. James ward does. More specifically: * contrast to St. James, the St. James-Assiniboia area includes the neighbourhoods of

Assiniboia Downs Assiniboia Downs is a Canadian horse race track on of land located in the Winnipeg suburb of St. James-Assiniboia. It is operated by the Manitoba Jockey Club and is the site of the annual Manitoba Derby. The track is located on the western edg ...

, Glendale, Kirkfield, and Westwood, which are part of the Charleswood – Tuxedo – Westwood electoral ward, currently represented by Kevin Klein. * contrast to St. James-Assiniboia, the St. James ward includes the neighbourhoods of Polo Park and West Wolseley, which are part of the

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

community area (or Downtown West neighbourhood cluster).

St. James-Assiniboia area

Located in the western section of Winnipeg, it is bounded on the north by the

and the

's Oak Point line, on the south by the

, on the west by the

, and on the east by the

's La Riviere line. St. James-Assiniboia is composed of the following neighbourhoods:

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, Birchwood, Booth, Bruce Park, Buchanan, Crestview, Deer Lodge, Glendale, Jameswood, Kirkfield, Heritage Park, Kensington, King Edward, Murray Industrial Park, Omand's Creek Industrial, Saskatchewan North, Silver Heights, St. James Industrial, Sturgeon Creek, Westwood, and Woodhaven.

St. James ward

St. James is the

used by the Winnipeg City Council for local governing purposes. The ward includes the major St. James Street, as well the following neighbourhoods:

, Birchwood, Booth, Bruce Park, Buchanan, Crestview Deer Lodge, Heritage Park, Jameswood, Kensington, King Edward, Murray Industrial Park, Polo Park, Saskatchewan North, Silver Heights, St. James Industrial, Sturgeon Creek, West Wolseley, and Woodhaven. Of note, although for census purposes the Polo Park neighbourhood is considered part of the Downtown area rather than St. James-Assiniboia, it is considered part of the city ward of St. James. Located along Portage Avenue, the greater St. James area was one of the original districts of Winnipeg, with the Royal Canadian Air Force 17 Wing base located in its central hub. The ward boundary is legally described as the following:

Commence at Sturgeon Road and Portage Avenue; Westward on Portage Ave to the Perimeter Highway; Northward on Perimeter Hwy to city limit (Perimeter Hwy and Saskatchewan Ave); Northward, following along the city limit to Brookside Boulevard; Northward on Brookside to north limit of Lot Z21 Plan 34260; Southward on North Limit of Lot Z21 Plan 34260 to Notre Dame Avenue; Eastward on Notre Dame Ave to Lariviere; Southward on CPR Lariviere to the
Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River (''; french: Rivière Assiniboine'') 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 sin ...
; Westward on the Assiniboine River to west limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337; Northward on the west limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337 to the north limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337; Eastward on the northwest limit of Lot 30 Plan 20337 to Harris Boulevard; Northward on Harris Blvd to south limit of Lot 1 Block 1 Plan 599; Westward on south limit of Lot 1 Block 1 Plan 5996 and its easterly extension to the west limit of Lot 6; Block 1 Plan 5996; North on the west limit of Lot 6 Block 1 Plan 5996 and its northerly extension to the point of commencement.

History

Historically, the area was a farming community along the north bank of the

populated by an Anglo-Métis, or mixed Scottish/English and aboriginal population, compared to the French-speaking

Métis 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 ...

people who settled further upriver at St. François Xavier, Manitoba and along the east banks of the Assiniboine River. Before the province of Manitoba was created in 1870, Assiniboia—named after the river that runs by it, itself named for the Assiniboine First Nation—was governed by the

Council of Assiniboia The Council of Assiniboia (french: Conseil d'Assiniboine) was the first appointed administrative body of the District of Assiniboia, operating from 1821 until 1870. It was this council who is credited for the arrival of a functioning legal system, ...

(1835–1870). In 1853, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

was given a grant of land 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 di ...

from which they formed the Parish of St. James. Following the creation of Manitoba, the area of the Parish of St. James was administered by the provincial government;

municipal incorporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ow ...

soon followed. When

Treaty 1 ''Treaty 1'' (also known as the "Stone Fort Treaty") is an agreement established on August 3, 1871, between the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland and the Anishinabe and Swampy Cree nations. The first of a series of treaties called the ...

was signed in 1871 with the Chippewa (Anishinabe) and

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...

