Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance

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Persons | Events | Sites | Details

These plaques are erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, the body that advises the Minister of the Environment on sites, events and people of national historic significance. Since its creation in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada has been a significant partner within the heritage community in Canada. Members of the HSMBC are appointed by the Governor-in-Council. There are representatives for each province and the three territories. As well, the National Archivist and an officer of the Museum of Civilization are members.

The following are the persons, events, and sites in Manitoba commemorated by the HSMBC to date:

Persons

Historic Person

Municipality

Location

William George Barker (1894-1930)

Dauphin

Municipal Airport

George Bryce (1844-1931)

Winnipeg

515 Portage Avenue

Thomas Button (c1601-1634)

Northern Manitoba

Gillam Island

Thomas Alexander Crerar (1876-1975)

Russell-Binscarth

Main Street, Russell

John Wesley Dafoe (1866-1944)

Winnipeg

1355 Mountain Avenue

Thomas Douglas (1771-1820)

Winnipeg

300 Memorial Boulevard

John Skirving Ewart (1849-1933)

Winnipeg

Robson Hall, University of Manitoba

Marie-Anne Gaboury (1782-1875)

Winnipeg

Whittier Park

Cyril Genik (1857-1925)

Winnipeg

25 Forks Market Road

Charles William Gordon [Ralph Conner] (1860-1937)

Winnipeg

54 West Gate

Cuthbert Grant (1796-1854)

St. Francois Xavier

St. Francois Xavier

Abraham Albert Heaps (1885-1954)

Winnipeg

City Hall

Samuel Hearne (1745-1792)

Churchill

Prince of Wales’ Fort

William Hespeler (1830-1921)

Niverville

Fourth Street South

Ella Cora Hind (1861-1942)

Winnipeg

300 Carlton Street

Sigtryggur Jónasson (1852-1942)

Bifrost-Riverton

53 Reggie Leach Road East, Riverton

Israel Isaac Kahanovitch (1872-1945)

Winnipeg

Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada

Henry Kelsey (c1667-1724)

The Pas

Saskatchewan Crescent

Jean-Baptiste Lagimodiere (c1777-1855)

Winnipeg

Whittier Park

Jean Margaret Wemyss “Peggy” Laurence (1926-1987)

Neepawa

312 First Avenue

Pierre Gaultier de la Verendrye (1685-1749)

Winnipeg

The Forks

Matonabbee (c1737-1782)

Churchill

Prince of Wales’ Fort

Arthur Meighen (1874-1960)

Portage la Prairie

Island Park

Alexander Morris (1826-1889)

Main Street

Morris

Margaret Newton (1887-1971)

Winnipeg

University of Manitoba

John Norquay (1841-1889)

Winnipeg

Assiniboine Avenue

Harold Anthony ‘Doc’ Oaks (1896-1968)

Winnipeg

958 Ferry Road

Josef Oleskow (1860-1903)

Dauphin

100 Main Street South

Elizabeth Fulton Parker (1856-1944)

British Columbia

Yoho National Park

Peguis (1774-1864)

St. Clements

St. Peter Dynevor Anglican Church

Thomas George “Tommy” Prince (1915-1977)

Awaiting installation as of 2019

Louis Riel (1844-1885)

Winnipeg

330 River Road

Nöel-Joseph Ritchot (1825-1905)

Winnipeg

Assiniboine Avenue

Alexander Ross (1783-1856)

Winnipeg

140 Meade Street North

Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983)

Winnipeg

375 Deschambault Street

Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946)

Carberry

116 Main Street

Clifford Sifton (1861-1929)

Brandon

Ninth Street

Thomas Simpson (1808-1840)

Winnipeg

Anderson Avenue

Frank Leith Skinner (1882-1967)

Riding Mountain West

 

Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962)

Gimli

Arnes

Thanadelthur (1697-1717)

Churchill

La Verendrye Avenue

James Kenneth “Ken” Watson (1904-1986)

Winnipeg

Regal Avenue

James Shaver Woodsworth (1874-1942)

