National Historic Site of Canada

First Homestead in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

Also known as First Homestead in Western Canada, Premier homestead de l'Ouest Canadien

Detail view of First Homestead in Western Canada, showing the HSMBC plaque and cairn.

Detail view of First Homestead in Western Canada, showing the HSMBC plaque and cairn.

Photo: Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada.

Built
1872
Recognized
1945
By
Government of Canada

The register’s text, word for word

Description

First Homestead in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada is located on a flat parcel of land north of Portage La Prairie near Oakland, Manitoba. The site consists of the first homestead in western Canada, established under the Dominion government’s new survey system adopted in 1871. There are no visible remains of the original homestead, which was first owned by John Sutherland Sanderson. In 1976, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada erected a plaque on a grey tyndall stone block cairn to commemorate the site. Official recognition refers to the plot of land within the northeast quarter of section 35, township 12, range 7 near Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.

Heritage value

First Homestead in Western Canada was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1945 because:

  • it was the site of the first homestead in the West granted under the Dominion Government’s Homestead Regulations.

The heritage value of First Homestead in Western Canada resides in its historical associations with the Dominion Government’s Homestead Regulations in western Canada. Following the adoption of a new survey system in 1871, the Canadian government inaugurated its homestead policy under the Dominion Lands Act of 1872. This policy attracted immigrants from all parts of the world to establish settlements in western Canada. The first homestead entry in the west was filed by John Sutherland Sanderson, a Scotsman from the Lothians whose application was filed on July 2, 1872 and numbered “1”.

SourceHistoric Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, May 1945; Plaque Text, 1955.

Character‑defining elements

The key elements relating to the heritage value of the site include:

  • its location north of Portage La Prairie near Oakland, Manitoba;
  • its siting on a flat parcel of agricultural land in the northeast quarter of section 35, township 12, range 7, west of the Principal Meridian;
  • the integrity of any surviving or as yet unidentified archaeological remains which may be found within the site in their original placement and extent;
  • the plaque and grey tyndall stone block cairn erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to commemorate the site;
  • viewscapes from the site across the neighbouring fields.

End of the register’s text

Location

Highway 240, 1 mile north of Hwy 249 junction, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, R1N, Canada

50.06245° N, 98.28563° W

Get directions (opens in a new tab)

Being on the register doesn’t make a place open to visitors. Many are private homes or businesses; please view them from the street.

Loading map…

Nearby

All 20 places in Portage la Prairie

Similar places

Places whose register descriptions are closest to this one.

From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.