The Heart of Canada: Connecting North, East and West
About
Ste. Rose du Lac is a community on the west side of Lake Manitoba, 271 km northwest of Winnipeg, 171 km northeast of Brandon. With a population of 997, it is one of several francophone/metis historical communities in the officially bilingual province, but one of only a handful in the Parklands area of Manitoba.
Accessed off Highway 68, it is a gateway from the Interlake and southern Manitoba into the west central and north central part of the province.
It continues to have a dominant French/Metis population but, since the 1960s has seen more of a mix in the town, while many of the multitude of mixed farms in the area remain ancestral properties, passed from generation to generation.
While it has its own hospital, many residents travel to nearby Dauphin to shop, dine out and seek health care.
A prime tourist attraction is its grotto, built between 1955-58 and well maintained since, including major renovations. It is a very close replica of the Lourdes Grotto and draws hundreds of visitors each year. (see story below)
Ste. Rose du Lac is a town within the Ste Rose municipality. It has a colourful background, beginning in the mid 1880s that is described nicely in the town’s web pages (https://www.sterose.ca/p/history-volume-1). As in most rural Manitoba communities, the residents make their community unique, with an often captivating range of characters, stories & anecdotes and creativity. We will be chronicling these tales as they come to our attention. We invite you to send us your ideas, so we can continue to make this page a living story of Ste. Rose du Lac.
Click on the links below for more information on Ste Rose du Lac
