Portage la Prairie Pop: 12728
The name is derived from the French word portage, which means to carry a canoe overland between waterways. In this case the "portage" was between the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba, over la prairie.
The city became a major transportation centre due to its proximity to the river and later, the location of the main lines of the country's national railways passing through the community, all within a few hundred meters of each other.
The city has an aggressive tree planting program and is known for its mature urban forest. A collection of some of the largest cottonwood trees in Canada line the west end of the main street known as Saskatchewan Avenue, and, along with many other varieties, are present throughout the city.
Other attractions include the world's largest Coca-Cola can. It was constructed from an old water tower. It is the world strawberry capital and North American potato processing capital.
Gladstone
Gladstone Manitoba is the proud home of the famous "Happy Rock" roadside attraction. The 15' tall Happy Rock was designed by school children of the community and erected along the Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway in 1994. It has attracted a lot of attention from tourists and travelers visiting Gladstone.
Plumas Pop: 250
The agricultural area surrounding Plumas is made up of grain and livestock farms. The Big Grass Marsh and Lake Manitoba are East of Plumas attracting hunters from across Canada and the U.S.
Glenella Pop: 518
Glenella railway station receives Via Rail service.
McCreary. Pop: 535
McCreary is a village in Manitoba, Located just west in Riding Mountain National Park, Mt. Agassiz was the site of the 1979 Canada Winter Games, and offered endless winter sporting activities.
McCreary railway station receives Via Rail service. The station has also been designated a historic site.
Laurier - Flag station
Ochre River - flag station
Ochre River is a small community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The community has a post office, hotel, school, community center, and a municipality office. Originally it was founded by Sir Douglas Thompson in 1893 as a farm town. Ochre River railway station receives Via Rail service.
Dauphin. Pop: 7906
Dauphin (French for Dolphin) is a small city in Manitoba, Canada. The nearby lake was given the name "Dauphin" by the explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye in 1741 in honor of the heir to the French throne. Settlers began arriving in the area in 1883 and two early settlements, Gartmore and "Old Dauphin" were established. With the coming of the railway in 1896 - the rail line ran roughly halfway between the two villages - settlement shifted to the present site. The coming of the railroad also coincided with the beginning of Ukrainian settlement in the Dauphin area. Before that time, most arrivals had been of British extraction.
Gilbert Plains
Gilbert Plains is a town in Manitoba, Canada. Gilbert Plains railway station receives Via Rail service. The townsite was named for Gilbert Ross, a Métis man who was living in the region when the first European settler, Glenlyon Campbell, arrived. It is primarily a service centre for the surrounding farms.
Grandview Pop: 800
Grandview is a town in Manitoba, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Grandview. It is located forty-five kilometers west of the city of Dauphin.
The town was named for the beautiful views of both the Duck Mountains to the north and the Riding Mountains to the south. The main access to the town is Provincial Highway 5. Grandview railway station is served by Via Rail.
The local economy is agriculturally based; however, at one time a thriving economy was also based on a local wood mill.
Roblin, MB
Roblin is a town in Manitoba, Canada. Roblin railway station is served by Via Rail.
The Roblin area, with its abundance of small streams, rivers and lakes, is recognized as one of the world’s best areas for fly-fishing. Catches of brown and rainbow trout measuring up to 30 inches are not uncommon, along with walleye, yellow perch, trout, and northern pike. These are also great lakes for boating, canoeing and swimming -- and even scuba diving at Blue Lake.
Five km (3 miles) north on PR592 and 1km (3/4 mile) west of Inglis can be found the only church of its kind in North America, together with a traditional Romanian home. The church was built in 1908 and is a replica of Romanian Orthodox churches in Bukovyna, with a simple rectangular shape with a rounded end, interior sculptured rafters, processional crosses and icons. The house, built in 1906, is typically Romanian in construction, with the characteristic deep-sloping roof on all four sides with rounded, shingled corners.
Togo
Togo is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. In 1906 the Russo-Japanese war was raging and two names stood out, Admiral Togo of the Japanese fleet and General Makaroff of Russia. In 1906 Pelly Siding was incorporated as a village and renamed Togo after the Japanese admiral, and the next town to the east on the CNR line (5 miels) was named Makaroff (Manitoba) in honour of the Russian general.
Kamsack
Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada is a town, located in the Assiniboine River Valley where the Whitesand River joins the Assiniboine River. The fertile land, scenic location and great weather make Kamsack "The Garden of Saskatchewan".
