Formerly, the diocese straddled the border of the civil provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, comprising over 900,000 square kilometres. The diocese was geographically isolated, consisting of mainly small, and mostly First Nations, communities. The largest of these, Kenora, Ontario, was also the diocese's See city. There were just over 11,000 Anglicans on forty-eight parish rolls. The diocese was established by the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land in 1902, and it was a major focus for missionary activity among the indigenous peoples there.