Winnipeg

470 Stella Avenue

Events

Historic Event

Municipality

Location

Arrival of the Selkirk Settlers

Winnipeg

Higgins Avenue

Assiniboine Park and Zoo

Awaiting installation as of 2019

Brandon Experimental Farm

Brandon

Grand Valley Road

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

Brandon

300 Commonwealth Way

Canadian Federation of University Women (designated 2011, plaque to be installed at Ralph Connor House)

Winnipeg

 

Creation of Manitoba

Winnipeg

The Forks

Dawson Road

Ste. Anne

Centrale Avenue

Dominion Lands Survey System

St. Francois Xavier

 

Ducks Unlimited Canada

Rockwood

Oak Hammock Marsh Conservation Centre

Early Science in Canada’s North and the Hudson’s Bay Company (awaiting installation as of 2022)

Churchill

Prince of Wales Fort

First Legislature of Manitoba (plaque removed when building was demolished)

Winnipeg

433 Main Street

First Railway in Western Canada

Emerson-Franklin

Dominion City

Fort Garry – Fort Edmonton Trail

Winnipeg

130 Main Street

Founding of Fort Maurepas

Sagkeeng First Nation

Fort Alexander

Hudson Bay Railway (awaiting installation as of 2019)

The Pas

 

Indian Treaty No. 1

St. Andrews

Lower Fort Garry

La Verendrye’s Journey to the Mandans

Pembina

 

New Iceland

Gimli

Gimli

North American Boundary Commission

Emerson-Franklin

 

Red River Expedition of 1870 (awaiting installation as of 2019)

?

?

Residential Schools

?

?

Roseau Route

Montcalm

Letellier

Founding of The Royal Canadian Legion

Winnipeg

331 Smith Street

Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Winnipeg

380 Graham Avenue

Winning the Vote

Winnipeg

364 Smith Street

Winnipeg Falcons

Winnipeg

580 Victor Street (First Lutheran Church)

Winnipeg General Strike

Winnipeg

William Avenue

Sites

Historic Site

Municipality

Location

Battle of Seven Oaks

Winnipeg

Main Street

Beautiful Plains County Court Building

Neepawa

282 Hamilton Street

Brockinton Indigenous Sites

Two Borders

 

Camp Hughes

North Cypress-Langford

 

Canadian Pacific Railway Station

Winnipeg

181 Higgins Avenue

Churchill Rocket Research Range (awaiting installation as of 2019)

Churchill

 

Confederation Building

Winnipeg

457 Main Street

Dalnavert

Winnipeg

61 Carlton Street

Dominion Exhibition Display Building II

Brandon

Fairgrounds

Early Skyscrapers in Winnipeg

Winnipeg

456 Main Street

Elaschuk House (no plaque installed)

Roblin

Keystone Pioneers Museum

Empire Hotel / Cauchon Block (demolished 1982)

Winnipeg

171 Main Street

Exchange District

Winnipeg

King Street

First Homestead in Western Canada

Portage la Prairie

 

Fort Churchill

Churchill

 

Fort Dauphin

Mossey River

Winnipegosis

Fort Dufferin

Emerson-Franklin

 

Fort Garry Hotel

Winnipeg

222 Broadway

Fort La Reine

Portage la Prairie

 

Forts Rouge, Garry and Gibraltar

Winnipeg

Upper Fort Garry (N49.88819 W97.13544)

Maison Gabrielle Roy House

Winnipeg

375 Deschambault Street

Grey Nuns’ Convent

Winnipeg

494 Tache Avenue

Hangar No. 1

Brandon

Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum

Holy Trinity Anglican Church

Winnipeg

256 Smith Street

Inglis Grain Elevators

Riding Mountain West

Inglis

Linear Mounds (no plaque)

Two Borders

 

Lower Fort Garry

St. Andrews

 

Metropolitan Theatre

Winnipeg

281 Donald Street

Miami Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway Station

Thompson

Miami

Neubergthal Street Village

Rhineland

Neubergthal

Norway House

Northern Manitoba

Norway House

Pantages Playhouse Theatre

Winnipeg

180 Market Avenue

Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School

Portage la Prairie

Crescent Road West

Portage la Prairie Public Building

Portage la Prairie

55 Saskatchewan Avenue West

Prince of Wales Fort

Churchill

 

