Matheson Island is a community and an island located in the

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 ...

province of

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 ...

, at the narrows 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 ...

. A

designated place A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...

in Canadian census data, the community had a population of 136 in the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...

. Commercial fishing is the number one source of income for the community and area, the Matheson Island Marketing Co-Op works with approximately 110 local fishers.

Etymology

In the early days of the settlement of Manitoba, the island was known as Snake Island, as the locals had noted a high amount of

garter snakes Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the sub ...

present on the shale island. It appears that eventually the snakes were killed off by the residents of Matheson Island. The island and community were then called Matheson Island, after Daniel Matheson, the man who was the caretaker of the lighthouse from 1891 to 1918 on Black Bear Island, which is just north east of the island. The Matheson family was originally from Aultbreakachy, Sutherland, Scotland. Daniel Matheson's grandfather arrived in

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname ...

in 1813, before traveling the next 700 miles to the

Red River Settlement The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay C ...

by canoe.

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 ...

, Matheson Island had a population of 136 living in 52 of its 93 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 101. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Infrastructure

The community on the island is served by the

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

C.F. Ingemar Carlson II in the summer. Once the ice is thick enough, an ice road as an extension of Provincial Road 234, provides access for the community in winter. As island community, Matheson Island has long had a natural harbour, with small docks, or with locals pulling their boats ashore. In 1990 the Matheson Island Harbour Authority (MIHA) signed a lease for the harbour at Matheson Island as well as at Matheson Island Landing, with the latter being located close to

Pine Dock, Manitoba Pine Dock is a small fishing community by Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. It had a population that was largest in the 1970s. Since this time its population has decreased. There is a small public beach and community town hall that continues to o ...

. At Matheson Island, this was now a harbour without an effective harbour. In the decade following their formation in 1990, the MIHA helped build a main harbour with a

Breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

and modern floating docks, which improved the accessibility and usability of the harbour. The modernized new harbour now serves the local community, several hundred local fishermen, recreational boaters and yachters, as well as large fish transport vessels. Matheson Island School, which is part of the

Frontier School Division Frontier School Division is the largest geographical school division in Manitoba, Canada, covering most schools in northern Manitoba. With 41 schools operating across Manitoba, the Frontier School Division provides educational services to a larger ...

, serves to educate the community's children. There are a total of 18 students that attend from nursery to grade 9 and are instructed by a total of two teachers and three support staff.

References

{{commons category Designated places in Manitoba Northern communities in Manitoba