Russell is an unincorporated urban community in the

Municipality of Russell – Binscarth The Municipality of Russell – Binscarth is a rural municipality (RM) in the Parkland Region of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the far western part of the province and shares a border with the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan. History ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

. It is located along PTH 16 and PTH 83, and is at the western terminus of PTH 45. Russell is approximately east of the

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

border and northwest 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, ...

. The community is home to 1,611 people as of the 2011 census. The community was designated as 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 ...

prior to 1 January 2015, when it and the nearby Village of Binscarth amalgamated with the

Rural Municipality of Russell The Rural Municipality of Russell is a former rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was originally incorporated as a rural municipality on August 15, 1881. It ceased on January 1, 2015 as a result of its provincially mand ...

. Russell is the home of Manitoba's Beef and Barley Festival, which is held annually in October to celebrate the region's strong agricultural tradition. Grain farming and cattle ranching are extensive in the surrounding areas.

History

European-Canadians first settled the area around Russell around 1880. The first post office began operations at a site north of the present community in 1880, and was called " Shell River". The closest Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) point was renamed to ''Russell'' in 1889, named after

Lord Alexander Russell General Lord Alexander George Russell (16 September 1821 – 10 January 1907) was a British Army general. He served during the Siege of Sevastapol in the Crimean War. Background Russell was born at Woburn, Bedfordshire, the son of John Rus ...

. Also in 1889, a Barnardo's Home for boys was established, which, along with local farmers, sponsored transportation for British

orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

to come to the area to work on farms. Russell was officially incorporated as a town in 1913.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population 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 sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Russell had a population of 1,740 living in 737 of its 814 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,599. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Changes to agriculture, such as the elimination of the Western Grain Transportation Subsidy in 1995, have put the region in a unique position. With one of the highest freight rates in

western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, the Russell area is well-positioned to experience an explosion in value-added processing. Bunge Canada, an advanced

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...

-processing plant, is located at Harrowby, west of Russell. Nearby

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

mining in

provides jobs for numerous Russell residents, as well as purchasing supplies and services locally. The first potash mine in Manitoba has been proposed for a site just southwest of Russell, but due to the greater depth of the potash and higher taxes versus Saskatchewan, progress has been stalled for the last 20 years. Russell and the surrounding rural municipalities are promoting tourism through the Asessippi Parkland Economic Development Corp.

Education

A semi-major service centre for the regional agricultural communities, Russell provides educational facilities ranging from day care and nursery, to post-secondary facilities. Russell is part of the Park West School Division. The

Assiniboine Community College Assiniboine Community College (ACC) is a Canadian community college in the province of Manitoba. It is accredited by the Manitoba Council on Post-Secondary Education, which was created by the government of Manitoba. The Victoria Avenue East and ...

also has a regional campus located in Russell. The community has access to First Year Distant Education transmission, allowing individuals to take first-year education via internet.

Attractions and recreation

There are a total of eight large arches along Main Street, located at each cross street, which span the intersections. The original arches were repurposed wooden support structures from a demolished hockey arena in Dauphin, and were installed in 2007. In June 2016, one of the arches crashed down on the street due to wood rot, after which the others were taken down as a safety precaution. They were replaced by steel arches in 2019. Recreational facilities include a serviced campground, tennis courts, ball fields, curling and hockey arenas, community halls, a swimming pool, snowboarding and downhill skiing, and a nine-hole golf course. Russell is located only from

Asessippi Provincial Park Asessippi Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West, Manitoba, Canada. It is located near Inglis, Manitoba, about west of Dauphin, and is in size. A campground on the south shore of the Shellmouth ...

, the site of Asessippi Ski Area & Resort—a world-class ski facility and year-round family park. The park also contains the Lake of the Prairies, a 64 km-long lake. In Manitoba, the lake recorded an annual

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 ...

catch per square kilometre that is five times greater than the provincial average.

Climate

Notable people

* Red Dutton — NHL hall of famer * Theoren Fleury —

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

player for

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

, and

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

* Jon Montgomery — Athlete,

2010 Olympic Games )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Gold Medalist in Skeleton and host of '' The Amazing Race Canada'' * Charles Arkoll Boulton — Lieutenant Colonel during North-West Rebellion * Kerri Buchberger — National volleyball player

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Unincorporated communities in Parkland Region, Manitoba Unincorporated urban communities in Manitoba Former towns in Manitoba Populated places disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Manitoba