Indigenous Peoples, settlement into the region increased and municipal development likewise accelerated. Within a decade, in 1880, the Province of Manitoba divided its entire area into municipalities, creating the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia and two other municipalities that surrounded the City of Winnipeg. The first

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

for the RM of Assiniboia met that year, with William Tait as warden. This new

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 ...

encompassed the former

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 or ...

es of St. James, Headingley, St. Charles, and part of St. Boniface. The development of these communities as

residential 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 ...

s of Winnipeg began in the early 20th century and was greatly enhanced by the extension of

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

service to Deer Lodge in 1903, the opening of

Assiniboine Park Assiniboine Park (formerly known as City Park) is a park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, located along the Assiniboine River. The Winnipeg Public Parks Board was formed in 1893, and purchased the initial land for the park in 1904. Although in use ...

in 1904 and its location along Portage Avenue, and proximity to

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, ...

. In 1921, the RM of Assiniboia was partitioned, wherein it maintained its rural parts while its more

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

was incorporated as the Rural Municipality of St. James. The first council for the RM of St. James met that year, with J. W. Godkin as reeve. The following year, the RM of Assiniboia was further divided with the creation of the Rural Municipality of Brooklands. The area grew rapidly from 1945 to 1970 with the construction of the Silver Heights and Birchwood subdivisions in the 1940s and 1950s, and Westwood, Crestview, and St. Charles in the 1960s. In 1956, the RM of St. James became the City of St. James. The first council for the new city met on that year on April 17, with T. D. Findlay as mayor. The late 1960s saw the three communities of Assiniboia, Brooklands, and St. James finally join together again: in 1967, Brooklands was merged into St. James, followed in 1968 by the RM of Assiniboia merging with St. James to form the City of St. James-Assiniboia.City Clerk.
More than the Sum of its Parts
" ''City of Winnipeg''. The first council for the new City of St. James-Assiniboia met on 7 January 1969, with Alfred William Hanks as mayor. In 1972, the City of St. James-Assiniboia was dissolved and formally amalgamated with the City of Winnipeg and 11 other municipalities to create a

unicity The amalgamation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was the municipal incorporation of the old City of Winnipeg, 11 surrounding municipalities, and the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Metro) into a one Unified City of Winnipeg, or Unicity. T ...

. As the community was developed, by the early 1970s, as far as the Perimeter Highway (Winnipeg's unofficial urban limit), St. James has seen very little development since that time. From 1971 to 2001, the population declined from 66,150 to 58,590 (as per

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 cultu ...

). The population further declined to 57,855 as of the 2006 census.2006 Census returns − St. James-Assiniboia
Accessed October 27, 2009. However, by the 2011 census, it had increased to 61,764. The City of Winnipeg Archives holds the St. James-Assiniboia Fonds, which includes by-laws and minutes.

Former reeves and mayors

Prior to the

in 1971/1972, the St. James-Assiniboia area was its own

(City of St. James-Assiniboia), preceded by other smaller municipalities, all of which had their own reeves (for rural municipalities) or

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

s (for cities).

Demographics

St. James-Assiniboia is primarily residential and is mainly a

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

area but there are poorer pockets in the eastern part of St. James, and wealthier areas near the St. Charles Country Club, and along the

. Historically, the area was a farming community along the north bank of the Assiniboine River populated by an Anglo-Métis, or mixed Scottish/English and aboriginal population, compared to the French-speaking

people who settled further upriver at St. François Xavier, Manitoba, and along the east banks of the Assiniboine River.

Notable people

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

, Wrestler *

Brent Fitz Brent Fitz (born March 27, 1970) is a Canadian American musician and multi-instrumentalist. In his career, he has worked with Slash, Myles Kennedy, Theory of a Deadman, Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, Union, Gene Simmons, The Guess Who, Brad Whitford ...

, Musician * Bif Naked, Singer * Maurice Smith, sports editor of the ''Winnipeg Free Press'' * Harry Taylor, Professional hockey player

Sports, recreation, and leisure

There is some industrial development in the Murray Industrial Park in the north central part of the neighbourhood and near the

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh b ...

, which is located in St. James. There is substantial commercial development along Portage Avenue, the area's main

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highw ...

, and near the western edge of the community near the Perimeter Highway, where the Unicity Shopping Mall once stood.

Junior hockey teams

''* refers to championships won while playing in St. James''

St. James Civic Centre

The St. James Civic Centre is a public recreation complex that serves the western part of Winnipeg. The complex, which was built in 1967, features an indoor ice hockey arena, swimming pool, and auditorium, and is owned and operated by the City of Winnipeg. It is home to the St. James Canucks of the

Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League (MMJHL) is a junior ice hockey league in Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1970, the league was operated as an independent league. MMJHL affiliated with Hockey Manitoba and Hockey Canada in the mid-1990s. T ...

and previously home to the St. James Canadians and

Winnipeg Saints The Winnipeg Saints were a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The team was known for most of its existence as the St. Boniface Saints and exists today as the Virden Oil Capitals. History The St. Boniface Saints w ...

of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

References

{{WinnipegNeighbourhoods Former municipalities now in Winnipeg Neighbourhoods in Winnipeg Populated places disestablished in 1972 *