St. Norbert () is a bilingual (French and English) neighbourhood and the southernmost suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. While outside the Perimeter Highway (the orbital road that surrounds most of Winnipeg), it is still part of the city. As of the 2016 Census, the population of St. Norbert is 5,850.
The community is home to the St. Norbert Farmers' Market, drawing large crowds from Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Other attractions include the St. Norbert Provincial Heritage Park, and the St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre. St. Norbert is the closest community to the gates of the Red River Floodway.
St. Norbert is also part of the larger Winnipeg city ward of St. Norbert-Seine River, which includes much of the Fort Garry South neighbourhood cluster and a small part of St. Vital. In Winnipeg's nonpartisan municipal politics, Markus Chambers is the ward's representative on Winnipeg City Council. In provincial politics, it is part of the Seine River riding, with New Democratic Party of Manitoba Member of the Legislative Assembly Billie Cross as its representative in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. In federal politics, the area is part of the Winnipeg South riding, with Liberal Member of Parliament Terry Duguid as its representative in the House of Commons of Canada.
History
The original inhabitants of what is now St. Norbert were First Nations peoples, including the Assiniboine, the Cree, and the Ojibwe (Saulteaux), who were drawn to this region because of its hunting and fishing opportunities. The community bordered on two rivers—the Red and La Salle (called Ia riviere Sale until 1975)—and a bison trail ran from the south bank of the La Salle River to bison hunting grounds nearly 50 kilometres away.
In 1822, with the development of the fur trade in the 18th century, the Métis nation was the first to take over the region of current-day St. Norbert. In addition to their commercial endeavours, they cultivated the land into long river lots perpendicular to the waterway. The area would soon after be settled in the early part of the 19th century by former employees of the North West Company—workers (primarily of French and Métis descent) who were left unemployed following the North West Company’s amalgamation with the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) in 1821. St. Norbert’s prime location along major trade and transportation routes proved advantageous; the Pembina Trail (now Pembina Highway) passed through St. Norbert as it routed travellers from Upper Fort Garry (present-day downtown Winnipeg, and the primary southern outpost of the HBC) to St. Paul, Minnesota—the nearest railhead. As such, along with taking part in the bi-annual buffalo hunt, the settlers took on seasonal work for the HBC, hauling goods between the Red River Settlement and St. Paul.
Following the establishment of the community's first parish church in 1857 by Roman Catholic missionaries, many of the community’s inhabitants took on a more sedentary farming life. The parish was given the name St. Norbert by Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Taché in honour of the patron saint of Bishop Joseph-Norbert Provencher, the first bishop of St. Boniface. The first parish priest, Father Jean-Marie Lestanc, was followed by Father Charles Mestre in 1860, then by Father Noël-Joseph Ritchot in 1862. Father Mestre helped the parish establish its first cemetery.
In December 1858, Bishop Tache brought two Grey Nuns to St. Norbert to establish a convent and school.
In October 1869, a public meeting was held at St. Norbert Roman Catholic Church (built in 1856) during which the Comite national des Métis was formed, with Louis Riel as secretary. As the first act of the committee, on October 16, the Riel-led Métis erected a barricade across the Pembina Trail at St. Norbert to prevent the newly-appointed lieutenant governor of the Northwest Territories, William McDougall from taking possession of the territory on behalf of the Canadian government. During this crisis, Riel sent Father Ritchot and two other emissaries to Ottawa to negotiate the entry of Manitoba into Confederation. Between the time following the crisis and the early 20th century, French Canadians from Quebec, most of whom were farmers, gradually replaced the Métis in St. Norbert until they formed the majority of the population.
Geography
St. Norbert is the southern gateway into the city of Winnipeg. Located just south of the Perimeter Highway, the community consists of what is called St. Norbert Village (the original community) and several modern suburbs. The village is geographically bounded by the Red and La Salle Rivers, and by the Perimeter Highway.