Springfield is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

(RM) in Manitoba, Canada. It stretches from urban industrial development on the eastern boundary of the city of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, through urban, rural residential, agricultural and natural landscapes, to the Agassiz Provincial Forest on the municipality's eastern boundary. Birds Hill Provincial Park nestles into the north-western corner of Springfield. Springfield's population was 16,142 as of the 2021 census, making it the second most populous RM in the province (slightly behind the RM of Hanover) and fifth most populous municipality overall (behind the cities of Winnipeg, Brandon, and Steinbach, and RM of Hanover).

History

The Springfield area is part of the traditional territory of Anishnaabe and

Swampy Cree The Swampy Cree people, also known by their Exonym and endonym, autonyms ''Néhinaw'', ''Maskiki Wi Iniwak'', ''Mushkekowuk,'' ''Maškékowak, Maskegon'' or ''Maskekon'' (and therefore also ''Muskegon'' and ''Muskegoes'') or by exonyms includin ...

First Nations. In 1870, the area became part of the new province of Manitoba. In 1871, the area was covered under Treaty 1 between the British Crown and the First Nations. The treaty facilitated the settlement of southern Manitoba including agricultural settlements in the Springfield area. Springfield was incorporated in 1880 as a result of changes made to the Rural Municipality of Springfield and Sunnyside (1873–1880). The municipality received its name due to the presence of multiple natural springs found within its borders. While farming is still important in the municipality, today many residents are employed in nearby Winnipeg.

Communities

* Anola * Cooks Creek * Dugald *

Glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

* Hazelridge * Oakbank * Ostenfeld * Pine Ridge * Sapton * Vivian

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Springfield had a population of 16,142 living in 5,795 of its 5,992 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 15,342. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Attractions

The RM of Springfield contains many sites of historical and cultural significance such as the Sunnyside cemetery, the Springfield Hutterite colony, North Springfield school, Springfield Agricultural Society, and the Dugald rail accident site. In 1996, the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Cooks Creek was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

Government

Municipal

Springfield's administrative center is in Oakbank, the largest community in the RM. The RM is governed by a mayor and councillors representing the RM's five wards. The government has come under some media scrutiny for having the highest compensation to mayor and council ($242,974 total for 2015) relative to all other municipalities in the Winnipeg capital region.

Provincial

The RM is represented by two ridings in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly: Springfield-Ritchot (west) and Dawson Trail (east). The former Springfield electoral district included all of the RM and parts of adjacent East St. Paul.

Federal

The RM is split between two federal ridings: Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman (north) and Provencher (south). From 1914 through 1966, a federal riding was also called "Springfield" with varying boundaries not always coterminous with the municipality.

Notes

References

External links

R.M. of Springfield
(official site)
Community Profile: Springfield Rural Municipality, Manitoba; Statistics Canada

Map of Springfield R.M. at Statcan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Springfield, Rural Municipality of Rural municipalities in Manitoba Winnipeg Metro Region