Emo is a small rural

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

, located along the Rainy River near the southwestern corner of northern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, on the U.S. border directly north of the state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Emo had a population of 1,333 in the

Canada 2016 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 ...

. It is known for its

stock car races In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

, its picturesque, family-friendly waterfront park, the annual Rainy River Agricultural Fair (cattle industry is key in the area) and the Emo Walleye Classic fishing tournament.

History

Emo was officially created on July 1, 1899, and celebrated its centennial in 1999. Emo's first reeve was Alexander Luttrell, an Irishman who named the town after a namesake village in Ireland near where he was born. The council was composed of Charles Fisher, John Dungey, Benjamin Phillips, and Thomas Shortreed. The post office, Emo River, dates from 1887.

Climate

Emo has a four-season

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

with extreme temperature differences between summer and winter. The daily mean difference between January and July is as much as 34 °C.

Local government

Emo is located in the

Rainy River District Rainy River District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1885. It is the only division in Ontario that lies completely in the Central Time Zone, except for the township ...

. The current mayor is Harold McQuaker, while Harrold Boven, Lincoln Dunn, Lori Ann Shortreed, and Warren Toles are councillors. They were elected in 2018. Elections are held every four years, in October.

Amenities

Emo is about halfway between two bridges to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, one at Fort Frances (approximately a 30-minute drive) and the other at Rainy River (about 40 minutes by road). It is identified in many

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

resources as an excellent overnight stopping point because of the facilities (shelter, showers and bathrooms) available in the waterfront park. There are many volunteer groups and a strong sense of community in Emo. In Emo's Lion's Park, a picturesque riverfront area, a new play structure was funded through volunteer fundraising efforts, and a 2005-2006 fiscal year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundatio

The park is also home to the Emo Spray Park, a $500,000 community-driven project completed in July 2010. A safe way for kids to engage in water play, the spray park attracts thousands of visitors in the summertime. The spring brings the opening of the

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

fishing season, and the annual Emo Walleye Classic. The

Emo Speedway Emo Speedway is a 3/8, high banked, dirt oval racetrack located in Emo, Ontario in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located right inside the town on Colonization Road. Behind the racetrack is the Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society Fair ...

draws race participants and fans from the central United States, Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba. The track is a 600-metre, high-banked dirt oval track which operates every Saturday from May through Mid-September. Emo is also home to four different religious denominations, including Knox

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

, as well as Baptist, Catholic, and Christian Reformed churches. The Emo Food Bank and Thrift Shop, located in what was formerly the Anglican Church, helps hundreds of area residents in need every year. Initially located in private homes of local women, the town library was moved to the schoolhouse in 1940 and to its own building in the 50s.

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 ...

, Emo had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Emo Walleye Classic

The Emo Walleye Classic is a two-day

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...

fishing tournament held annually in Emo, during the final week of May each year.Emo Walleye Classic Homepage - www.emowalleye.com It takes place on the Rainy River, which marks the border between Minnesota and Ontario. Upwards of sixty

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

teams of two participate each year, each paying a participation fee ($500 in 2015). An organizing committee and many local

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s assist at the event, and many local

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

es and individuals sponsor the event. On each morning of the tournament, anglers head upstream and downstream from the Emo waterfront to their chosen fishing spots. The weigh-ins are held in the evenings at the Emo/LaVallee Community Centre where results are posted live. On the final day of the tournament, the top ten teams from day one are brought into the arena with their boats.

Classic history

The tournament began in 2002 with forty-four participating teams, and has grown since then, with thirty-eight teams competing in 2013. The first winners were Harvey Cochrane and Oliver Gibbons who won as a result of the leading team having three fish over the legal size. In 2008 Doug McBride of Devlin, Ontario and Steve Ballan of

Fort Frances, Ontario Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2016 census was 7,739. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Champ ...

became the first team to win the tournament twice.

Past winners

* 2020: ''Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19'' * 2019: Dan Pollard and Josh Pollard; Weight: 15.69 lbs * 2018: Les Morrison and Oliver Gibbons; Weight: 19.53 lbs * 2017: Les Morrison and Oliver Gibbons; Weight: 22.03 lbs * 2016: Ted Heyens and Kelvin Caul; Weight: 23.94 lbs * 2015: Bill Godin and Ralph Galusha; Weight: 13.70 lbs * 2014: Bill Godin and Ralph Galusha; Weight: 17.84 lbs * 2013: Les Morrison and Oliver Gibbons; Weight: 20.16 lbs * 2012: Paul Allan and Hason Rostek; Weight: 17.13 lbs * 2011: Rod Woodgate and Dylan Swire; Weight: 19.67 lbs * 2010: Bill Godin and Ralph Galusha; Weight: 11.32 lbs * 2009: Ted Heyens and Kelvin Caul; Weight: 24.98 lbs * 2008: Doug McBride and Steve Ballan; Weight: 24.89 lbs * 2007: Bill Godin and Ralph Galusha; Weight: 19.47 lbs * 2006: Todd Grennier and Eric Lessman; Weight: 16.12 lbs * 2005: Doug McBride and Steve Ballan; Weight: 25.82 lbs * 2004: Dale Hartlin and Dan Pollard; Weight: 20.28 lbs * 2003: Todd Baker and Greg Stahn; Weight: 19.22 lbs * 2002: Harvey Cochrane and Oliver Gibbons; Weight: 15.00 lbs

Records

; Biggest fish : 2005 Tournament - Day 2 - Doug McBride and Steve Ballan: 10.02 lbs ; Biggest catch : 2005 Tournament - Day 2 - Doug McBride and Steve Ballan: 15.06 lbs ; Highest tournament two-day total : 2005 Tournament - Doug McBride and Steve Ballan: 25.82 lbs

References

External links

* {{Rainy River District Municipalities in Rainy River District Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Township municipalities in Ontario