On Parliament Hill

This is an important year in our community.

It was 150 years ago this month, July 1874, the first party of Mennonites left Russia to come to Manitoba.

In the 1700’s the rejection of both Rome and Reformation doctrines and their intense commitment to peace quickly (and regularly) put the Mennonites at odds with local authorities. Intense persecution saw the early Mennonites flee to neighboring states in search of religious freedom.

In 1783, Russian Empress Catherine the Great annexed the region of Crimea from the Ottoman Turks. She invited and offered to grant the Mennonites a special exemption from military service in exchange for them to come and bring their farming expertise, establish colonies, and work the rich farmland of Crimea.

They did so and prospered.

Then, out of nowhere, in the fall of 1853 came the Crimean War; a full-scale European war with the still relatively new Mennonite colonies right in the middle of it.

The Mennonite Crimean War records that still exist detail how the Russians honored the promises made to the Mennonites by Catherine the Great; the exception from military service. However, they required – and the colonies agreed to provide – medical services and in particular transportation – wagon making, transporting food etc.

After two years of the war, Czar Nicholas had died, and his successor Czar Alexander II was eager to sign a peace deal. He did so in 1856. The Mennonites were very pleased by this. The war had taken a toll on their lands and finances.

However, facing a depleted military and still feeling the threat from Western Europe, Czar Alexander removed the military exemption for Mennonites, and the leaders of the colonies began to look at their options.

This time, rather than look east they turned their eyes to the west.

Canada had just become a country in 1867 and the MacDonald Government was eager for farmers to come and pioneer the west.

The government was excited by the prospect of these resilient and skilled farmers – particularly skilled at steppe farming, farming away from the rivers where most Europeans to date had settled – coming to Canada and opening up the west.

Canada was offering the same exemption from military service, as well as religious, language, and educational freedoms, and vast tracks of free land for their exclusive settlement, so the Mennonites agreed to come.

The first migration – the largest European block to emigrate to Manitoba to date – approximately 7,000 people, came over in July of 1874. They settled in Manitoba on two reserves: one, the west reserve, southwest of Morris (encompassing Winkler, Morden, and the surrounding area down to the US border), and the other, the east reserve, in what would become Steinbach.

In fact, if you’ve ever looked at a street map of Steinbach and wondered why it looks so wonky, it’s because the city was designed based on the traditional farm-village survey pattern (the field-lot plan) that Mennonites used in the old country and brought with them to Manitoba.

Other migrations would soon arrive, most notably in 1920, those fleeing the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. Another 20,000 Mennonites came over.

These folks are the forefathers and mothers of so many of us here, today.

Together, with other settlers from Scotland, France, Iceland, Ukrainians, and of course our Indigenous peoples, Mennonites helped create and shape Manitoba into the great province it is today.

Most of them likely never dreamed that 150 years down the road, what they established, these same families and communities would still be growing and thriving.

That tiny farming communities like Steinbach, Winkler, and others would one day be booming cities.

That small family farms would turn into global businesses.

That their culture; food, music, clothing, and language (Plautdietsch) would continue to be passed down from generation to generation.

That those communities they founded would consistently be the most generous in Canada.

That their names and faith would live on.

Mennonites have made and continue to make important contributions to our community and to Canada.