Kamsack was established when Chief Gabriel Cote’s Saulteaux band signed Treaty 4 on September 15, 1874, and a reserve was surveyed in 1877. In 1904, land was surrendered from the Cote First Nation for the Canadian Northern Railway station and the town site of Kamsack. Between 1905 and 1907 additional land was surrendered, the northern sections of which were returned to reserve status. In 1913 a further two-mile strip of land on the southern boundary was surrendered, but returned in 1915 when it was identified the Cote people had lost too much of their best agricultural land. In 1963, further acres surrendered in 1905 were also reconstituted as reserve land. The interest in and surrender of land from the reserve’s southern boundary—nearest the Kamsack town site—resulted in part from speculation of its value for settlement.
The lands around what is now Kamsack were originally settled in the 1880s by a handful of agricultural settlers. The farming area around Kamsack was well settled by 1905. These farms consisted of a variety of ethnic groups which are still present to this day: Doukhobors, Ukrainians, Europeans, Americans and Eastern Canadians were all among the early settlers to the area.
In 1903 the CNR railway and Kamsack railway station were built which literally forced the birth of Kamsack. The town is still today served by Via Rail passenger service.
The name Kamsack came from an early post office of the same name, which was located in one of the early settlers' homes. The name itself is probably taken from the same named city of Kamsack in Russia. The name "Kamsack" came from a native word meaning "something vast and large".
Veregin
Veregin is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The Veregin railway station is served by Via Rail.
The village of Veregin owns its existence to the Doukhobors, in the middle of whose 1899 block settlement, known as the South Doukobor Colony its future site happened to be, and the Canadian Northern Railway, whose new line (between Kamsack and Canora) crossed the reserve in 1904.
A new village started to be growing near the Veregin train station. Brickworks, grain elevators, a floor mill were built there.
Mikado
Mikado is a hamlet in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The hamlet had a population of 56 in the Canada 2006 Census. Mikado railway station is a flag stop services by Via Rail.
Canora
Canora is nestled into the junction of highways No. 5 and 9 in east-central Saskatchewan, 50 kilometres north of the city of Yorkton. Centrally located on the corners of four adjacent rural municipalities, the community is home to approximately 2,400 residents and draws upon a substantial trading area. Canora's unusual name comes from the first two letters of the words "Canadian Northern Railway".
The Canora railway station is served by Via Rail on its route from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba.
Canora is known as the "Heart of Good Spirit Country" as a result of its proximity to several lakes and parks, including Crystal Lake, Good Spirit Lake and Duck Mountain Provincial Park. The area is host to Saskatchewan’s greatest number of golf courses per capita and boasts one of the highest traffic counts in the province.
Sturgis
Sturgis is a town in east central Saskatchewan, Canada. The Sturgis railway station receives Via Rail service.
In the early days, buffalo roamed the high land near here and wallowed in the Assiniboine River, easy targets for the arrows and guns of the Indians. These large animals left their bones and skulls as evidence along the river. In 1895, a rancher named Jack Shewfelt moved his operation to the elbow of the river in what was then the Assiniboine Territory. He seems to have been the first white settler. The discover of arrowheads and other evidence proves without a doubt, of course, that the present site of Sturgis had long been a place of temporary camping for nomadic Indian tribes. In 1901 Owen (Pat) Carragher, who had been ranching at Devil's Lake, bought Shewfelt's buildings (apparently neither man owned the land) and became the earliest settler.
In 1902 townships 33 and 34 were surveyed and as a result of this there was an influx of homesteaders and land purchasers. The years 1904, 1905 and 1906 saw many homesteaders settling in this area and to the east of here. Settlers came from the United States, Ontario, the Maritimes, England, Sweden, Poland and the Ukraine. Steel followed the settlers and by 1910 the railway line from Swan River west was surveyed and steel laid as far as Pelly. In 1911, steel reached Sturgis and continued to Preeceville. In 1914, steel came from Canora to Sturgis.
Farming has always been the main industry of the district. Storage capacity of the three grain elevators in the town was about 450,000 bushels. The town of Sturgis was the largest cattle shipping centre in the eastern area of the province. Several carloads of cattle were sent out each week. A number of farmers also shipped large quantities of milk and cream.
Endeavour
Endeavour is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The Endeavour railway station receives Via Rail service.
Johnny Cash makes reference to Endeavour in his song 'The Girl in Saskatoon': "I left a little town a little south of Hudson Bay.
