Steamboats on the Red River

Selkirk owned by Jim Hill, brought the Countess of Dufferin to Canada. Public Archives of Canada

Prior to the coming of the railway with its steam locomotives it was steamboats that provided most transportation other than horse power. In the west the only two notable areas where settlement had taken place other than at small isolated forts was at Winnipeg on the Red River and Victoria on Vancouver Island. Both had water access with the Red River connecting with the United States where much of commerce was located.

Steamboats plied the Red River for a period prior to the coming of the railways beginning in the late 1860's with the Hudson's Bay Company's International. Their monopoly was broken in the spring of 1871 when the Selkirk steamed into Fort Garry with 125 passengers and 125 tons of freight. It was owned by none other than James Jerome Hill, a Canadian who was now doing business out of St.Paul, Minnesota, who broke the monopoly and eliminated the competition in one fell swoop. He had his steamboat bonded in accordance with an old United States law requiring this for international shipping and also got the law enforced stopping the International, at least until it could be bonded. Donald A. Smith, chief commissioner of the Hudson's Bay Company made a deal with their agent in St.Paul, Norman Kittson, to operate the steamboat. Then, back in business a rate war broke out between the two until finally they formed a joint venture with Kittson's Red River Transportation Company which was actually controlled by Smith on behalf of Hill and Kittson. The HBC was given a one-third discount on its freight and then rates went back up to the further detriment of competitors.

Angry at the situation some Winnipeg and Minnesota merchants started their own line with two new steamboats, the Manitoba and the Minnesota. The Manitoba steamed into Winnipeg on May 14, 1875 and the monopoly was broken. There was a total of seven sternwheelers on the river that summer. Kittson fought back with below-cost freight rates and the battle was on! He also engaged in dirty dealings with customs officials keeping the Manitoba at the border until July. When it was finally released he deliberately rammed and sank it, cargo and all. After further difficulties the merchants sold out to Kittson in September and the freight rates went up again making obscene profits (80% dividends) for the partners.

This was all about to come to an end with the building of a railway between the two countries which began in September, 1874, although it took until November, 1878 before it was finally completed. It had been delayed due to the bad economy in the US (which was exported to Canada) which saw the St. Paul & Pacific go broke along with the spectacular failure in September 1873 of Jay Cooke's Northern Pacific. The St.P&P was reorganized as the St. Paul & Manitoba and connected up with the Pembina Branch at the border.

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