Rural Municipality of Armstrong

{{Historical populations

|1981|1957

|1986|2039

|1996|1866

|2001|1905

|2006|1919

|2011|1835

|footnote=|2016|1792

|2021|1,967

}}

The surrounding area was settled by immigrants from western Ukraine at the start of the 20th century. Amongst the original settlers were Michael Pomaransky and Stefan Humeny who settled section 14-19-2E, approximately ten miles west of the community of Gimli. A sizeable community developed as these settlers were joined in the year 1900 by other individuals from the village of Kopychentsi, Ukraine.

Ewanchuk, Michael (1977). Spruce, Swamp and Stone: A History of the Pioneer Ukrainian Settlements in the Gimli Area. Winnipeg: Michael Ewanchuk. {{ISBN|0-9690768-3-5}}.

The hamlet of Kreuzberg received its first post office in 1910."New Post Offices". Winnipeg Tribune, March 1, 1910.

The area was originally incorporated as three distinct rural municipalities, Armstrong, Kreuzberg and Chatfield, in 1913.

Incorporating much of the marginal farmland on the western edge of the Rural Municipality of Gimli, this area saw a number of schools built along the railway line that was constructed three years earlier. These were located in the hamlets of Malonton, Meleb, Rembrandt and Kreuzberg.

The hamlet of Kreuzburg was renamed Fraserwood during World War I, due to anti-German sentiments. Its name is derived from the surname of the postmaster at the time, Wood, and his wife's maiden name Fraser. The hamlet of Narcisse was named after Narcisse Leven, then the president of the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA or ICA), by the residents of Bender Hamlet, a Jewish farm colony located 2 km east of Narcisse.

During the Great Depression, the rural municipalities of Armstrong, Kreuzberg and Chatfield were dissolved, and were administered as the Local Government District of Armstrong.{{cite journal|last1=Parker|first1=C. E.|title=The "Disorganized" Municipalities of Manitoba|journal=Manitoba Pageant|date=Autumn 1965|volume=11|issue=1|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/11/municipalities.shtml|access-date=30 October 2017}} The region was heavily affected by failure of the wheat crop in this era, resulting in one of the most serious poverty crises in all of Manitoba."Thousands in Lake District Lack Supplies". Winnipeg Tribune, November 12, 1935.

On September 21, 1936 Lord Tweedsmuir, the Governor General of Canada, paid a visit to the region. When the school term opened, teacher Olga Uhryniuk received an official notice from the government that the Governor General was making a Canada-wide tour and that he planned to meet with the citizens of the hamlet of Fraserwood. Tweedsmuir visited the school and made an address to the students and numerous community members.

The local government district of Armstrong was subsequently reconstituted as a rural municipality in 1997.

The area is also home to the Narcisse Snake Dens, a provincial wildlife management area which is the world's largest known winter den for garter snakes.

The rural municipality encompasses and governs the hamlets of Chatfield, Fraserwood, Inwood, Komarno, Malonton, Meleb, Narcisse, Neveton, Rembrandt, Sandridge and Silver.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Armstrong had a population of 1,967 living in 831 of its 1,056 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:1967-1792}}|1792|1}} from its 2016 population of 1,792. With a land area of {{cvt|1868.24|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|1967|1868.24|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.

{{Weather box

|location = Fraserwood

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 7.5

|Feb record high C = 7.5

|Mar record high C = 15.6

|Apr record high C = 34

|May record high C = 37

|Jun record high C = 37

|Jul record high C = 35

|Aug record high C = 38

|Sep record high C = 37.5

|Oct record high C = 26.7

|Nov record high C = 21.1

|Dec record high C = 8.9

|year record high C =38

|Jan high C = -13.4

|Feb high C = -9.4

|Mar high C = -1.8

|Apr high C = 9.9

|May high C = 18.8

|Jun high C = 22.7

|Jul high C = 25.5

|Aug high C = 23.9

|Sep high C = 17.3

|Oct high C = 10

|Nov high C = -1.5

|Dec high C = -10.6

|year high C = 7.6

|Jan mean C = -18.7

|Feb mean C = -15

|Mar mean C = -7.3

|Apr mean C = 3.5

|May mean C = 11.6

|Jun mean C = 16

|Jul mean C = 18.9

|Aug mean C = 17.4

|Sep mean C = 11.4

|Oct mean C = 4.9

|Nov mean C = -5.4

|Dec mean C = -15.3

|year mean C = 1.8

|Jan low C = -24

|Feb low C = -20.5

|Mar low C = -12.8

|Apr low C = -2.9

|May low C = 4.4

|Jun low C = 9.3

|Jul low C = 12.4

|Aug low C = 10.8

|Sep low C = 5.4

|Oct low C = -0.2

|Nov low C = -9.3

|Dec low C = -20

|year low C = -4

|Jan record low C = -43.9

|Feb record low C = -42

|Mar record low C = -38

|Apr record low C = -28.9

|May record low C = -11

|Jun record low C = -2.5

|Jul record low C = 1.7

|Aug record low C = -2

|Sep record low C = -8.3

|Oct record low C = -18

|Nov record low C = -38

|Dec record low C = -40.6

|year record low C = -43.9

|Jan precipitation mm = 22.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 18.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 25.2

|Apr precipitation mm = 32.5

|May precipitation mm = 51.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 76.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 81.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 70.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 57.4

|Oct precipitation mm = 40

|Nov precipitation mm = 25.4

|Dec precipitation mm = 25.3

|year precipitation mm = 526.4

|source 1 = Environment CanadaEnvironment Canada - Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000—[http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?Province=MAN%20&StationName=&SearchType=&LocateBy=Province&Proximity=25&ProximityFrom=City&StationNumber=&IDType=MSC&CityName=&ParkName=&LatitudeDegrees=&LatitudeMinutes=&LongitudeDegrees=&LongitudeMinutes=&NormalsClass=A&SelNormals=&StnId=3734& Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000], accessed 19 April 2011

|date=April 2011

}}

Image:FRASERwood mb.jpg|Fraserwood from the air

Image:Silver1 mb.jpg|Train station in Silver

{{reflist}}

• [http://rmofarmstrong.com/ Official website]
• [http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/municipalities/armstrong.shtml Manitoba Historical Society - Rural Municipality of Armstrong]
• [http://www.interlaketourism.com/index.php?pag=business&bid=95&p=rural-municipality-of-armstrong.html Interlake Tourism - Rural Municipality of Armstrong]
• [http://geodepot.statcan.ca/GeoSearch2006/GeoSearch2006.jsp?resolution=H&lang=E&otherLang=F&census=Yes&DisplayData=Yes&NewImage=yes&layer=csd&IdentName=Armstrong%20(RM)&IdentUID=4618037 Map of Armstrong R.M. at Statcan]

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Rural Municipality of Armstrong

| Northwest = Municipality of West Interlake

| North = Rural Municipality of Fisher / Municipality of Bifrost – Riverton

| Northeast =

| East = Rural Municipality of Gimli

| Southeast = Rural Municipality of St. Andrews

| South = Rural Municipality of Woodlands / Rural Municipality of Rockwood

| Southwest = Rural Municipality of St. Laurent

| West = Rural Municipality of Coldwell

}}

{{MBDivision18}}

{{Manitoba|rural=yes}}

{{coord|50|38|24|N|97|29|42|W|display=title|region:CA-MB_scale:500000}}

Armstrong