Reserve - flag stop
Hudson Bay, SK Pop: 1700
The Town of Hudson Bay is nestled in the Red Deer Valley, between the Porcupine and Pasquia Hills in North East Saskatchewan. The location offers magnificent scenery, unspoiled wilderness and abundant wild life. Hudson Bay is widely known for its forestry, agriculture, wildlife and snowmobiling trails.
In 1757, a fur trading post was established in the Hudson Bay District, beside the Red Deer River. Ruins from the post have been found near the village of Erwood. In 1790, the North West Trading Co. set up a trading post at the mouth of the Etomami River. Speculators think that a South Company's post was set up on the opposite mouth of the River, where there are remains of a 2nd post unaccounted for.
Over the years a settlement grew and in July 1907, an application was made to erect ETOMAMI as a village. (Etomami was a native word that meant a place where 3 rivers join.) But in order to establish a hamlet, it was necessary to have fifteen occupied dwelling houses. By August, the list was completed and the village was formed. Mr. B.F. Noble was the first "overseer" of the village. The post office was also established at that time. It was located on Churchill Street approximately where the Bargain Store is now. Then in 1909 the Canadian Northern Railway Company chose the name, HUDSON BAY JUNCTION, so the name was changed.
The Pas, MB. Pop: 589
The Pas is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located northwest of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, near the border of Saskatchewan. It is sometimes still called Paskoyac by locals as the first trading post was called Fort Paskoyac. The Pasquia River which begins in the Pasquia Hills in east central Saskatchewan runs into the North Saskatchewan River at this point. The French in the 1795 knew the river as Basquiau.
Known as "The Gateway to the North", The Pas is a multi-industry northern Manitoba town serving a district population of over 15,000 (including the Opaskwayak Cree Nation). The main components of the region's economy are agriculture, forestry, commercial fishing, tourism, transportation, and services (especially health and education).
Tremaudan
The Tremaudan Railway Station is a flag stop in Tremaudan, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Orok
The Orok Railway Station is a flag stop in Orok, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Atikameg Lake
The Atikameg Lake Railway Station is a flag stop in Atikameg Lake, Manitoba, Canada located across Highway 287 from Pioneer Bay, Clearwater Lake. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Finger - flag stop
Budd - flag stop
Halcrow
The Halcrow Railway Station is a flag stop in Halcrow, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Cormorant - Pop: 400
Cormorant is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Manitoba on the east shore of Cormorant Lake about 80 kilometres from The Pas, Manitoba. The community is in the west central region of the province. It has been an Aboriginal and First Nations campsite dating back to the 1900s.
Fishing, trapping and logging are the primary industries.
Dering
The Dering Railway Station is a flag stop in Dering, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Rawebb
The Rawebb Railway Station is a flag stop in Rawebb, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Dyce - flag stop
The Dyce Railway Station is a flag stop in Dyce, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Paterson - flag stop
Wekusko
The Wekusko Railway Station is a flag stop in Wekusko, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
In the north, where the Manitoba Lowlands and Precambrian Shield meet, there is a river that runs wild. The Grass River plunges almost 12 metres through a series of falls and rapids known as Wekusko Falls. An area full of natural wonder and cultural heritage, the Wekusko Falls campground flanks the river. In the 1700s, this area was part of the Upper Track fur trade route, while the lure of gold brought people back to the area in the 1900s. Its presence is marked on the maps of great explorers like Samuel Hearne, its role critical to the history of the fur trade. Today, the Wekusko Falls Provincial Park is visited by those seeking a true wilderness adventure or looking to get away from it all.
Turnbull - flag station
Ponton
Wilderness Bear Guides is located in Ponton, Manitoba just a 1 hour drive from Thompson surrounded by secluded bush and lakes. Manitoba's black bears are some of the largest in North America.
The Ponton Railway Station is a flag stop in Ponton, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Button
The Button Railway Station is a flag stop in Button, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Dunlop
The Dunlop Railway Station is a flag stop in Dunlop, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Pipun
The Pipun Railway Station is a flag stop in Pipun, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Wabowden - Pop: 498
Wabowden is a community in northern Manitoba. It is situated on Provincial Trunk Highway #6, which is the main route between Thompson and the provincial capital, Winnipeg.
The community originated in the early 20th century as a service point on the Hudson Bay Railway. Although the railway's presence in Wabowden has diminished over time, it continues to serve the community by transporting freight and passengers to the Wabowden railway station. Wabowden's name is derived from that of a one-time railway executive, W.A. Bowden.
