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For the electoral division of Manitoba that includes the northerly part of this district of Winnipeg, see St. Vital.

St. Vital is a suburban section of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Until December 31, 1971, it was a separate municipality, first holding the status of a Rural Municipality, then being incorporated as a Town and latterly as the City of St. Vital. It is bounded on the north by Carrière Avenue, on the south by the northern limit of the Rural Municipality of Ritchot, on the west by the Red River and on the east by the Seine River, with the exception of the part lying south of the Perimeter Highway, which extends east across the Seine to the boundary of the Rural Municipality of Springfield. The population as of the 2001 census was 59,840, up from 32,500 in 1971. (Source: Statistics Canada).

The original Parish of St. Vital was established in the nineteenth century and consisted in present-day St. Vital in addition to much of Fort Garry, another present-day suburb on the west side of the Red River. St. Vital was named by Archbishop Taché in honour of his colleague, Father Vital-Justin Grandin. The parish was home to many French-speaking settlers, particularly Métis, a heritage that continues to be reflected in the names of many of its institutions and streets. Seventeen percent of the population of the City of Winnipeg's St. Vital ward -- which includes most of the former City of St. Vital -- spoke French as of 2001.^[1]

With the exception of a significant (though diminishing) semi-rural district in the south, St. Vital is almost entirely residential and has never been home to significant industrial or commercial enterprises, other than retail shops. Its attractions include the St. Vital Centre, a major regional shopping centre that opened in 1979, the Riel House National Historic Site (consisting in the home of the family of Métis leader Louis Riel, restored to its 1886 condition), and St. Vital Park, one of Winnipeg's largest city parks. Maple Grove Park is similar in size to St. Vital Park but more recently established. A system of linear parks along the Seine River is under development on the east side of the suburb.

Major streets in St. Vital include St. Mary's Road, St. Anne's Road, Bishop Grandin Boulevard, Fermor Avenue (part of the Trans-Canada Highway), Dunkirk Drive and its southerly extension Dakota Street.

St. Vital includes many working-class and middle-class neighbourhoods. Among them are Elm Park, Pulberry, Glenwood, Norberry, Riel, River Park South, Meadowood Park and Normand Park.

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