Oak Bluff, Manitoba


Oak Bluff is an incorporated community located in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald, Manitoba, Canada. It is situated seven kilometers southwest of the City of Winnipeg, between Manitoba Highway 3's intersections with PTH 100 and PTH 2. The community has a population of 1,051 as of the Canada 2016 census
Oak Bluff overlaps the Central Plains and Winnipeg Metro Regions. It is not part of the smaller Winnipeg census metropolitan area.

History

The Oak Bluff area was settled by British and Scottish settlers in the 1870s. Rail service arrived in the community in 1901 and a grain elevator was established soon after to serve the mainly agricultural area. Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway was constructed on the east side of the community in the 1950s, which greatly increased traffic through the area, as the highway is now part of the Trans-Canada Highway highway system. From 1960 to 1972, Oak Bluff was part of a region controlled by the City of Winnipeg under the Metropolitan Winnipeg Act, which led to commercial and industrial development in the area.
Between 2011 and 2016, the community's population increased from 581 to 1,051, the second largest percentage increase of any community in Manitoba.

Education

Oak Bluff's first school was constructed in 1889 and later replaced with new buildings in 1913, 1930, and more recently in the 1990s. The current Oak Bluff school houses students from Kindergarten to grade eight and is part of the Red River Valley School Division. After the eighth grade, students attend the high school in nearby Sanford.

Sports and recreation

Oak Bluff's indoor arena is one of five that serve the municipality. The community does not have its own youth ice hockey teams, rather it participates in the MacDonald minor hockey program that includes all communities in the municipality. Oak Bluff's recreation grounds also feature baseball diamonds and soccer pitches.
Situated between Oak Bluff and Winnipeg is The Rink Training Centre, a privately-owned arena and training complex that houses the Rink Hockey Academy and a high performance ice hockey clinic.. TRTC is also home to the Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. A 4,000-seat arena, adjacent to TRTC, is currently under development, which will be the future home to the Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League.