The Pas ( , ) is a town in

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 ...

, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: , "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan ...

and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital,

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, and from the border of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. It is sometimes still called ''Paskoyac'' by locals after the first trading post, called Fort Paskoya, constructed in the 1740s by French and Canadian traders. The Pasquia River begins in the Pasquia Hills in east central Saskatchewan. The French in 1795 knew the river as Basquiau. Known as "The Gateway to the North", The Pas is a multi-industry northern Manitoba town serving the surrounding region. The main components of the region's economy are agriculture, forestry, commercial fishing, tourism, transportation, and services (especially health and education). The main employer is a paper mill operated by Canadian Kraft Paper Industries Ltd. The Pas contains one of the two main campuses of the University College of the North. The Pas is bordered by the

Rural Municipality of Kelsey Kelsey is a Manitoban rural municipality embedded within the province's Northern Region. It consists of several disjoint parts. The largest part is Carrot Valley, located around and southwest of The Pas along the Carrot River, but the commun ...

, as well as part of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

History

The area's original inhabitants are the

Swampy Cree The Swampy Cree people, also known by their Exonym and endonym, autonyms ''Néhinaw'', ''Maskiki Wi Iniwak'', ''Mushkekowuk,'' ''Maškékowak, Maskegon'' or ''Maskekon'' (and therefore also ''Muskegon'' and ''Muskegoes'') or by exonyms includin ...

. The first European recorded to encounter the Cree was Henry Kelsey, an employee of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

. He travelled through the area between 1690 and 1692 on his way to the

Canadian prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

. During the years of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

, La Vérendrye, the first western military commander, directed the construction of Fort Paskoya near here. It was named after the people of the Pasquia River. For years the settlement was called Pascoyac, sometimes shortened to Le Pas. In 1904, The Pas Indian Band set up a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

on Mission Island in the Saskatchewan River. Soon after, the band was forced to surrender their reserve lands south of the river, including the areas around the site of the Hudson's Bay Company trading post and the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Mission, to make way for the Hudson Bay Railway and development of the Town of The Pas. By 1908, the band reopened their sawmill north of the river, and in 1912, the Town of The Pas was incorporated and The Pas Indian Band changed its name to Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Between 1906 and 1910, Herman Finger set up the Finger Lumber Company in the area, and created a village called Fingerville for the company's workers. When the Town of The Pas was created in 1912, Fingerville was absorbed into The Pas, and Herman Finger became The Pas's first mayor. Also in 1912, the community was transferred from Keewatin (a district of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

) to Manitoba as part of the ''Manitoba Boundaries Extension Act''. The area today is composed of three distinct communities: the Town of The Pas, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey. The history of the town and the region may be seen at the Sam Waller Museum, in the old courthouse in downtown The Pas.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, The Pas had a population of 5,639 living in 2,150 of its 2,365 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 5,369. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Most of the residents are Canadian citizens (99.3%). The median age in The Pas is 34.1 years old. Age groups are: 9 and younger (16.2%), 10 to 19 (14.7%), 20s (13.6%), 30s (13.6%), 40s (13.1%), 50 to 64 (18.5%), and more than 65 (10.2%). The unemployment rate in The Pas (in 2011) was 7.3%. Educational attainment (in 2011): No certificate 30.2%; High school certificate 22.4%; College 21.6%; Apprenticeship 10.6%; University certificate 10.6%; University certificate (below bachelor) 4.5%. The marital status of those aged over 15 is:

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

or living with common-law partner (52.9%); never been married (32.3%); divorced or separated (8.8%); widowed (5.7%). There are 2,324 private dwellings in The Pas, most of them being occupied (94.1%). The average number of people per household is 2.5.

Ethnicity

According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the composition of its population was Aboriginals (46.2%):

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

(26.4%) and Metis (19.8%); and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

(51.3%). The

visible minority In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada ...

population was 2.1%

Religion

The religious makeup of The Pas is

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

(67.2%), non-religious (30.2%), and the remaining 2.6% fall into another religion.

Language

Among residents of The Pas, 93.6% speak only English, while 6.2% report knowledge of both English and French. Among non-official languages,

Indigenous languages An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by its indigenous peoples. Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is both an indigeno ...

are the most commonly spoken, representing 5.6% of the population.

Culture

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

's '' Lost in the Barrens'', published in 1956, is the first of two children/young adults novels that are set in The Pas. The story begins at a remote trapping lodge, and then moves into the Canadian " barren lands" further north. The Pas is the main trading centre to which the book's protagonists travel to stock up on provisions and supplies to take back to their homes in the bush. The book's sequel, '' Curse of the Viking Grave'', makes mention of The Pas. The Pas is the site of the Northern Manitoba Trappers' Festival, which is Manitoba's oldest festival and one of Canada's oldest winter festivals. It has been held every year since 1948 and features winter activities including ice fishing, muskrat skinning, and an annual sled dog race, which is part of the International Federation of Sleddog Sports. A 1991

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

movie, ''Conspiracy of Silence'', is based on the 1971 murder of Helen Betty Osborne in The Pas.