Lyddal
The Lyddal Railway Station is a flag stop in Lyddal, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Odhill
The Odhill Railway Station is a flag stop in Odhill, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Earchman - flag stop
La Perouse - flag stop
Hockin - flag stop
Thicket Portage
Thicket Portage is a community in northern Manitoba located on the Hudson Bay Railway. The community receives passenger rail service at the Thicket Portage railway station. The community has no all-weather road access. The community is serviced by year round train access, local airport, and winter ice roads. In the summer,it is accessible by boat/vehicle.
Leven - flag stop
Thompson, MB Pop: 13,256
Thompson is a city in northern Manitoba. As the "Hub of the North" it serves as the regional trade and service centre of northern Manitoba.
The Thompson area was first inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indian hunters 6000 B.C. Europeans conducted a federal geological survey in Thompson in 1896.
Its most prominent local industry is the mining, milling, smelting and refining of nickel, with additional nickel concentrates coming from Voisey's Bay, Labrador.
Due to Thompson's subarctic climate, the city has earned a reputation for its cold weather testing conditions. Automobile manufacturers such as Chrysler, Ford, and Hummer have tested their vehicles in the winter months in Thompson. In April 2009, the National Research Council of Canada announced that they will be partnering with the newly created Environmental Test Research and Education Center (CanETREC) to create a year round research facility which will specialize in testing aerospace designs.
Located approximately 42 kilometres (26 mi) south of Paint Lake is Pisew Falls Provincial Park. These are Manitoba’s second largest water falls. There is a 0.5-kilometre (0.31 mi) trail that leads to a viewing platform, perfect for taking pictures of the 13-metre (43 ft) high, year round falls. There is also a suspension bridge that spans the lower falls. This is the starting point of a seven-mile (11 km) hike that leads to the highest waterfalls in Manitoba- Kwasitchewan Falls. This trail is a difficult back-country trail, recommended for experienced hikers only.
Located 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of Thompson on Highway 6 is Paint Lake Provincial Park. The park spans over 56,000 acres (23,000 ha) of Precambrian boreal forest and the lake itself is 5 miles (8.0 km) wide and 25 miles (40 km) long.
Sipiwesk - flag stop
Pikwitonei - flag stop
Pikwitonei, Manitoba is a community in Manitoba. The community is served by VIA Rail at the Pikwitonei railway station.
Bridgar - flag stop
Wilde - flag stop
Arnot - flag stop
Mile 238.3 - flag stop
Boyd - flag stop
Pit Siding - flag stop
Munk - flag stop
Mile 278.6 - flag stop
Llford - flag stop
Ilford, Manitoba is an Indian settlement in northern Manitoba, Canada. The Mooseocoot IR is located within the community boundary and is populated by the War Lake First Nation.
Nonsuch - flag stop
Wivenhoe - flag stop
Luke flag - flag stop
Gillam (Nelson River) Pop: 1200
Gillam, Manitoba, Canada, is a community between Thompson and Churchill on the Hudson Bay Railway line. Gillam is a significant community because of the nearby Nelson River Bipole converter station on the Nelson River. Gillam receives limited VIA rail passenger service at the Gillam railway station.
The large Gillam Local Government District was established by the Manitoba government in the mid-1960s to facilitate development of hydroelectricity on the lower Nelson River.
Gillam is also the home of Fox Lake Cree Nation, an Indian Band. A majority of the members of Fox Lake Cree Nation live in the Town of Gillam or on Reserve Land in the nearby community of Bird.
Kettle Rapids - flag stop
Bird - flag stop
Amery - flag stop
Charlebois - flag stop
Weir River - flag stop
Lawledge - flag stop
Thibaudeau - flag stop
Silcox - flag stop
Herchmer - flag stop
The Herchmer Railway Station is a stop in Herchmer, Manitoba, Canada. The stop is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Kellet - flag stop
O’Day Back - flag stop
M’Clintock - flag stop
Belcher - flag stop
Cromarty - flag stop
Chesnaye - flag stop
Lamprey - flag stop
Bylot - flag stop
Digges - flag stop
Tidal - flag stop
Churchill, MB
Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.
A variety of nomadic Arctic people lived and hunted in this region. The Thule people arrived around A.D. 1000 from farther west, and later evolved into the present-day Inuit culture. The Dene people arrived around 500 from farther north. Since before the time of European contact, the region around Churchill has been predominantly inhabited by the Chipewyan and Cree natives.
Europeans first arrived in the area in 1619 when a Danish expedition led by Jens Munk wintered where Churchill would later stand. Only 3 of 64 expedition members survived the winter and journeyed back to Denmark.