Ralph Connor House

Winnipeg

54 West Gate

Red River Floodway (awaiting installation as of 2019)

Winnipeg

 

East Gate Entrance Complex

Riding Mountain National Park

 

Riel House

Winnipeg

330 River Road

Roslyn Court Apartments

Winnipeg

40 Osborne Street

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre

Winnipeg

174 Market Avenue

Sea Horse Gully Remains (no plaque)

Churchill

 

Souris-Assiniboine Posts

Oakland-Wawanesa

Wawanesa

St. Andrews Camere Curtain Dam

St. Andrews

Lockport

St. Andrew’s Church

St. Andrews

 

St. Andrew’s Rectory

St. Andrews

 

St. Boniface City Hall

Winnipeg

219 Provencher Boulevard

St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing

Winnipeg

431 Avenue Taché

St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Stuartburn

 

The Forks

Winnipeg

The Forks

Twin Oaks / Miss Davis’ School Residence

St. Andrews

 

Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception

Springfield

Cooks Creek

Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Resurrection

Dauphin

1106 First Street NW

Ukrainian Labour Temple

Winnipeg

591 Pritchard Avenue

Union Bank Building

Winnipeg

504 Main Street

Union Station

Winnipeg

123 Main Street

Walker Theatre

Winnipeg

364 Smith Street

Wasyl Negrych Pioneer Homestead

Gilbert Plains

 

Winnipeg Law Courts

Winnipeg

391 Broadway

York Factory

Northern Manitoba

Hayes River

Details

National historic sites are places of profound importance to Canada. They bear witness to our nation’s defining moments and illustrate its human creativity and cultural traditions. Each national historic site tells its own unique story, part of the greater story of Canada, contributing to a sense of time, identity, and place to our understanding of Canada as a whole.

National historic sites, located in all provinces and territories, can be found in almost any setting – from urban to rural locales, to wilderness environments. They may be sacred places, battlefields, archaeological sites, buildings or streetscapes. They can range in size from a single structure to linear canals spanning great distances. Many national historic sites are still used today for work and worship, commerce and industry, habitation and leisure.

In addition to sites, Canada also commemorates persons and events for their national historic significance. So far 2,000 places, persons and events have been commemorated by the Government of Canada. And the list keeps growing as Canada’s history unfolds.

The National Historic Sites Plan

Together, all of these commemorations make up what is known as the system of National Historic Sites of Canada. In each generation the system has evolved with the nation’s changing view of itself. Today there is a greater interest in social history reflecting the achievements and experiences of everyday Canadians.

Parks Canada monitors the system through a system plan and is now making special efforts to encourage participation and increase the representation of Aboriginal, women and enthnocultural communities’ history.

The National Historic Sites System Plan covers the entire range of Canadian human history under five broad themes:

Parks Canada supports the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), the body that advises the Minister of the Environment on national historic significance. Since its creation in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada has been a significant partner within the heritage community in Canada. Members of the HSMBC are appointed by the Governor in Council. There is one representative for each of the provinces and three territories. As well, the National Archivist and an officer of the Museum of Civilization are members.

Because of the great deal of work involved in carrying out its mandate, the Board has struck a number of committees with specific areas of responsibility. Overall control is exercised by: the Executive Committee made up of the Chairperson of the Board and the Chairpersons of the other committees.

The Criteria Committee determines criteria and guidelines for evaluating the national historic importance of places, people and events.

The Cultural Communities Committee brings to the Board recommendations for commemoration of the contributions of Canada’s diverse cultural groups and Aboriginal Peoples.

The Inscriptions Committee is responsible for ensuring the appropriateness and accuracy of all plaque texts.

The Thematic Studies and System Plan Committee is responsible for reviewing the National Historic Sites System Plan and for bringing before the Board themes in Canadian history which it considers nationally significant.

The Built Environment Committee is charged with assessing the national significance of buildings, including historic districts and streetscapes, and it may recommend the selection, preservation, and interpretation of in situ resources.

The Status of Designations Committee is responsible for clarifying names, the features and boundaries of national historic sites and the intent of existing designations.

