Natives referred to the north end of the Lake of the Woods as Wauzhushk Onigum, which translated means "portage to the country of the muskrat". The early town of Rat Portage was little more than a meandering row of shanties along the shoreline. But this rustic little town was to become the main object of interest in the Ontario-Manitoba boundary dispute which lasted from 1870 to 1884. Each province claimed the town as part of their territory. Both provinces had jails in the town, and both issued titles to mining claims and timber licenses. In 1884, the Privy Council of England, to which the dispute had been taken, decided in favour of Ontario. It became official in 1889. In 1905 the community changed its name to Kenora. The new name was formed by combining the first two letters of KEewatin, a sister town; NOrman, an adjacent village; and RAt Portage. Recently, the city has expressed interest in separating from Ontario and rejoining Manitoba. Some reasons are because of the high cost of doing business in the forest industry and high hydro rates in Ontario.