Baldur is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Argyle,

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 ...

. Baldur is the largest community of the Argyle municipality, which is in southwestern Manitoba between Brandon and

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

. The community is named after the Norse god Baldur, reflecting the Icelandic heritage of the people in the community.

History

The community was founded in 1890 with the coming of the

Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, which began building its line through the Municipality of Argyle in 1889.''We Made Baldur: Notable People from Baldur's Past''
Argyle Museum Heritage Advisory Group. A railway officially originally suggested to name the post office "Chesterville" after local citizen Jesse Chester, who is said to have persuaded the surveyor into choosing the site. Another local, however, suggested to name the community after

Baldr Baldr (Old Norse also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, he is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was known in ...

, son of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

and Nordic god representing innocence and light. It was put to a vote, with Baldur eventually being adopted as the town name.

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 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 ...

, Baldur had a population of 297 living in 146 of its 155 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 320. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Notable people

* Tom Johnson —

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

r, born in Baldur * Bill Stilwell — award-winning author and naturalist, born in Baldur * Hallgrímur Fr. Hallgrímsson (1905–84) — Icelandic businessman, who went to high school in Baldur.

Climate

References

External links