Cross Lake is a community in the
Northern Region of the
Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
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 ...
, situated on the shores of the Nelson River where the river enters the namesake
Cross Lake. An all-weather road,
PR 374, connects the communities to
PR 373 via the
Kichi Sipi Bridge.
Although one population centre, it is politically divided into 4 entities:
* Cross Lake unincorporated designated place, part of
Unorganized Division No. 22 – , 512 people (in 2021)
* Cross Lake 19 Indian reserve of the
Cross Lake First Nation
Cross Lake First Nation ( or ' 'Otter People') is a band of Cree First Nations people in Canada governed under the Indian Act. Its membersR.S., 1985, c. I-5, s. 7: "There shall be maintained in accordance with this Act for each band a Band List i ...
(
Pimicikamak Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
) – , 1,865 people (in 2021)
* Cross Lake 19A Indian reserve, also Cross Lake First Nation – , 2,045 people (in 2021)
* Cross Lake 19E Indian reserve, also Cross Lake First Nation – , 763 people (in 2021)
History
In 1795, James Tate established a
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 ...
(HBC) fur-trade post on the southern end of Cross Lake, first called "X" Lake and then Apsley House in 1796. But in spring of that year, it was abandoned. It was re-established in 1849, but again closed a year later.
In 1869, a HBC post reopened on the lake. In 1886 and 1887, the HBC built new facilities on the north side of the lake's narrows.
[ From circa 1885 to 1889, this post was also responsible for an outpost at Cross Portage.
In 1959, the post became part of the HBC Northern Stores Department. HBC divested this department in 1987 to ]The North West Company
The North West Company Inc. is a multinational Canadian grocery and retail company which operates stores in Canada's western provinces and northern territories; the US states of Alaska and Hawaii; and several other countries and US territor ...
, which still operates a Northern Store at Cross Lake.[
In March 2016, First Nation officials in Cross Lake declared a state of emergency because of an epidemic of suicides. There had been "six suicides in the last two months and 140 attempts in the last two weeks alone", and band councilor Donnie McKay said the community "is traumatized and needs immediate help from the provincial and federal governments".
]
Geography
The communities are situated on the eastern shores of Cross Island and Cross Lake. The lake is on the Nelson River
The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs before it ends in Hudson Bay near Port Nelson, Manitoba, Port Nels ...
north of Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...
. It is long and narrow and extends 102 km (63 mi) east-northeast. The Nelson enters and leaves on the west side. The Minago River
Minago River is a river in the Hudson Bay drainage basin in Northern Manitoba, Canada. It flows in a northeasterly direction from Moon Lake into the western end of Cross Lake on the Nelson River.
From Moon Lake a portage led to South Moose Lake ...
enters on the west. From the Minago a portage trail leads to Moose Lake 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 ...
. On the east side via the Walker River, Walker Lake and Kapaspwaypanik Lake the Kapaspwaypanik Portage leads to the Carrot River and Oxford Lake on the Hayes River
The Hayes River is a river in Northern Manitoba, Canada, that flows from Molson Lake to Hudson Bay at York Factory. It was historically an important river in the development of Canada and is now a Canadian Heritage River and the longest natu ...
.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 by air south of Thompson.
Climate
Cross Lake has a
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman
* (1929–1990), German literary scholar
* (1855–1922), German author
* Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...
: Dfc), typical of
Northern Manitoba
Northern Manitoba (also known as NorMan or Nor-Man) is a geographic and cultural region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Manitoba originally encompassed only a small square around the Red River Colony, but it was extended north to the 60th ...
. Temperatures in the summer are warm, whilst in the winter they are bitterly cold.
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 ...
, Cross Lake had a population of 521 living in 139 of its 162 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 443. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.[
The adjoining reserves of Cross Lake 19 (population 1,751 in 2011][) of the Cross Lake First Nation had a combined population of 7,622 in 2011.
Together these communities formed a population centre of 9,033 in 2017.
]
Notable people
* Brady Keeper, professional hockey player
* Ernest Monias, musician
References
{{MBDivision22
Designated places in Manitoba
Hudson's Bay Company trading posts
Localities in Manitoba
Northern communities in Manitoba
Unincorporated communities in Northern Region, Manitoba