West Kildonan

West Kildonan
Suburb
West Kildonan
Coordinates: 49°55′59″N97°07′01″W / 49.933°N 97.117°W / 49.933; -97.117
Country	Canada
Province	Manitoba
City	Winnipeg
Established	1876
Rural Municipality	1880
Incorporated as Town	1921
Incorporated as a City	April 1961
Area
• Suburb	14.1 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
• Metro	5,306.79 km2 (2,048.96 sq mi)
Elevation [1]	231 m (758 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Suburb	38,555
• Density	2,730/km2 (7,080/sq mi)
•  Metro	778,489
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Forward Sortation Area	R2V
Area codes	204, 431

West Kildonan is a residential suburb within the Old Kildonan and Mynarski city wards of Winnipeg, Manitoba, lying on the west side of the Red River of the North, and immediately north of the old City of Winnipeg in the north-central part of the city.

It is bounded by the Red River on the east; the north limit of Kildonan Golf Course, Main Street, Seaforth Avenue, the Canadian Pacific Railway Winnipeg Beach Subdivision, and Templeton Avenue on the north; McPhillips Street on the west; and Carruthers Avenue, McGregor Street, and the lane between McAdam and Smithfield Avenues on the south.

It is notably home to Kildonan Park, West Kildonan Collegiate, and the former West Kildonan North Stars.

History

Early history

The Battle of Seven Oaks was fought in 1816 in an area that is now part of West Kildonan. ^[2] At the time, the region formed part of the broader Red River Settlement.

Municipal development

The area was included in the original Municipality of Kildonan, established in 1876. ^[3] In 1914, Kildonan was divided into eastern and western halves. ^[4] Further boundary changes followed, and in 1921 the more developed western portion separated from the largely rural area known as Old Kildonan, forming West Kildonan with boundaries similar to those used today. ^[5] West Kildonan developed as one of the earliest residential suburbs serving the city.

Residential growth.

The areas east of the CPR Winnipeg Beach tracks and south of Hartford Avenue were substantially developed by the 1910s and 1920s. West of the tracks, Winnipeg's Garden City neighbourhood was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, as was the area north of Hartford Avenue east of the tracks. The Garden Park community located north of Leila Avenue and west of the CPR tracks was developed beginning in the late 1950s.

City status and amalgamation

The municipal hall of the Rural Municipality of West Kildonan was located at 1760 Main Street. ^[6]

In January 1961, the rural municipality applied to the Province of Manitoba for city status. At that time, it had a population of approximately 19,000 and a total tax assessment of about C$15 million. ^[7] Legislative approval was granted in April 1961, allowing both West Kildonan and Transcona to become cities. ^[8] The first city council meeting of the City of West Kildonan was held on April 25, 1961. ^[9]

West Kildonan operated as an independent city until 1972, when it was amalgamated into the Winnipeg. Today, it forms a residential area within the city. ^[10]

Demographics

Federal census
population history
of West Kildonan

Year	Pop.	±%
1901	668	—
1906	675	+1.0%
1911	1,767	+161.8%
1916	3,676	+108.0%
1921	4,641	+26.3%
1926	5,657	+21.9%
1931	6,132	+8.4%
1936	6,042	−1.5%
1941	6,110	+1.1%
1946	6,579	+7.7%
1951	10,754	+63.5%
1956	15,256	+41.9%
1961	20,077	+31.6%
1966	22,240	+10.8%
1971	23,959	+7.7%
Source: Statistics Canada [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

Early on, West Kildonan attracted many people from Winnipeg's working class North End who became more affluent beginning after World War I, but who wished to remain close to their roots. To this day, the area has a large Eastern European population.

This area, along with nearby Garden City are home to large portions of Winnipeg's Jewish population. Historically, the West Kildonan and Garden City areas have been two of Canada's largest Jewish neighbourhoods. Synagogues, Hebrew educational programming, Kosher supermarkets and Jewish cemeteries are common throughout the area. In recent years condominiums catering to the Jewish community have become increasingly popular.

See also

• Garden City, Winnipeg
• Winnipeg

References

1. "Elevation at West Kildonan". earthtools.org.
2. "Conflict at Red River: Collision at Seven Oaks". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
3. "Manitoba Communities: Kildonan (Unincorporated Rural Municipality)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
4. "Manitoba Communities: Kildonan (Unincorporated Rural Municipality)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
5. "Manitoba Communities: Old Kildonan (Unincorporated Municipality)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
6. "Historic Sites of Manitoba: West Kildonan Municipal Office (1760 Main Street, Winnipeg)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
7. "W. K. To Seek City Status". Winnipeg Free Press. January 26, 1961. p. 30.
8. "Final Approval Given 23 Bills by Legislature". Winnipeg Tribune. April 14, 1961. p. 32.
9. "Pathways - West Kidonan". winnipeg.ca. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012.
10. O'Shaughnessy, Michael (December 31, 1971). "West Kildonan, Scotland Linked With 1,300 Year-Old Name". Winnipeg Free Press. p. 20.
11. "Table IX: Population of cities, towns and incorporated villages in 1906 and 1901 as classed in 1906". Census of the Northwest Provinces, 1906. Vol. Sessional Paper No. 17a. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1907.
12. "Table I: Area and Population of Canada by Provinces, Districts and Subdistricts in 1911 and Population in 1901". Census of Canada, 1911. Vol. I. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1912.
13. "Table I: Population of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta by Districts, Townships, Cities, Towns, and Incorporated Villages in 1916, 1911, 1906, and 1901". Census of Prairie Provinces, 1916. Vol. Population and Agriculture. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1918.
14. "Table 8: Population by districts and sub-districts according to the Redistribution Act of 1914 and the amending act of 1915, compared for the census years 1921, 1911 and 1901". Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1922.
15. "Table 7: Population of cities, towns and villages for the province of Manitoba in census years 1901-26, as classed in 1926". Census of Prairie Provinces, 1926. Vol. Census of Manitoba, 1926. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1927.
16. "Table 12: Population of Canada by provinces, counties or census divisions and subdivisions, 1871-1931". Census of Canada, 1931. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1932.
17. "Table 4: Population in incorporated cities, towns and villages, 1901-1936". Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1936. Vol. I: Population and Agriculture. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1938.
18. "Table 10: Population by census subdivisions, 1871–1941". Eighth Census of Canada, 1941. Vol. II: Population by Local Subdivisions. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1944.
19. "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1926-1946". Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1946. Vol. I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1949.
20. "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1871–1951". Ninth Census of Canada, 1951. Vol. I: Population, General Characteristics. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1953.
21. "Table 6: Population by sex, for census subdivisions, 1956 and 1951". Census of Canada, 1956. Vol. Population, Counties and Subdivisions. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1957.
22. "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1901–1961". 1961 Census of Canada. Series 1.1: Historical, 1901–1961. Vol. I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1963.
23. "Population by specified age groups and sex, for census subdivisions, 1966". Census of Canada, 1966. Vol. Population, Specified Age Groups and Sex for Counties and Census Subdivisions, 1966. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1968.
24. "Table 2: Population of Census Subdivisions, 1921–1971". 1971 Census of Canada. Vol. I: Population, Census Subdivisions (Historical). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1973.