Manitoba Communities: Portage la Prairie (Rural Municipality)

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Population | Mayors / Reeves | Memorable Manitobans | Historic Sites | History Books | Maps | Contact Information | Sources

This municipality was formed around a community that dates from before 1870, at a place where boats on the Assiniboine River were taken out and portaged [carried] over the prairie to Lake Manitoba to the north.

Present Status	Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie (22 December 1883)
Incorporation History	Rural Municipality of Portage (14 February 1880)
Adjoining Municipalities	Cartier, Grey, North Norfolk, St. Francois Xavier, South Norfolk, Westbourne, Woodlands
Constituent Communities	Airport Colony, Alpha, Arona, Bloom, Burnside, Curtis, Delta Beach, Edwin, Elm River Colony, Fortier, Fulton, Genest, Gervais, High Bluff, Hobson, Huddlestone, Kelvin, Layland, Longburn, Macdonald, Newton, Oakland, Oakville, Poplar Point, Portage la Prairie (City), Rignold, Skelding, Southport, St. Ambroise, St. Marks
Land Area (square km)	1961.97

Population

Year	Total
1871	995
1881	4041
1891	4082
1901	5109
1911	5584
1921	6586
1931	6779
1941	7630
1951	6700
1956	9208
1961	8079
1966	7481
1971	7514
1976	7029
1981	7054
1986	7233
1991	7156
1996	6627
2001	6791
2006	6793
2011	6525
2016	6975
2021	6888

Reeves

Term	Reeve
1880	H. M. Campbell (?-?) - Warden
1881-1882	John Wilton (1810-1900) - Warden
1883-1884	Matthew Ferriss (1818-1900) - Warden and Reeve
1885-1886	Lachlan W. McLean (1846-1913)
1886-1888	Thomas Hatton Metcalfe (1839-1921)
1888-1890	W. F. Smith
1890-1891	J. W. Jackson
1891-1892	Gardner Greenlay (?-?)
1892-1893	James McBain
1893-1895	William Fulton (1846-1920)
1895-1897	Maxwell Wilton (1837-1925)
1897-1899	James Bray
1899-1900	William Thomas Muir (c1857-1900)
1900-1902	George Lytle (1845-1908)
1902-1904	C. E. Grobb
1904-1906	John Weir (1867-1959)
1906-1908	William McBride
1908-1910	George Cadman
1910-1912	Robert J. Caskey
1912-1914	Henry George “Harry” Leader (1880-1946)
1914-1922	Edwin Herbert Muir (1868-1954)
1922-1925	Robert McDermott (1868-1947)
1925-1928	David Thompson
1928-1931	John Pigott “Jack” Bend (1883-1969)
1931-1933	Charles A. Curtis
1933-1935	Wilfred Metcalfe
1935-1937	O. C. Neuman
1937-1940	Thomas Weir McCartney (1874-1940)
1940-1949	Allen McCoag McCallister (1879-1951)
1949-1961	J. Lawrence Smith (1889-1967)
1961-1963	T. N. Kitchen
1963-1977	Robert Samuel Adrain (1912-1996)
1977-1986	Sydney J. Lye
1986-2005	James Alexander “Jim” Knight (1934-2022)
2005-2006	?
2006-2010	J. T. “Toby” Trimble
2010-2018	?
2018-?	Kameron Blight

Secretary-Treasurers

Term	Secretary-Treasurer
1893-1930	David McCowan (1849-1930)
1930-1946	?
1946-1983	William Malcolm “Bill” McMillan (1914-2004)

Memorable Manitobans

Search the MHS collection of biographies for ones connected to Portage la Prairie:

Custom Search

Historic Sites

Go here for a list of historic sites in Portage la Prairie.

History Books

Go here for a list of history books for Portage la Prairie.

Maps

Contact Information

35 Tupper Street South
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, R1N 1W7
Telephone: 204-857-3821
Email: info@rmofportage.ca

Sources

Manitoba Gazette, 1887-1959. Manitoba Legislative Library.

Portage la Prairie, 1870-1970 by Anne M. Collier, 1970.

Geographic Names of Manitoba, Manitoba Conservation, 2000.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 August 2023