Carman was settled in 1870 when Winnipeg settlers used the Missouri Trail to locate around the Boyne River. Businesses began to open in 1878 and it was during this period of growth that the settlers became interested in founding and properly naming a village on their Boyne site. A vote was taken and Carman City was chosen, later shortened to Carman, after Episcopal Methodist Church bishop Rev. Albert Carman.
Located at the junction of Highways 3 and 13, just 40 minutes southwest of Winnipeg,Carman is situated in the heart of a rich prairie agricultural belt and just 100 kilometres north of the United States border. Incorporated as a town in 1905, the community served as an agricultural, manufacturing and commercial service centre to the surrounding area, a role it continues today. Carman has a population of 3,027 but serves a market area of more than 15,000.