Assiniboia (1983: Doomsday)

Post-Doomsday
When Winnipeg was struck during Doomsday, the region was immediately thrown into almost total chaos. Fortunately, a large part of the radiation was blown out to Hudson Bay. For a while the local communities were pretty much on their own, but armed gang raids from former Ontario forced them to meet together in Niverville. On the anniversary of Doomsday, they finally agreed to join forces to repel the gangs. They finally forced the raiders to leave the newly formed Dominion of Assiniboia. They elected farmer Raymond McVicar, the provisional mayor of Niverville, as the first Prime Minister of Assiniboia.

The first priorities of the new government was to re-establish the agriculture of the region, and to help provide for the refugees that soon began flowing into Assiniboia, and to hold off the gangs of bandits that were raiding the borders. In order to insure that food would last through the winter of 1984, rationing was imposed. The agriculture coming from the reigon was in small amounts, though was higher compared to many other nations because of the large agriculture industry in the area. However, the 1984 harvest was better than was predictied after a major nuclear war, though was still lower than in previous years. By 1990, agriculture was finnaly close to the levels of pre-Doomsday, with new fertilizers and dropping radiation levels around the world contributing to this success, though rationing is still in place.

Th refugees that came to Assiniboia after Doomsday were treated well, and many would choose to become citizens of the new nation, while others tried to make their way to the west, toward the North American Union after the Provisional United States was founded in 1991.

Expansion
In 1987, the first expedition to the source of the Red River was made, and was able to reach the city of Fargo, which voted to become part of Assiniboia. Further expeditions to the south revealed that most of the areas around the former Great Plains had become self-sufficient city states, in a loose confederation called the " Provisional Government of the Dakota's."

Northern expeditions in 1989 revealed that the native reserves had joined with the towns of The Pas, Flin Flon and Gillam for protection from renegade aboriginal armed bands, but had not formed a nation. They held off joining with Assiniboia at that time, but the expedition gave arms and resources to the defenders of the region to hold off the bands. When they reported back, Prime Minister Raymond McVicar was reported to have said "...at least we know we are not alone, which is a good feeling, and a great moment for all of us." A second northern expedition in 1996 resulted in the towns of The Pas, Flin Flon and Gillam joining Assiniboia.

After Raymond McVicar retired from the Prime Minister's post in 1990, another farmer, Kenneth Gordon Bugg, from the Southwestern portion of the nation was elected. Before Doomsday, he had held several local government posts in the area, including Councillor to the Rural Municipality of Brenda. He continued the former PM's policies, although his efforts to improve the economy in other parts of the fledging nation, especially in the south western and northern parts of Assiniboia, were moderately successful. The major project to reestablish contact with the northern hydro-electric plants was also successful, and a secure source of electricity was secured.

After Ken Bugg left office in 1995, Terry McLean, a well known local artist, briefly took over the PM's post, until failing health forced him to resign in 1997. Elisha Harper, the first Aboriginal to hold the post of Prime Minister, was named interim PM and elected in 2000. Current PM Dave Burgess from Brandon, which was not hit on Doomsday, was elected in 2005. He made a major turn in policy by reaching out toward the east and west, coming into contact with the Provisional Government of Canada and the United States, as with a food and power source were secure. Efforts to deter the armed bands of Aboriginal residents, calling themselves "Riel's Army" are still ongoing, but major headway was reached when the RAMP captured the town of Norway House in 2003, which saved the towns of the Central region from anymore attacks.

A Eastern Expedition was sent in early 2005, and contact was made Thunder Bay was made later that year, but after scouts realized that the town was a Fascist dictatorship, left, and later made contact with Superior and the Canada Remainder Provinces in 2006, but an offer to join with Canada was rejected.

Government
The government is similar to the Canadian government, the Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms are virtually identical to Canada's, except for a key difference.

1. The election of a Prime Minister is completely independant of the election of representatives in Parliament. As such, the Prime Minister is directly elected by the people.

The first elections after Doomsday was held in 1985, were inteirm Prime Minister Raymond McVicar won unapposed. His major platform was to re-establish agriculture, defend against the various tribal gangs/bands attacking, and try to contact other survivor states. He is considered one of the most level-headed and calm of the leaders who came to power after Doomsday, and retired after one term in 1990. He returned to working his family farm outside the small town of Otterburne, Manitoba. His grandson Dustin McVicar is seen to be the favoured candidate in the next election in 2016.

Health
Though they are lower than in other parts of the world, cancer rates are still higher than pre-DD levels. A quarantine zone has been placed around the site of the former city of Winnipeg. In light of lowering levels or radiation, there is talk of resettling the outer limits of the city, but this has not yet been possible.



Military
There is a militia in place to deter armed gangs from the former province of Ontario. It consists of the local remnants of the Canadian Army and the RCMP, mostly based at the former Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shilo, near Brandon. There is a continuation of the RCMP called the Royal Assiniboian Mounted Police (RAMP)

Economy
Despite the radiation damage caused by the nuclear bombing of Winnipeg, the main economy of the region is still agriculture. Minor food based industries in the Brandon area are very important, and some light industry based in the area is starting to thrive again. There have been plans circulating to build an oil pipeline from neighboring Athabaska. These plans are still in the negotiation stage. The earliest date the construction can begin is 2015.

Energy
The Hydroelectric dams the former Manitoba Hydro operated became an important source of power to the fledging nation, as the structures were assumed to be in only moderate disrepair. The dams on the Winnipeg River, totaling six in former Manitoba (totaling 570 megawatts), were first taken over and secured, but due to the age of the dams (the first had been built in 1911), it was decided that the massive northern projects, especially the four Nelson River dams, totaling over 3000 MW, would need to be secured, which was done so by 1998, and two of them are fully operational as of today, while the other two are at roughly 40% capacity. Other power plants included two small hydro dams on the Laurie River, but were considered to expensive to maintain for little output, a larger facility on the North Saskatchewan River, and a steam plant in Brandon, which was only used after Doomsday for a few weeks before the source of coal needed to run the plant ran out, and has not been used since. Assiniboia Hydro was formed in 2003 to control the various facilities, but RAMP forces are stationed at the plants due to the high risk of rebel native attacks. Although several power lines went through the now radioactive ruins of Winnipeg, the other lines running on the west side of Lake Winnipeg were enough to bring the power south, although several attacks by Native rebels knocked down several in the 1990's. Plans for a new transmission line, running from the north through The Pas and Dauphin to reach Brandon are currently under consideration.

International Relations
The Assiniboians have healthy relations with most of the nations of North America. Both the North American Union and the post-DD Canadian government have forewarded offers to help bring the Assiniboians into their respective unions. However, the highly idependent nature of the Assiniboians has caused them to politely reject both offers. The NAU was not helped by its failure to control its Lakotan member-state, as the ongoing border dispute, and smoldering brushfire war has not endeared them to the Lakotans or their NAU leaders. The Canadians were stopped dead by the total impracticality of bringing the Assiniboians back into confederation. The firmly practical heads in Niverville have pointed out, time and again, that there is plenty of territory between former Manitoba and Canada to keep them busy for a while. The Athabaskans are the only nation that are really close to the Assiniboians. This is because they feel that they are a kindred nation.

Assiniboia, with its position in the center of the North American continent, continues to work to improve relations with other survivor nations, and its position in the center of the Trans Canada Highway, the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways, it has the ability to link the Pacific and the Atlantic in the future, as the difficulty in combating armed gangs in Ontario and other lawless parts of former Canada makes it prohibitive expensive for all but the most important and valuable of cargo to require an armed escort.