The Louis Riel School Division grew out of three different legacy divisions: the St. Vital, St. Boniface and Norwood School Divisions. In a broad sense, the creation of Louis Riel School Division began in 1998 with the voluntary amalgamation of the Norwood School Division and the St. Boniface School Division. 

Four years later, the Louis Riel School Division was established when Manitoba's premier at the time, Gary Doer, directed a number of school divisions - rural and urban - to amalgamate. This brought together the new St. Boniface School Division with the St. Vital School Division. The new division was named the Louis Riel School Division on February 5, 2002 and officially amalgamated on July 19 of the same year.

Important Dates

The following are a few key events that have shaped the LRSD over its twenty years of history. 

Creation of LRSD

• November 8, 2001: Minister Drew Caldwell announces that the St. Boniface and St. Vital School Divisions be amalgamated.
• February 5, 2002: "Divison scolaire Louis Riel School Division" (DSLR, LRSD) is chosen as the name of the new school division.
• July 19, 2002: Amalgamation of the St. Vital and St. Boniface School Divisions
• October 22, 2002: Creation of the first LRSD board of nine trustees following the civic elections.
• March 2003: School Board adopts the operating procedures and policies for the new school division.

Growth and Change

2004-2005

• November 2004: School Board adopts LRSD's Statements of Mission and Vision and the LRSD motto (2004-2018)
• January 2005: School Board hires a social research company, Proactive Information Services Inc., to identify the strengths of existing programs and services, and to suggest improvements
• May 31, 2005: Initiation of a study on overcrowding at Island Lakes Community School, eventually leading to the school's expansion

2005-2006

• September 2005: It's All About Me partnership with the St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre begins
• January 2006: School Board considers the findings and recommendation of the Student Services Review.  

2006-2007

• Opening of the Legacy Conference Centre
• September 2006: Implementation of a divisional framework for assessment, evaluation, and reporting (AER) after a one-year pilot in eight schools
• September 2006: Introduction of LRSD's Middle French Immersion Program in Grade 4 at École Julie-Riel

2007-2008

• September 2007: Creation of the Clinical Services Unit (CSU)
• October 30, 2007: Official opening of the René Deleurme Centre 

2008-2009

• September 2008: Implementation of the French Immersion program at École Provencher
• September 2008: Beginning of the transition for all Grade 9 students from elementary schools to high schools

2009-2010

• September, 2009: Implementation of LRSD's Social-Emotional Learning Framework (SELF)
• November, 2009: Survey on the division's Vision and Mission

2010-2011

• September 2010: Beginning of LRSD's multi-year literacy and numeracy focus

2011-2012

• December 20, 2011: The School Board adopts the Respect for Human Diversity: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Policy AC-1-2

2012-2013

• Implementation of the division's three priorities to guide Student Learning in LRSD
• April 24, 2013: Province approves the construction of an Early Learning to Grade 8 school in Sage Creek to serve LRSD families

2013-2014

• January, 2014: After several community meetings, the School Board voted to repurpose George McDowell School as a 6-8 middle years French Immersion school to alleviate over-population in South St. Vital French Immersion elementary schools
• April, 2014: After several community meetings, the School Board voted in favour of a school building exchange between Hastings School and École Marie-Anne-Gaboury, to alleviate population pressures in the latter
• June 17, 2014: After a year of conversations, meetings and collaboration, the School Board approved the Louis Riel School Board Governance Policies

• Nelson McIntyre Collegiate begins Propel program as an incubator for project-based learning in all schools in LRSD. 
• École Van Belleghem journeyed to transition to a K - 8 school to help continue building capacity at Collège Béliveau and within our French Immersion community.
• RIEL-EVATE Foundation is introduced, providing school community support across LRSD. 
• School Board approves a Full Day Kindergarten pilot at École Provencher, Saint George School, Lavallee School and Victor H. L. Wyatt School. 
• Division continues consolidating on-going journey to develop Indigenous Education programming.
• February 2016: New Special Needs Initiative is announced to begin for the 2016-2017 school year.
• June 13, 2016: Division hosts its first Graduation Powwow at Dakota Collegiate.

2016-2017

• Division welcomes Elder Jules Lavallee as Elder in Residence and Frank Deer as Indigenous Scholar in Residence.
• November 2016: Division students create Blanket of Remembrance containing thousands of hand-made poppies for Remembrance Day.
• January 2017: Division hosts two French Immersion forums with the goal of finding sustainable solutions to overcrowding in the Division.
• Division offers Immigrant Teacher Education Program (ITEP) for internationally trained teachers that are new to Canada and looking for employment opportunities.
• June 20, 2017: Division signs Winnipeg's Indigenous Accord.
• Board invests in significant updates and improvements to facilities.
• The Special Needs Initiative in 8 schools discontinued student specific funding applications and forged a new model to support students with special/additional.

2017-2018

• August 2017: Provincial government announces that two new classrooms will be added to École Guyot to accommodate growth in French Immersion.
• September 2017:École Sage Creek School (K-8) opens.
• The Special Needs Initiative reimagines a new model to support students with special/additional in all 40 schools.
• Division launches website portal with Treaty Education resources.
• LRSD launches its first Powwow Club!
• Division reviews Safe Routes to School planning.
• May 2018: École Sage Creek School Community Update provides parents with information about managing growth and overcrowding at the school in the 2019-2020 school year and beyond.
• As part of the initiative to reimagine the René Deleurme Centre's mandate, the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg partners with a second school in the Louis Riel School Division.
• June 2018: Collège Jeanne-Sauvé officially breaks ground on important updates and expansions.

Our Legacy

Our Name

The historical figure from which our Division draws its name, Louis Riel, grounds our Division in Manitoba's tradition, culture, and history; however, and in keeping with this visionary figure, we strive for progress and innovation. The name for our Division emerged from several suggestions provided by the residents of both communities.