Oakbank is an unincorporated community in

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

located about 15 km east of the provincial capital

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, in 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 ...

. It has a population of about 5,000, making it the largest unincorporated community in the province of Manitoba. Starting off as a small, largely

rural community Rural Sociologists have identified a number of different types of rural communities, which have arisen as a result of changing economic trends within rural regions of industrial nations. The basic trend seems to be one in which communities a ...

, Oakbank is now a

dormitory town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

, or bedroom community, for Winnipeg, as a majority of the residents work in that city. Its rapid population growth is representative of small towns in the

Winnipeg Capital Region The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region (formerly called the Winnipeg Capital Region and the Manitoba Capital Region) is a metropolitan area in the Canadian province of Manitoba located in the Red River Valley in the southeast portion of the province o ...

, with two new housing developments being expanded in the town.

History

In 1899, a post office was established in the present location of Oakbank and the village grew around it. In 1901, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church was moved to the community and a Baptist church built in 1908. In 1906, 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 ...

built a track that passed through the village; by 1927 the line was double-tracked. A train station existed until 1968. Electricity was supplied by the Winnipeg Electric Company starting in 1930.

Rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2019, 770 million ...

did not reach the surrounding area until 1949. In 1887, a telephone was installed in the home of the municipal secretary treasurer. Various private telephone companies, often with only a dozen subscribers, operated until they were all absorbed by

Manitoba Telephone System Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba. Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manito ...

in 1950. In 1964, local school divisions were consolidated and Oakbank became the local center for elementary, junior high and high school students, against many people's wishes. A local manual telephone exchange was in operation until 1966 when an automatic exchange was installed. A credit union was founded in the village in 1945. Oakbank continues rapid growth as a bedroom community with many residents commuting to Winnipeg for work.

Demographics

Notable people

Drew Bagnall Drew Bagnall (born October 26, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played briefly with the Minnesota Wild in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Bagnall played four seasons for St. Lawrence University ...

, former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player * Matt Bailey, professional ice hockey player *

Dean Haglund Dean Haglund (born July 29, 1965) is a Canadian actor, known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of The Lone Gunmen on ''The X-Files''. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy, including work with the ...

, actor *

Brett Howden Brett Howden (born March 29, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Howden was drafted 27th overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft by the Tampa Bay L ...

player (

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

) *

Quinton Howden Quinton Howden (born January 21, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who plays for Västerviks IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan. He was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, 25th overall. H ...

, professional ice hockey player, formerly in the

References

External links

Oakbank community profile

Springfield Collegiate Institute

RCMP Detachment
{{MBDivision12 Unincorporated communities in Eastman Region, Manitoba