The Trans-Canada Highway and the Assiniboine River run through the municipality. The unincorporated community of Headingley is situated within the municipality along Manitoba Provincial Road 334 near the Trans-Canada Highway.
The first permanent European residents of the present-day Headingley area are figured to have been Oliver Gowler (1814–1865) and his wife, Mary (Nee Lady Neville Braybrooke) (1816–1878), who came to Canada together in the fall of 1836, hired by the Hudson ’s Bay Company to work on their experimental farm at Red River.[citation needed]
First owning a farm in Fort Garry in 1846, the Gowlers fled westward after the 1852 Red River flood, whereupon they began the first farm on Headingley soil. There, Oliver Gowler eventually became one of the most successful early farmers in what would become western Canada. James Cunningham, a member of Manitoba’s first Legislature (1870), also arrived in the area in 1853 following the 1852 flood.[6]
In November 1852, Reverend Griffith Owen Corbett was sent from England and was tasked with organizing a new parish west of the Parish of St. James, itself created in 1850. Corbett established the parish of Headingley, naming it after his sponsoring parish of the same name in Leeds, England,[5] and immediately built a house where he conducted services.[6]
In 1869, the area saw its first rope ferry, established at the Headingley Grand Passage. In the late 1860s, Reverend George Young, the first Methodist missionary in Red River, began to visit Headingley regularly.[6]
Following the passing of the federal Manitoba Act on 12 May 1870, which created the Province of Manitoba, provincial elections were held in November that year, upon which John Taylor was declared the first M.L.A of Headingley, with a majority of one vote—though the new Attorney General appointed James Cunningham to the seat on a "technicality."[6]
In November 1904, telegraph service was extended to Headingley, but were still missing modern conveniences of a streetcar and voice telephone service.[8] In 1911, Headingley received its first telephones, with 13 phones being listed in the first phone book.[6]
Suburban Rapid Transit Co. interurban in Headingley, Manitoba. Note the antiquated spelling of "Headingly" on the train.
In the early part of the 20th century, an interurban train, Route 29, operated by the Suburban Rapid Transit Company, Manitoba served the Headingley area; however, this line was discontinued in the 1930s. After the interurban cars stopped service, a diesel bus service was implemented. In the numbering of Winnipeg Transitroutes since June 1984, Route 81 Headingley was the bus that serviced the area.[citation needed]
From 1 January 1972 until 31 December 1992, Headingley was part of the City of Winnipeg. Initial discussions about Headingley seceding from Winnipeg began in March 1987 over concerns about municipal tax rates.[9] A referendum was held on 14 November 1991 asking Headingley residents if they wanted to break away from Winnipeg.[10]
It seceded from the larger city in 1993 after extensive complaints that the local needs of the mostly-rural community were not being met as part of a large urban city: they were not receiving water, sewage, access roads. Headingley residents wanted the City and Province to spend $4 million on extending water services to the community.[11] As a result of the breakup, it is the only municipality besides Winnipeg in Statistics Canada's Manitoba Census Division No. 11.
In 2013, the Manitoba government decided to divide a 1.7-kilometre (1.1mi) section of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs through Headingley, because it was notorious for vehicle accidents.[12]
Mayors/reeves
Since 1992, the Rural Municipality of Headingley has been led by the following reeves/mayors.
The municipality is serviced by a 25-member volunteer fire department, which includes a first responders unit and operates out of the Headingley Fire Hall. Headingley is also a member of the Boyne River Mutual Aid Fire District, which provides backup and support services on an as-required basis.[15]
The Cartier Regional Water Co-op manages the water supply to the R.M. of Headingley, as well as several other nearby rural municipalities such as Cartier, Rosser, Macdonald. The Headingley Water Treatment Plant is one of two operated by the Co-op, the other being located in Cartier. Intake source water comes from the Assiniboine River via a pipe, from where it is then moved to a facility on the site of the Headingley Correctional Centre River Intake Building where debris and silt are removed.[17]
Headingley has two community centres: the older Phoenix Community Centre (153 Seekings Street), and the newer $1.8-million Headingley Community Centre (5353 Portage Avenue).[19] Headingley also houses four small churches, including Headingley United Church and Holy Trinity Anglican Church.[20]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Headingley had a population of 4,331 living in 1,307 of its 1,342 total private dwellings, a change of 21% from its 2016 population of 3,579. With a land area of 107.53km2 (41.52sqmi), it had a population density of 40.3/km2 (104.3/sqmi) in 2021.[23]
↑ "Includes persons who gave more than one visible minority group by checking two or more mark-in responses, e.g., 'Black' and 'South Asian.'"
↑ "Includes persons who reported 'Yes' to the Aboriginal group question..., as well as persons who were not considered to be members of a visible minority group."
↑ "'Single Aboriginal responses' includes persons who are in only one Aboriginal group, that is First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit)."
↑ "'Multiple Aboriginal responses' includes persons who are any two or all three of the following: First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit)."
↑ "includes persons who are not First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit) but who have Registered or Treaty Indian status and/or Membership in a First Nation or Indian band."
↑ "includes persons who are a Registered or Treaty Indian. Registered Indians are persons who are registered under the Indian Act of Canada. Treaty Indians are persons who belong to a First Nation or Indian band that signed a treaty with the Crown. Registered or Treaty Indians are sometimes also called Status Indians."
↑ "includes persons who have First Nations (North American Indian), Métis and/or Inuit ancestry. It excludes persons with non-Aboriginal ancestry."
↑ "includes persons who have only one of First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuit ancestry. It excludes persons with non-Aboriginal ancestry."
↑ "includes persons who have First Nations (North American Indian), Métis and/or Inuit ancestry, as well as non-Aboriginal ancestry."
Peterson, Murray and Taillieu, Georgia. 2003. Headingley pioneers, past and present: a historic look at life in Headingley, Manitoba. Headingley Historical Society. ISBN9780973338409
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