Shoal Lake 40 First Nation

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Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is an Ojibway community split between Manitoba and Ontario. It sits on a man-made island in Shoal Lake and is part of the Bimose Tribal Council within Treaty 3 territory. As of December 2022, 683 people are registered, with 306 living on the reserve. The community is reached by barge from Iskatewizaagegan 39 First Nation in Kejick, Ontario, and in winter by ice roads. A new all-season road called Freedom Road connected the community to the Trans-Canada Highway, completed between 2017 and 2019, improving access and services.

Historically, in 1915 Winnipeg expropriated more than 3,000 acres of Shoal Lake 40 land to build the Greater Winnipeg Water District aqueduct, which pumps water to the city and involved moving an Indigenous village and burial sites. In the 1980s, plans to develop cottage lots on Indian Bay faced opposition over drinking water safety. In 1989–1990 a $6 million trust was created for Shoal Lake 40, with federal funds contributing to the agreement. For many years the First Nation imported drinking water by barge or truck, and a formal drinking water advisory was issued in 1997. A 2011 plan for a local water treatment plant was not funded by the federal government, so the community pursued the all-weather road option. They worked with the nearby town of Reynolds to push for road access to the Trans-Canada Highway. In earlier years supplies were also brought via the Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway to the aqueduct area.

Freedom Road, opened in 2019, reconnects the community to the rest of Canada, allowing easier access for emergency services, waste removal, and health care. The road intersects the Trans-Canada Highway west of Falcon Beach, Manitoba. In September 2021, Shoal Lake 40 opened a 33-million-dollar water treatment facility, partly made possible by the new road, giving the reserve reliable clean water.

Shoal Lake 40 governs three reserves and elects leaders every two years under the Act Electoral System. The community was featured in the Cut-Off VR documentary about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit, highlighting life on the reserve and nearby Cross Lake.