The Rural Municipality of Gimli is a
rural municipality
A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries.
These include:
* Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...
located in the
Interlake Region
The Interlake Region is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba that lies roughly between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The region comprises 14 rural municipalities, one city (th ...
of south-central
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, Canada, on the western shore of
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Manitoba, Canada. I ...
. It is about north of the provincial capital
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. The rural municipality's population in the
2016 Canadian Census
The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...
was 6,181, making it the 12th largest rural municipality by population. The RM of Gimli has an area of , making it the sixth smallest rural municipality by area.
The
unincorporated community of Gimli and the surrounding district were once an
Icelandic ethnic
block settlement
A block settlement (or bloc settlement) is a particular type of land distribution which allows settlers with the same ethnicity to form small colonies. This settlement type was used throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th c ...
, and the area, known as ''
New Iceland
New Iceland ( is, Nýja Ísland ) is the name of a region on Lake Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba which was named for settlers from Iceland. It was settled in 1875.
Background
In 1875, over 200 Icelanders immigrated to Manitoba es ...
'', is home to the largest concentration of people of
Icelandic ancestry outside Iceland. It also has significant
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
communities, at 12% and 6% respectively.
The Town of
Winnipeg Beach
Winnipeg Beach is a town in the Interlake Region, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The town was founded in 1900 by Sir William Whyte and is located at the junction of Highway 9 and Highway 229 on the southwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg, ab ...
lies adjacent to its southeast corner, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, between it and the
Rural Municipality of St. Andrews
St. Andrews is a rural municipality (RM) in Manitoba, Canada. It lies west of the Red River; its southern border is approximately north of Winnipeg.
The communities of Clandeboye, Petersfield, and Lockport (the part west of the Red River) ...
to the south.
History
The Rural Municipality of Gimli was first settled by a large group of Icelandic settlers who arrived in
New Iceland
New Iceland ( is, Nýja Ísland ) is the name of a region on Lake Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba which was named for settlers from Iceland. It was settled in 1875.
Background
In 1875, over 200 Icelanders immigrated to Manitoba es ...
on
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Manitoba, Canada. I ...
in the 1870s.
Other settlements established beyond the community of Gimli with further fisheries based settlements at Arnes, Hnausa, Beyond the borders of Manitoba as it was then, this settlement fell within the
District of Keewatin
The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. It was created in 1876 by the ''Keewatin Act'', and originally it covered a large area west of Hudson Bay. In 1905, it became a ...
, until 1881 when Manitoba was enlarged. In 1897, the Gimli area was opened up to homesteaders and saw a surge of settlers from
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Originally organized as a self-administering "Icelandic reserve" directly responsible to
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, the settlers of New Iceland developed a unique constitution of by-laws for local government which remained in effect until 1887. The initial status of New Iceland as a "reserve" remained in effect until 1899.
Fishing was always a primary source of income for those in the riding since the arrival of the original settlers of New Iceland. Some of the production of the fish occurred outside of the town of Gimli, such as the now abandoned fish processing plant in Arnes, Manitoba, that was built in 1951.
In the
Gimli Glider
Air Canada Flight 143, commonly known as the Gimli Glider, was a Canadian scheduled domestic passenger flight between Montreal and Edmonton that ran out of fuel on Saturday, July 23, 1983, at an altitude of , midway through the fligh ...
incident on 23 July 1983, an
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
en route from
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
to
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
ran out of fuel and made an unpowered landing on a decommissioned runway (converted to a drag strip) at
Gimli Industrial Park Airport
Gimli Industrial Park Airport is a civilian airport and former military field located west of Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.
It now operates as a civilian airport, with one of the original parallel runways decommissioned and now a significant porti ...
, a former
RCAF
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...
base near Gimli with no control tower and no fire trucks available. A reenactment of the incident aired on
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
's ''
Mayday
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications.
It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...
'' series and on
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
's ''
Urban Legends
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
'' series.
The
Town of Gimli amalgamated with the Rural Municipality of Gimli on January 1, 2003.
[
]
Communities
* Arnes
* Camp Morton
Camp Morton was a military training ground and a Union prisoner-of-war camp in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton. Prior to the war, the site served as the fairgrounds for the In ...
* Gimli
* Husavik
* Sandy Hook
* Silver Harbour
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Gimli had a population of 6,569 living in 3,141 of its 4,793 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 6,181. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
In 2016, the average age of RM of Gimli residents was 51.4 years old, this was well over the provincial average of 39.4 The percentage of the population 65 years or older was 33.5% of the population, this was nearly double the provincial average of 15.6% of the population in the age bracket.[
RM of Gimli residents claim Icelandic heritage as the fourth largest ethnic background with 20.7% of the entire rural municipality claiming some Icelandic background or 1,250 people,][ behind English, Scottish, and Ukrainians in the top three.
]
Economy
Fishing has historically been the main economic driver in the Rural Municipality of Gimli. There are over 100 commercial fishers in the RM of Gimli, catching mainly pickerel in the south basin and white fish in the north basin.[http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sch/Forum/foru111_e.pdf (broken link)] During the summer months, tourism is a major industry, as thousands of summer cottagers fill the Rural Municipality of Gimli, especially on weekends. Hotels, restaurants and stores cater to the summer visitors. Agriculture has also been a driver of the economy in the rural municipality.
Arts and culture
With a large and historic Icelandic culture along the shore of Lake Winnipeg from Husavik north to Hnausa, there are many celebrations and recognition of this heritage throughout the year and the communities in the RM of Gimli. Most of these are celebrated in the town of Gimli itself, though others can be found in the other settlements throughout the RM of Gimli. Aside from the Icelandic heritage, there is also a visible Ukrainian cultural history in the rural municipality with a few churches and cemeteries across the landscape.
Notable people
* Vilhjálmur Stefánsson, ethnologist and Arctic explorer born in Arnes, Manitoba.
See also
* Gimli Industrial Park Airport
Gimli Industrial Park Airport is a civilian airport and former military field located west of Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.
It now operates as a civilian airport, with one of the original parallel runways decommissioned and now a significant porti ...
References
External links
*
RM of Gimli Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee
Map of Gimli R.M.
at Statcan
{{Authority control
Gimli
Places in Canada settled by Icelanders