Ignace is a

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 ...

in the

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it large ...

Northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...

, Canada, located at Highway 17 (

Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

) and Secondary Highway 599, and on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

between

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

and

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

. It is on the shore of Agimak Lake, and as of 2016, the population of Ignace was 1,202. The town was named after Ignace Mentour by Sir

Sandford Fleming Sir Sandford Fleming (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a Scottish Canadian engineer and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to colonial Canada at the age of 18. He promoted worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, ...

in 1879. Ignace Mentour was the key Indigenous guide through this region during Fleming's 1872 railway survey, recorded in

George Monro Grant George Monro Grant (December 22, 1835 – May 10, 1902) was a Canadian church minister, writer, and political activist. He served as principal of Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario, for 25 years, from 1877 until 1902. Early life, education Gr ...

's journal of the survey, ''Ocean to Ocean''. Mentour had also served with Sir George Simpson in Simpson's final years as governor of

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...

. During Ignace's early days, there was a settlement of railway boxcars used by the English residents there called "Little England". Although Ignace was incorporated in 1908, it was something of a latecomer to some modern conveniences, such as rotary dial telephone, which did not arrive in the town until 1956. Forestry and tourism support Ignace's economy, today, and one attraction is the three-storey log

White Otter Castle White Otter Castle is an elaborate 3-storey log house built on the shore of White Otter Lake, about south of Ignace, Ontario, Canada, by James Alexander "Jimmy" McOuat. The "Castle" is a sturdy log house which stands 3 storeys tall (29 feet), wi ...

, located on

White Otter Lake White Otter Lake is a lake in Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. See also *List of lakes in Ontario *White Otter Castle White Otter Castle is an elaborate 3-storey log house built on the shore of White Otter Lake, about south of I ...

at Turtle River, and built by James Alexander McOuat between 1903 and 1914. Ignace is one of two Ontario communities being considered as a potential deep geological repository site for Canada's used nuclear fuel. Initial borehole drilling and core sample testing are taking place in a rock formation known as the Revell Batholith, located south of Highway 17, about 35 kilometres west of Ignace (between Ignace and

Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, commonly known as Wabigoon First Nation (Anishinaabemowin: ''Waabigoniiw Saaga'iganiiw Anishinaabeg''), is a Saulteaux First Nation band government who inhabit the Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It ...

). In the 1950s, Ignace's first newspaper, the ''Village Tattler'', started there to serve the town. It was published by the local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. In 1971,

Dennis Smyk Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

started the ''

Ignace Driftwood Ignace is a township in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located at Highway 17 (Trans Canada Highway) and Secondary Highway 599, and on the Canadian Pacific Railway between Thunder Bay and Kenora. It is on the shore of Ag ...

'', which was suspended two years later, but was revived in 1979 and ran until 2018. During ''Driftwoods suspension, the ''Ignace Courier'' was published for the town's local news.

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 ...

, Ignace 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. Historic populations:Statistics Canada: Canada 1996 Census * Population in 2016: 1,202 (unchanged from 2011) * Population in 2011: 1,202 (-16.0% from 2006) * Population in 2006: 1,431 (-16.3% from 2001) * Population in 2001: 1,709 (-4.1% from 1996) * Population in 1996: 1,782 (-7.9% from 1991) * Population in 1991: 1,935

Local media

Newspapers

* ''

'' – In 1971, Dennis Smyk started the ''Ignace Driftwood'', which was suspended two years later, but was revived in 1979 and ceased operations in 2018. During Driftwood's suspension, the ''Mattabi Memo'' and the ''Ignace Courier'' were published for the town's local news.

Radio

* CBES AM 690 (

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

) – rebroadcast transmitter of station based in Thunder Bay *

CKDR CKDR-FM is a radio station in Dryden, Ontario, Canada. The station broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 92.7 FM. CKDR also has rebroadcasters in Ear Falls, Hudson, Ignace, Red Lake and Sioux Lookout. History CKDR was launched in 1963 on ...

AM 1340 – rebroadcast transmitter of station based in Dryden

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities in Kenora District Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Township municipalities in Ontario 1879 establishments in Ontario Populated places established in 1879