Winnipeg's North End is a large urban area located to the north and northwest of Downtown Winnipeg.[1] It is bordered by the Red River on the east, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) mainline on the south, the City of Winnipeg boundary (Brookside Boulevard) on the west and Jefferson Avenue, Keewatin Street, Carruthers Avenue, McGregor Street and the lane between McAdam and Smithfield Avenues on the north. It is the northern section of the City of Winnipeg as it existed prior to the 1972 municipal amalgamation. Winnipeg's northern suburbs such as West Kildonan and Old Kildonan are not considered part of the North End. The CPR mainline and its Winnipeg yards, which are one of the largest railway yards in the world, act as a physical barrier between the North End and the rest of Winnipeg to the south.[2] This has resulted in the North End remaining a very distinct and unique part of Winnipeg.
The areas to the east of McPhillips Street are considered the Old North End, and were developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century, while the areas to the west were generally developed in the 1940s and later. The North End is primarily residential, though there is some light industrial development in Inkster Industrial Park and adjacent to Oak Point Highway and Brookside Boulevard.
History
The site of the North End was part of the Selkirk Settlement, which was established in 1812. The boundaries of the narrow farm lots surveyed by Peter Fidler early in the 19th century form many of the east-west streets in the North End, and many of these streets are named after settlers who lived in the area, such as Pritchard, Inkster, and Bannerman. The North End is located in the Anglican Parish of St. John, and much of the North End was referred to as "St. John's" in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The City of Winnipeg was incorporated, and its northern boundary was Burrows Avenue. Gradually the boundary of the City of Winnipeg was extended north and parts of the North End today are in the Parish of Kildonan. It is one of the oldest settled parts of Winnipeg. It was the location of Fort Douglas, built by the Selkirk settlers in 1812. The present-day North End was divided into long, narrow farming lots occupied by Selkirk Settlers.
The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway to Winnipeg would have a significant impact on the development of the North End as a largely working class neighbourhood. The main railway passed through what was then the northern end of the small City of Winnipeg. The presence of this busy railroad and associated rail yards would effectively divide the North End from the rest of the city. As Winnipeg began to experience rapid growth in the late 19th century, the North End began to develop as a largely working class residential area, beginning in the 1880s. Streetcar service on Main Street commenced in 1892, although early patrons were forced to walk across the railway tracks for transportation to Downtown Winnipeg until completion of the Main Street underpass in 1904.
Main Street underpass, looking south, circa 1910
By the 1910s the area was heavily developed and had a large population of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe.[3][4] The area was known for its high incidences of extreme poverty and relatively high prevalence of diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera. In the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, the North End, as a working class area, was largely pro-strike.[5]
The area has long been acknowledged as the most socially deprived part of the city of Winnipeg. Parts of the area, especially east of McPhillips Street and south of Mountain Avenue are marked by high drug use and its associated crime and gang violence[citation needed]. Since the 1980s, attempts to revitalize parts of the North End have been made with many grassroot organizations sprouting up along with many not-for-profit organizations. Together with neighbourhood grants and the grants through Manitoba Hydro, the area has seen a major improvement in its housing[citation needed]. Manitoba Hydro's grant alone accounted for a large number of homes to be totally insulated and have their furnaces upgraded.
The North End was considered Ward Three in the Old City of Winnipeg and historically voted for left of centre parties. It was represented by Communist Party of Canada aldermen (Jacob Penner and Joseph Zuken) from 1933 to 1983. The area also elected communists James Litterick and Bill Kardash to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. From the 1990s until recently, the area has tended to support the New Democratic Party in Federal elections.
Neighbourhoods
The boundaries of the North End contain 18 neighbourhoods: [6]North Point Douglas,[7] Lord Selkirk Park, Dufferin, Dufferin Industrial and William Whyte, which are parts of the Point Douglas South neighbourhood cluster, Mynarski, Burrows Central, Robertson, Inkster-Faraday,St John's, St. Johns Park and Luxton, which are parts of the Point Douglas North neighbourhood cluster, Weston Shops, Inkster Industrial, Burrows-Keewatin and Shaughnessy Park of the Inkster East neighbourhood cluster, and Tyndall Park and Oak Point Highway of the Inkster West neighbourhood cluster. The neighborhoods in bold are a part of the "Old North End".[8]
Crime
In 2011, there were 18 homicides in the North End alone, making a rate per 100,000 people at 32.6,[9] but the following year there were 6, making the rate 10.2. Midway through 2013, dropped to 7.2. In 2018, there were 8 homicides in North End, making the homicide rate 14.4
In the Old North End in 2012, there were 374 robberies (1175.0 per 100,000 residents), 352 auto thefts (1105.9), 624 break-ins (1960.4) and 17 shootings (53.4).[10]
Although the North End is infamous for its crime rates to Winnipeggers, crime in the North End, especially violent crimes, are much more densely concentrated in its southern and eastern halves: south of Mountain Avenue and east of Arlington Street, which constitute the neighborhoods of Dufferin, Lord Selkirk Park, North Point Douglas and William Whyte. The table below shows the crime rates of various crimes in each of the North End neighborhoods. The crime data spans 5 years from the year 2017 to the year 2021. The rates are crimes per 100,000 residents per year.
Crime Rates per 100,000 people in North End Neighborhoods, 2017-2021[11]
↑ Rate per 100,000 people per year: Figure is calculated by dividing the total incidences of a crime by the neighborhood population, then multiplying by 100,000, and then dividing by 5, as the data spans 5 years
↑ Aggravated assault: Includes assaults which cause bodily harm or utilize weapons; includes the following categories given on Winnipeg CrimeMaps: aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, assault against peace officer, assault with weapon or causing bodily harm, attempted murder, firearms offences, sexual assault with a weapon.
↑ Common assault: Excludes assaults which cause bodily harm or utilize weapons; includes the following categories given on Winnipeg CrimeMaps: assault against peace officer, common assault, other assaults, sexual assault.
↑ Penner, Norman (ed.). Winnipeg 1919: The strikers’ own history of The Winnipeg General Strike, Second Edition. James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto 1975.
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