[3] Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from Russia began settling in Manitoba from 1874 through 1880 after signing a Privilegium with the Canadian government.

In 1956, population growth to 1698 residents prompted the village council to apply to the provincial government to change the status to town.

[5]: 238, 239 The first Mennonite Central Committee self-help centre (now Gift and Thrift Store) in Canada was founded in Altona in 1972.

Jake (J.J.) Siemens played an important role in their development, and the growth of the co-operative movement in southern Manitoba.

[9] Bunge Limited now operates the oil-seed crushing plant in Altona, after buying the assets from Canamera Foods.

In 2008, the Town of Altona opened an Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, displaying many different styles of artwork.

It was the first of three works in the Big Easel Project by local artist Cameron Cross, based on the painting Sunflowers.

The base (easel) stands at 76'6" and the canvas was made by laminating together 24 sheets of 3/4" plywood and splattering it with 17 gallons of paint to create the picture.

The Trans Canada Trail goes through Altona, heading south to Gretna and west to Rosengart through Buffalo Creek Nature Park.

In the late 1990s the town, in partnership with various businesses and volunteers, embarked on an ambitious plan to improve recreation facilities.

Since then, other recreation facilities have been added such as a triples tennis court, a large playground, and most recently in 2013 a $250,000 skate park, and a second full size baseball diamond set to open in 2014 – to be known as Access Field.

The town is served by the AM radio station CFAM; it is owned by Golden West Broadcasting, whose CEO Elmer Hildebrand is an Altona native.