The Director General, National Historic Sites Directorate, Parks Canada Agency, acts as the Secretary of the Board. Under the Secretary’s guidance, Parks Canada conducts historical and archaeological research in support of the Board, provides a secretariat which handles administrative matters, and implements the Minister’s decisions upon the advice of the Board.

Designation Process / Overview

The HSMBC’s agenda is in large part driven by public concerns as it responds to requests that places, people or events be declared of national historic significance. Consideration of designations of national historic significance are made on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the Board’s evaluation criteria and guidelines within the context of the wide spectrum of Canada’s human history.

Each year, the Board receives well over 200 requests, of which 50 to 70 will generate research papers from the Historical Services Branch or the Archaeological Services Branch of the National Historic Sites Directorate of the Parks Canada Agency. The reports assist the Board in its deliberations. Alternatively, the applicant may elect to prepare the research paper with the assistance of the Agency.

The Board convenes biannually, usually in June and November. Depending on prior commitments and the complexity of the subject under review, up to two years may elapse between the time of application and the Board’s consideration of the subject.

Types of Designations

Any aspect of Canada’s human history may be considered for Ministerial designation of national historic significance. To be considered for designation, a place, a person or an event will have had a nationally significant impact on Canadian history, or will illustrate a nationally important aspect of Canadian human history.

Subjects that qualify for national historic significance will meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. A place may be designated of national historic significance by virtue of a direct association with a nationally significant aspect of Canadian history. An archaeological site, structure, building, group of buildings, district, or cultural landscape of potential national historic significance will:

a) illustrate an exceptional creative achievement in concept and design, technology and/or planning, or a significant stage in the development of Canada; or

b) illustrate or symbolize in whole or in part a cultural tradition, a way of life, or ideas important in the development of Canada; or

c) be most explicitly and meaningfully associated or identified with persons who are deemed of national historic importance; or

d) be most explicitly and meaningfully associated or identified with events that are deemed of national historic importance.

2. A person (or persons) may be designated of national historic significance if that person individually or as the representative of a group made an outstanding and lasting contribution to Canadian history.

3. An event may be designated of national historic significance if it represents a defining action, episode, movement, or experience in Canadian history.

General Guidelines

Considerations for designation of national historic significance are made on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the above criteria and in the context of the wide spectrum of Canada’s human history.

An exceptional achievement or outstanding contribution clearly stands above other achievements or contributions in terms of importance and/or excellence of quality. A representative example may warrant a designation of national historic significance because it eminently typifies a nationally important aspect of Canadian history.

An explicit and meaningful association is direct and understandable, and is relevant to the reasons associated with the national significance of the associated person or event.

Uniqueness or rarity are not, in themselves, evidence of national historic significance, but may be considered in connection with the above criteria for national historic significance.

Firsts, per se, are not considered for national historic significance.

In general, only one commemoration will be made for each place, person, or event of national historic significance.

PLACES

Buildings, ensembles of buildings, and sites completed by 1975 may be considered for designation of national historic significance.

A place must be in a condition that respects the integrity of its design, materials, workmanship, function and/or setting to be considered for designation of national historic significance, insofar as any of these elements are essential to understand its significance.

The boundaries of a place must be clearly defined for it to be considered for designation as a national historic site.

Large-scale movable heritage properties that would not normally be considered suitable for museum display may be considered for designation of national historic significance.

PERSONS

Persons deceased for at least twenty-five years may be considered for designation of national historic significance, with the exception of Prime Ministers, who are eligible for commemoration immediately upon death.

EVENTS (2002)

Events that occurred at least 40 years ago may be considered for designation of national historic significance. Historic events that continue into the more recent past will be evaluated on the basis of what occurred at least 40 years ago.

When the Board has considered a submission, it makes a recommendation for commemoration to the Minister. The usual form of commemoration is the erection of a bronze plaque.

Parks Canada owns and operates 150 national historic sites. The majority of Canada’s national historic sites are not owned by the federal government but by other levels of government, organizations and individuals. These sites, known as The Family of National Historic Sites are provided with support from Parks Canada. This includes:

Basic Support

Enhanced Support

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Memorable Manitobans: Manitoba Representatives on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada

Sources:

We thank Sandra Hollender (Parks Canada Agency) and Rick Wishart for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 29 March 2024

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.

Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other

Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.

Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.


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