Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk

Thomas Douglas (1771-1820), 5th Earl of Selkirk, under whose inspired leadership and support colonists were recruited in Scotland and Ireland for settlement at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The initial group arrived in August, 1812, to establish the first permanent settlement in Manitoba on the site of the present City of Winnipeg.