The Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton 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 the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

, and is one of the northernmost rural municipalities in the Interlake Region. To the west is the Rural Municipality of Fisher and the

Rural Municipality of Armstrong Armstrong is a List of rural municipalities in Manitoba, rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. It lies in the southern area of the Interlake and was named after James William Armstrong, a Manitoba politician. Histor ...

is located to the south as well as the

Rural Municipality of Gimli The Rural Municipality of Gimli is a rural municipality located in the Interlake Region of south-central Manitoba, Canada, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. It is about north of the provincial capital Winnipeg. The rural municipality's ...

. The Town of Arborg is located within the boundaries of Bifrost-Riverton but is not a part of the rural municipality.

History

Bifrost-Riverton was created out of the former

Rural Municipality of Bifrost The Rural Municipality of Bifrost is a former rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was located in Manitoba's Interlake Region along the west shore of Lake Winnipeg. It had a population of about 2,750. Its name comes f ...

and Village of Riverton. In 1875, the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

set aside Townships 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 from the shore of

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

to the beginning of Range 2E for Icelandic settlement. A growing population eventually necessitated the establishment of local government. As such, the

was established in 1887. Thirty years later, on December 1, 1907, the

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 ...

of Bifrost was incorporated out of the northern part of the RM of Gimli. Bifrost took its name from

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, where

Bifröst In Norse mythology, Bifröst (modern Icelandic: Bifröst ; from Old Norse: /ˈbiv.rɔst/), also called Bilröst and often anglicized as Bifrost, is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. ...

is the rainbow bridge that connects

Midgard In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term : oikou ...

(Earth) and

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...

, the home of the gods. The community of Lundi ( Icelandic for 'grove of trees')—later known as Icelandic River for the river that bisects it—was also established. In 1910, the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(Winnipeg Beach subdivision) was extended to the community of Arborg, followed in 1914 by Lundi, whose name was changed to Riverton with the coming of the railway. With the railway came another influx of population growth, resulting in the separation of the two large urban areas. On February 5, 1917, the Unincorporated Village District of Arborg was created, followed by its incorporation on January 1, 1964. On February 1, 1926, the Unincorporated Village District of Riverton was created on February 1, 1926, followed by its incorporation as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

on December 31, 1951. On January 1, 2015, the RM of Bifrost and the Village of Riverton amalgamated to form the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton. It was formed as a requirement of '' The Municipal Amalgamations Act'', which mandated that municipalities with a population less than 1,000 amalgamate with one or more neighbouring municipalities by 2015. The Government of Manitoba initiated these amalgamations in order for municipalities to meet the 1997 minimum population requirement of 1,000 to incorporate a municipality. The amalgamation did not include the Town of Arborg, which is surrounded by Bifrost-Riverton.

Communities

* Finns * Geysir * Hnausa * Jaroslaw * Morweena *

Okno Okno ( meaning window) is a Russian space surveillance station located in Nurak in Tajikistan. It is run by the Russian Space Forces and is part of the Centre for Outer Space Monitoring. It is located above sea level in the Sanglok mountains, ...

* Riverton *Rosenburg *Shorncliffe *Washow Bay The Town of Arborg is located within the boundaries of Bifrost-Riverton but is not a part of the rural municipality.

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 Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Bifrost-Riverton had a population of 3,320 living in 1,200 of its 1,598 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,378. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

People

Reggie Leach Reginald Joseph Leach (born April 23, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red ...

— former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player * Peter Masniuk — politician born in Morweena * James Reimer — professional

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

ice hockey goaltender, grew up in Morweena *

Sveinn Thorvaldson Sveinn Thorvaldson (March 3, 1872 – July 14, 1949) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1915, as a member of the Conservative Party. Biography Thorvaldson was born in Ic ...

— reeve of Bifrost from 1908 to 1914. * Gunnar Thorvaldson — politician born in Riverton

References

External links