DID YOU KNOW...
              that the RM of Sifton got its name from Sir Clifford?Clifford Sifton was a very impressive man who came to Manitoba in 1880.He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1882,elected Liberal MLA for Brandon in 1896 and held several appointments most notably Minister of Interior until 1905.Sifton devised an aggressive immigration policy to open the west to settlers:his slogan"Only farmers need apply."It was said that Sifton banned in Europe the publication of prairie temperatures lest they frighten off prospective immigrants!He was obviously successful in this venture and many others (his most prized acquisition-The Manitoba Free Press)as his estate was valued at nearly $10 million.He was knighted in 1915 and died in 1929.

DID YOU KNOW...
             that the liquor referendum held in the RM of Sifton in the fall of 2006 could be considered a reversal of history?In 1916,under the leadership of T.C.Norris ,the legislature passed the Manitoba Temperance Act,and thus began Prohibition.The act stated that liquor could only be legally purchased in the province by a doctor's prescription through a registered pharmacist.These prescriptions were by no means hard to come by and the province's druggists prospered as you can imagine.An inspection of the prescription files of any pharmacy of the period indicated a remarkable number of complaints-from backaches to eye strain-for which twenty-six ounces of rye whiskey was the specific remedy.Manitoba was to remain "dry" until 1923.Of course,moonshine and bootlegging became common and translated into the fortune of many enterprising men,but that's another story...