After an abortive attempt in 1688-89, in 1717 the Hudson's Bay Company built the first permanent settlement, Churchill River Post, a log fort a few miles upstream from the mouth of the Churchill River. The trading post and river were named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (an ancestor of Winston Churchill), who was governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in the late seventeenth century. The fort was built mostly to capitalize on the North American fur trade, out of the reach of York Factory. It dealt mainly with the Chipewyan natives living north of the boreal forest. Much of the fur came from as far away as Lake Athabasca and the Rocky Mountains.
As part of the Anglo-French dispute for North America, in 1731-1741 the original fort was replaced with Prince of Wales Fort, a large stone fort on the western peninsula at the mouth of the river. In 1782 the fort was captured by the French; since the English were greatly outnumbered, they surrendered without firing a shot. The Europeans and all the trade goods were taken to France and an unsuccessful attempt was made to demolish the fort. The worst effect was on the local natives who had become dependent on trade goods from the fort and many starved.
Between the years of decline in the fur trade and surfacing of western agricultural success, Churchill phased into and then back out of obsolescence. After decades of frustration over the monopoly and domination of the Canadian Pacific Railway, western Canadian governments banded together and argued for the creation of a major new northern shipping harbour on Hudson Bay, linked by rail from Winnipeg. However, construction and use of the railroad was extremely slow and the rail line itself did not come to Churchill until 1929.
Churchill is situated at the estuary of the Churchill River at Hudson Bay. The small community stands at an ecotone, on the Hudson Plains, at the juncture of three ecoregions: the boreal forest to the south, the Arctic tundra to the northwest, and the Hudson Bay to the north. Wapusk National Park is located to the south of the town.
The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) can be seen in late August and from December to late April in the night skies over Churchill.
In recent years, the town has developed a sizable tourism industry focused on the migration habits of the polar bear. Although there are more reported bears than people in Churchill, this claim has been disputed and challenged by the large presence of other animals as well.
Tourists can safely view polar bears from specially modified buses known as tundra buggies. Use of the buggies helps sustain local tourism, but can also cause damage to the local ecosystem when driven outside the established trails. October and early November are the most feasible times to see polar bears, thousands of which wait on the vast peninsula until the water freezes on Hudson Bay so that they can return to hunt their primary food source, ringed seals.
There are also opportunities to see polar bears in the non-winter months, with tours via boat visiting the coastal areas where polar bears can be found both on land and swimming in the sea.
Local authorities maintain a so-called "polar bear jail" where bears (mostly adolescents) who persistently loiter in or close to town, are held after being tranquilized pending release back into the wild when the bay freezes over. Polar bears were once thought to be solitary animals that would avoid contact with other bears except for mating. In the Churchill region, however, many alliances between bears are made in the fall. These friendships last only until the ice forms, then it is every bear for himself to hunt ringed seals.
Thousands of beluga whales, which move into the warmer waters of the Churchill River estuary during July and August to calf, are a major summer attraction.
Churchill is also a destination for bird watchers from late May until August. Each year, 10,000-12,000 eco-tourists visit, about 400-500 of whom are birders. Birders have recorded more than 270 species within a 25 mi (40 km) radius of Churchill, including Snowy Owl, Tundra Swan, American Golden Plover and Gyrfalcon. Plus, more than 100 birds, including Parasitic Jaeger, Smith's Longspur, Stilt Sandpiper, and Harris's Sparrow, nest there.
As of the 2006 Canada Census, just under half (44.10%) of the population was non-native and the rest (56.41%) were Aboriginal, mostly Chipewyan and Swampy Cree (33.85%), with some Métis (16.41%) and a small number of Inuit (5.64%). Hunting, trapping and fishing is still an important activity to most of these men; although there are some summer trails, snowmobiles are their main way of transport. The main language is English and several residents also speak Cree language.
The town is the northern terminus of the Hudson Bay Railway owned by railroad holding company, OmniTRAX. It is a useful link in the export of Canadian grain to European markets, with rail-sea connections made at Churchill. The Port of Churchill is also owned by OmniTRAX. It is Canada's principal seaport on the Arctic Ocean. The Winnipeg – Churchill train, a passenger train operated by Via Rail provides service between the Churchill railway station and Union Station in Winnipeg 2 times per week, a 1,700 km (1,100 mi) journey that takes about 40 hours.
There are no roads from Churchill leading to the rest of Canada. Churchill is serviced by rail and regular airline flights.
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