Transcona - WikiHQ

Transcona is a ward and suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, located about east of the downtown area.

Until 1972, it was a separate municipality, having been incorporated first as the Town of Transcona on 6 April 1912 and then as the City of Transcona in 1961. The first Council for the Town of Transcona met in 1912 and the first Council for the City of Transcona met on 19 June 1961.

Today, the ward is represented by a member of Winnipeg City Council, and the suburb is part of the Transcona neighbourhood cluster—composed of much larger boundaries including large areas that were part of the Municipality of North Kildonan, and much of the area west of Plessis. It is primarily a working-class residential area with some light industry.

History

Beginning in 1835, the area now known as Transcona was administered by the Council of Assiniboia until 1870, when the Province of Manitoba was created and took jurisdiction over the area, after which they began the process of municipal incorporation.

The community of Transcona came about in 1908 when the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) and National Transcontinental Railway (NTR), looking to build a second railway line across Canada, settled on a large area of unoccupied, flat land east of Winnipeg. This land functioned as the centrally located site for repair and maintenance of the GTP and NTR railways. (Built in 1926, CNR Steam Locomotive #2747 (CNR 2747), a steam-powered railway locomotive in Rotary Heritage Park on Plessis Road, was the first of 33 engines to be built completely at the Transcona Shops and the first engine to be built in Western Canada.)

The land was also intended to be a townsite, so that municipal services could be provided to workers who came for prospective employment for the railway.

In 1910, the Transcona post office opened and the area's population was reported at 1,600 people. The community at the time included two boarding houses, a bakery, butcher shop, a bank, two churches (Methodist and Presbyterian), and a two-room school in the Saunders Block. A year later, on 10 February, the Transcona Board of Trade was inaugurated.

Timeline

thumb|Transcona Biz banners in downtown Transcona.

1907 – Canadian Pacific builds additional railway tracks near district in the Municipality of Kildonan (CPR)

1908 – Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) decides on Transcona as location for railway shops and buys of land. Name of Transcona adopted for future town. Townsite was originally to be created in what is now the South Transcona area, but this area was low-lying and subject to flooding and so the main townsite was moved north of the shops.

1909 – Haney, Quinlan and Robertson start work on excavation for the foundation of the new shops

1910 (January 1) – first steel pillar is raised in the new shop building, and the post office opened

1911 (February 10) – first Board of Trade is organized.

1912 (April 6) – Town of Transcona receives its charter, and on November 12 municipal offices and Fire Hall opened for Public Inspection. The first electric light and power installed from Pointe du Bois generating station of Winnipeg Hydro. Central School officially opened but classes do not begin until 1913.

1913 (January 18) – Transcona Shops opened, on April 10 the Transcona mayor presented Morley Donaldson, vice-president of GTP, with golden key as memento of shop opening. CPR builds grain elevator and opens yards near Transcona in the Municipality of Springfield and the Municipality of Kildonan. In October, the grain elevator tilts due to failure of its foundations, becoming a textbook example of the importance of soil mechanics. It is later restored.

1914 – Sewage system installed

1915–1918 – Transcona Shops manufacture munitions for the war; apparently part of the machine shop was converted to a shell shop.

1919 – Shoal Lake water connection for Town. Transcona athletic organization

1919 – Biggest sports field in Transcona's history held

1921 – Having run out of money, the town council dissolves, and the town is run until 1928 by provincially appointed administrators

1926 – First locomotive built in CNR shops

1929 – New post office built

1930 – Transcona Horticultural Society organized

1933 – Effects of the Great Depression hit Transcona. At the peak the town is paying the rent for 192 families.

1942 – is commissioned, a named for the town. The vessel participates in anti-submarine combat in the North Atlantic in December 1944.

1950 – The Red River floods. Some Winnipeg residents are temporarily sheltered in Transcona churches.

1961 – Becomes City of Transcona

1972 – Amalgamated with the City of Winnipeg along with 11 other communities

Former reeves and mayors

Prior to its amalgamation into Winnipeg in 1972, Transcona was led by a reeve or mayor.

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Though the majority of the area consists of houses built several decades ago, there are newer developments located in the east and northwest sections of the community including Canterbury Park, Lakeside Meadows, and Mission Gardens. Transcona's future expansion is limited by the presence of the Red River Floodway and the Perimeter Highway.

Education and demographics

As of the 2016 census, the Transcona neighbourhood cluster was home to 36,285 people.

In 1959, the Transcona-Springfield School Division was created, supported jointly by the Town of Transcona and the Rural Municipality of Springfield for high school education only, and administered by a school board of nine officials. The Transcona School District No. 39 remained for elementary and junior high students. The School Division and Transcona School District merged in 1967. In 2002, the Transcona part of the former Transcona-Springfield School Division and the River East School Division were united as the River East Transcona School Division.

Elementary schools

Bernie Wolfe Community School
Ecole Centrale
Ecole Margaret-Underhill
Harold Hatcher Elementary School
Joseph Teres School
Radisson School
Wayoata Elementary School
Westview Elementary School
St. Joseph The Worker School

Middle schools

Arthur Day Middle School
Bernie Wolfe Community School
Ecole Regent Park School
John W. Gunn Middle School

High schools

Transcona Collegiate Institute (TCI)
Murdoch MacKay Collegiate
Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau

French-immersion schools

Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau
École Regent Park School
École Centrale
École Margaret-Underhill

Notable people

The neighbourhood has produced several celebrities, including sports commentator Rod Black, former MuchMusic on-air personality Bradford How, Canadian athlete and cancer research activist Terry Fox, professional wrestler Kenny Omega, Olympic speed skater Susan Auch, and librarian Lorna Toolis.

In 2005, following in the style of CBC's The Greatest Canadian series, the Transcona Historical Museum sponsored their own local version called "The Greatest Transconian". The award was given to citizen Paul E. Martin, who was a Second World War veteran with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, a long-serving City Councillor, former mayor of Transcona (1958–1959), and member of the School Board. He was influential in creating the Transcona Historical Museum.

Professional wrestler Kenny Omega (born Tyson Smith) was born and raised in Transcona, and in 2018 became the first Canadian-born IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the title's history. This follows a career in Japanese professional wrestling that includes a number of championship wins across weight classes.

The New Democratic Party politicians, Bill Blaikie, Rebecca Blaikie and Daniel Blaikie were also born and raised in Transcona.

Sport and recreation

Transcona is the home of the Transcona Nationals, a sports team of Football Manitoba that has age groups ranging from 7 to 21.

Three major community clubs and two indoor arenas can be found in the neighbourhood. Park City West, Oxford Heights, and East End Community Clubs organize a variety of recreational activities, while East End and Roland Michener arenas host most on-ice activities.

From 1983 to September 10, 2011, Transcona was represented by the Transcona Railers Hockey team in the MMJHL who played out of the Roland Michener Arena. They were disbanded because the team found it hard to draw players of the required skill levels and numbers. A team of Railers alumni applied for membership into the MMJHL. On January 7, 2012, the league board accepted the new Transcona franchise for the 2012–2013 season. The new team plays at the newly renovated East End Arena in the new side of the building.

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