2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Selkirk Red River Settlers to Manitoba, an event which some Canadians believe to be one of the most important movements in Canadian history. The story of the Selkirk Settlers begins nearly 4000 miles from Manitoba with a Scottish nobleman called Thomas Douglas, the 5th Earl of Selkirk. Having seen the suffering of many of the farming families in the highlands of Scotland, Lord Selkirk wanted to assist them to emigrate to the British parts of North America.

In 1811 after 2 previous failed attempts to establish a colony in Canada, Lord Selkirk purchased a large piece of land called Assiniboia from a fur trading company called the Hudson's Bay Company. This piece of land covered over 100,000 acres and included the forks of the Red and Assiniboia rivers which today forms part of the City of Winnipeg still to this day called 'The Forks'.

The first of the settlers did not arrive in Canada until late 1812 with further groups following over the next 3 years. By 1814 the settlement had become self-sufficient however this was to be short lived as in 1815 a conflict between the settlers and a rival of the Hudson's Bay Company caused many to flee the settlement for Southern Ontario and Jack River another area of Manitoba. It was thought at the time that this was the end of the Selkirk Red River Settlement however in late 1815 an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company convinced some of the settlers to return where they were joined by a final group from Scotland.

Conflict continued over the years until Lord Selkirk returned to the settlement with soldiers to protect the settlers who remained. Although protected from the conflict the settlers still had much to contend with from unsuccessful crops and cold winters to a catastrophic flood in 1826 which destroyed most of the houses on the settlement, but by the time Manitoba joined the confederation in 1870 over 12,000 people called the area home and it has since become the booming city of Winnipeg.

Not only did the Selkirk Red River Settlement help to establish the farming economy in Canada, but it also provided wealth and opportunities to hundreds of thousands of immigrants and was the foundation of Manitoba's capital Winnipeg.

The importance of the Selkirk Red River Settlement to Canada's history is remembered with a number of the modern day streets in the Forks area of Winnipeg being named after the first settlers.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the settlement the Manitoba Historical Society, Manitoba Museum and The Hudson's Bay Company archives have combined a number of original documents and artefacts many of which have never been on public display before to create an exhibition at the Manitoba Museum until the end of September.

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For further information please contact:
Lee George
Tel: 01778341876
Email: Manitoba@clover-george.com