HOW ASSINIBOIA BECAME MANITOBA

The political story behind why Assiniboia was renamed Manitoba upon joining Confederation is interesting. In 1851, Portage la Prairie was settled at the loosely defined western edge of Assiniboia. The colony, however, provided no real government to the community. Consequently, in 1867, one Thomas Spence set out to organize a local administration. When the Hudson’s Bay Company, and then Queen Victoria, refused to accommodate him, he declared the area a republic with himself as president. As the name for his putative jurisdiction, Spence ultimately chose Manitobah — then a common spelling for the nearby lake.

By 1868, Spence’s administration had collapsed in somewhat farcical and sometimes dangerous attempts to enforce taxes on local residents. However, the following year, Spence joined Louis Riel’s provisional government in the Red River Colony, and the name Manitoba became a favourite of the leader. Thus, the choice of Manitoba preserved the rebel origins of the province.