Climate

The Pas experiences a

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 cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') with long cold winters and short warm summers. The seasonal temperature range is between , resulting in an amplitude of . The highest temperature ever recorded in The Pas was on 19 July 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 18 February 1966.

Sports

The OCN Blizzard, hockey team, competes in the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

. The Pas is also home to the OCN Storm of the Keystone Junior Hockey League, the Huskies minor hockey league, and the MBCI Spartans who compete in Zone 11 of the MHSAA. The Intermediate 'A' version of The Pas Huskies won the 1968-69 Manitoba championship. The son of former Husky star defenceman Jack Giles, Curt Giles, had a career in the NHL with New York Rangers, St. Louis, and Minnesota. The Pas native Murray Anderson was the first known locally born player to make the NHL, with Washington Capitals in the 1970s. Warren Harrison, younger brother of ex-Husky Roger Harrison, was drafted 53rd overall by the Oakland Seals in the 1969 NHL amateur draft. The Pas Teepees were baseball champions in the Polar League in 1959. The team included several members of the Huskies, and were inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Government

The Pas is governed by a mayor and six councilors who are elected by residents. The mayor is Andre Murphy. The region is represented in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

as part of The Pas-Kameesak riding. Its current provincial representative is

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP)

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

Amanda Lathlin. She is the daughter of Oscar Lathlin, who had represented the riding from 1990 until his death in November 2008. Amanda Lathlin has served as an MLA since a by-election on April 22, 2015, for

The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...

; she is the first First Nations woman ever elected to the Manitoba legislature. In the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

, The Pas is part of the Churchill—Keewatinook Aski riding. Its current federal representative is NDP Member of Parliament Niki Ashton. She has served as MP since the

2008 Canadian federal election The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the 39th Canadian Parliament, previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General o ...

Education

The Pas' public school system is the Kelsey School Division, which consists of two

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

(Kelsey Community School and Opasquia School), one

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

(Scott Bateman Middle School), one alternate program and adult learning Centre (Mary Duncan School) and one

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

(Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute) There is also a K-6 school (Joe A. Ross) and a junior high/high school (Oscar Lathlin Collegiate) on the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. The town hosts the main campus of the University College of the North.

Media

;Radio * AM 1240: CJAR,

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

* FM 92.7: CITP-FM,

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

* FM 93.7: CKSB-3-FM, Première Chaîne (repeats CKSB

) * FM 94.5: CBWJ-FM,

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 o ...

(repeats CBWK-FM Thompson) ;Television CBWIT first went on the air in June, 1962 as CBWBT-1. The station broadcast kinescope recordings sent to the transmitter from CBWT. On March 1, 1969, the province-wide microwave system replaced the kinescope recordings, and The Pas has enjoyed live television since then. All stations serving The Pas are repeaters of Winnipeg-based stations. * CBWFT-1 Channel 6 (

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

) * CBWIT Channel 7 (

) * CKYP-TV Channel 12 ( CTV)

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

is the local cable television provider serving The Pas, and operates the local Shaw TV channel on cable channel 11. ;Newspapers * ''Opasquia Times''

Notable people

* Henry Budd, Anglican priest * Parker Burrell, politician * Albert Campbell, dog sleder * Pat Carey, musician * John Carroll, politician * Ovide Charlebois, vicar * Connor Dewar, hockey player * Herman Finger, politician * Curt Giles, hockey player * Brian Goudie, hockey player * Glen Gulutzan, hockey coach * Owen Hughes, politician * John Ingebrigtson, politician * Amanda Lathlin, politician * Oscar Lathlin, politician *

Bif Naked Beth Nicole Torbert (born June 15, 1971) is a Canadian singer best known by her stage name Bif Naked. Between 1996 and 2016, she was among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada. She charted #1 on Billboard Canada for the single Spacema ...

, musician * Robert Orok, politician * Helen Betty Osborne, murder victim *

Walt Peacosh Walt Peacosh (September 16, 1935 – July 23, 2017) was a Canadian ice hockey player. Peacosh was a member of the Trail Smoke Eaters who won a gold medal at the 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships in Switzerland Switzerland, official ...

, hockey player *

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

, wrestler * Emile St. Godard, dog sleder * W. B. Scarth, politician * James Settee, Anglican priest * Ernest J. Smith, architect * Chelsea Stewart, soccer player * Bernard Munroe Stitt, politician

Notes

References

External links

Town of The Pas website
{{DEFAULTSORT:The Pas 1912 establishments in Manitoba Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Logging communities in Canada Towns in Manitoba Populated places on the Saskatchewan River