Melita () is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
located in the
south-western corner of the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
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 ...
. It is surrounded by the
Municipality of Two Borders
The Municipality of Two Borders is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located in the extreme south-west corner of the province in the Westman Region.
The rural municipality's name is a reference to its lo ...
and occupies a bend of the
Souris River
The Souris River (; french: rivière Souris) or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S., a calque of its French name) is a river in central North America. It is about in length and drains about . It rises in the Yellow Grass Mars ...
.
Graham Creek runs along the west side of town and into the Souris River. The population at the 2016 census was 1,042. It sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 83, approximately 320 km southwest of
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 ...
. Melita is known as the "Grasslands Bird Capital of Manitoba" and is located in Manitoba's
banana belt.
History
Evidence of First Nations habitation in the area includes the Linear Mounds Archaeological Site and the Brockinton Archaeological Site, which have provided artifacts dating back to 800 AD. The site has been designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
.
Charles West was the first recorded European settler, in 1879. The early inhabitants chose the name "Melita" for the town after hearing a Bible reading
Acts 28:1 about
St. Paul's shipwreck on the island of
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
(Melita is an older name for the island).
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 ...
, Melita had a population of 1,041 living in 465 of its 548 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,042. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Notable people
*
James Breakey, politician
*
John Cobb (Manitoba politician), politician
*
Jim Downey (politician)
James Erwin Downey (born August 10, 1942) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1977 to 1999, and served as a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Sterling L ...
, politician
*
Betty Fox
Betty Lou Fox (née Wark; November 15, 1937 – June 17, 2011) was a Canadian cancer research activist, the mother of Terry Fox and founder of the Terry Fox Foundation. She was the most prominent figure in Terry Fox's legacy.
Biography
Fox w ...
, cancer research activist and mother of
Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...
, was raised in Melita.
*
Wayne Hall, professional hockey player
*
Kory Karlander, professional hockey player
*
J. Arthur Ross
James Arthur Ross (8 December 1893 – 1 April 1958) was a Manitoba politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada for thirteen years, and was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in 1953.
R ...
, politician
See also
*
Melita Airport
*
Westhope–Coulter Border Crossing
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Manitoba