Rural Municipality of Woodlands

Woodlands is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. It lies in the southern part of the Interlake and is named for the community of Woodlands, which itself is named for the wooded lands of the area.

History

The Rural Municipality of Woodlands was incorporated on February 14, 1884.

Geography

Communities

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Woodlands had a population of 3,797 living in 1,376 of its 1,483 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,416. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.

Government

The Rural Municipality of Woodlands is municipal style government with one head of council and six councillors, one of which is the deputy reeve. The councillors are elected at large. The municipal offices are located in Woodlands. The municipalities lies within the federal riding of Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, represented by Conservative James Bezan, and the provincial riding of Lakeside represented by Progressive Conservative Trevor King.

2022 Members of Council

Reeve: Douglas Oliver
Councillor: Lorna Broadfoot
Councillor: Carl Fleury
Councillor: Darryl Langrell
Councillor: Darrell Sincalir
Councillor: Bryan Myskiw
Councillor: Valerie Stelck

The representatives from the local urban district of Warren are Judy Olson, Diana Friesen, and Cal Martin.

Transportation

The first rail line, the Air Line, connected Warren to Stonewall and Winnipeg, and later to Portage la Prairie, but was taken out of service in 1882. The Hudson Bay CPR line was built to Shoal Lake, but construction stopped after 1886 due to lack of funds. In the 1880s, multiple rail lines were built through the municipality to transport gravel from the ridges and pits, but were later abandoned once supply diminished. The Canadian Northern Railroad was built through the area from 1903 to 1904. The section north of Warren was abandoned beginning in 1996, but the section south remains in operation.