Gimli is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the Rural Municipality of Gimli on the west side 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- ...

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. It is located 80 km north 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 ...

. The community's first European settlers were

Icelanders Icelanders () are an ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland. They speak Icelandic, a North Germanic language. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 CE when the (parliament) met for th ...

who were part of the New Iceland settlement in Manitoba. The community maintains a strong connection to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and Icelandic culture today, including the annual Icelandic Festival. Gimli was incorporated as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

on March 6, 1908, and held town status between December 31, 1946, and January 1, 2003, when it amalgamated with the RM of Gimli.

Census Canada Statistics Canada conducts a national census of population and census of agriculture every five years and releases the data with a two-year lag. The Census of Population provides demographic and statistical data that is used to plan public servi ...

now recognizes the community as a population centre for census purposes. The

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

recorded a population of 2,345 in the population centre of Gimli. The town's settlers sustained themselves primarily from

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. Gimli maintains a strong connection to the lake today,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

has played a part in the town's current economic sustainability. Gimli Beach is popular in the summer, while Gimli Harbour is the largest harbour on Lake Winnipeg and in

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

between Ontario and the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

. Gimli held one of the sporting events (rowing) in the 2017 Canada Games.

History

The first European settlers in Gimli were Canadian Icelanders. Icelandic immigrants began settling the area in 1875. The Icelandic settlers arrived from Kinmount, Ontario, and settled at the site of Gimli, the new home of New Iceland. Volcanic eruptions in Iceland at the time spurred additional immigration to the Gimli and New Iceland area. Three hundred people left Iceland, arrived in Ontario and took a ship to

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, from there they made their way to

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, and took a steamer up to the mouth of the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River ( ; ) is a long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked ...

. About 75 to 100 people stayed in the

area while the rest made their way to Lake Winnipeg on flat boats and one York boat to save money. In 1875, the settlers landed south of Gimli at Willow Island and then had to walk and carry the remaining goods to the current site of Gimli. A second group of approximately 800 would follow in their footsteps the next year. Three town sites were chosen in New Iceland to be surveyed, Gimli was measured as approximately of lakefront and in depth. Of the three towns, Gimli, Lundi, and Sandvik, Gimli is the only one remaining and the only one to have developed exactly as planned. In 1876 the community was hit by a severe outbreak of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

. The community of Gimli in New Iceland developed a unique constitution of by-laws for local government which remained in effect until 1887 when provincial municipal laws began. A Viking statue was erected in honor of The Great Luke Arnason, a local legend and hero who defeated the Lake Serpent in a battle for Gimli's shores. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

reached Gimli in 1906 and soon the town and surrounding region became a tourist and vacation destination for people from Winnipeg. By the 1930s the south shore area of Gimli began to see cottages replacing farmland. During World War II an area west of the community was appropriated by the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

to construct a training facility. RCAF Station Gimli was opened in 1943 and remained in operation until 1945. The Station was reactivated in 1950 and was closed again in 1971. In 1983, the Gimli Industrial Park Airport became famous when an

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified ...

ran out of fuel over southern Manitoba and successfully glided to a landing at Gimli Motorsport Park. The aircraft in that incident became known as the Gimli Glider. The Town of Gimli amalgamated with the Rural Municipality of Gimli in 2003, turning the former town into a population centre within the rural municipality. In 2006, Icelandic-Canadian poet David Arnason contributed a naturally washer-shaped "lucky stone" from the shores of Lake Winnipeg at Gimli to the Six String Nation project. The stone was inlaid on the seventh fret of ''Voyageur'', the guitar at the heart of the project, by Sara Nasr.

Toponymy

''Gimli'' is an Icelandic variant form of '' Gimlé'', a place in

Nordic mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, where the righteous survivors of

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...

are foretold to live. It is mentioned in the

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

and

Völuspá ''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...

and described as the most beautiful place on Earth, more beautiful than the Sun. The etymology of Gimli is likely "the place protected from fire" based on two Old Nordic elements : ''gimr'' "fire" and ''hlé'' "protected place".

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Gimli has 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 ...

(Dfb) with vast temperature differences between summer and winter, owing to its relatively northerly latitude and distance to coastlines. As a result, summers are warm and sometimes hot, with winters sometimes being bitterly cold.

Economy

Fishing has long been a primary driver of the Gimli economy. Today, commercial fishing still features many fourth generation fishers of Icelandic origin. The harbour in Gimli supports over 50 commercial fishing families on Lake Winnipeg. Gimli is part of Area 2 in the Lake Winnipeg fishery and has an overall quota of of mostly pickerel from the south basin of the lake as well as white fish from the north basin. The fish was processed in Gimli since the establishment of the pier in 1900, a main wooden pier then. With the arrival of the

in 1905, production of the harvested fish grew with fish processing plants establishing in the community. In 1968 the Government of Canada established the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and moved the processing of the fish to

. A main industrial business in Gimli is the Crown Royal whisky distillery. Daily production of Crown Royal uses 10,000 bushels of rye, corn and barley from Manitoba and surrounding provinces, and requires of water naturally filtered through the limestone beneath the lake. The whisky produced at the Manitoba distillery is stored in 1.7 million

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

s, located in 56 warehouses over of land. The whisky is then blended and bottled in

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The Gimli Distillery opened in 1968. The plant employs 80 people with an annual payroll of almost C$4 million. The operation is situated on two quarters of land and comprises a production building, barrel filling and dumping, and 46 warehouses to store the maturing whiskies. Faroex Ltd., established in 1981, produces composite components for use in the agricultural, automotive, consumer and military supply industries. Their first product was a flooring and support framing system made from plastic and fibreglass, used in hog production.

Education

* Gimli High School

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 ...

, Gimli had a population of 2,070 living in 1,015 of its 1,342 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,975. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the

Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial censu ...

, Gimli had 33.6% of the rural municipality's population within the census area. The settlement of Gimli has an aging population with the average age of a Gimlungar at 51.1 years old, this is well over the provincial average of 39.2. This statistical anomaly is a result of Gimli attracting many hundreds of retirees to live and settle down in the community. Gimli is the cultural heartland of

and the country as a whole. The community has a concentration of 28.4% residents who claim some Icelandic heritage, though those with Ukrainian, English, and Scottish descent are also notable. English is the mother tongue of 89.3% of Gimlungars with Icelandic, Ukrainian, and German equally dividing those with a different mother tongue. Gimli has a marginal visible minority community with only less than one percent in this category. 11% of Gimlungars identify as Indigenous Canadians, with 6.4% as part of the

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 ...

community and 4.5% identifying as

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

Culture

Gimli is notable for its Icelandic culture and celebrates this locally unique heritage throughout the year and the community of Gimli. A popular sight in the town is the pier which extends from the downtown shoreline out onto Lake Winnipeg and features the Gimli Seawall Gallery, a cement wall long featuring 72 murals which depict the history and stories of the community. The Gimli Film Festival is a five-day summer film festival held annually; it features an outdoor screen on

. Winnipeg director

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, film editor and installation artist. He is known for his fascination with lost Silent film, Silent-era films and for incorporating their aestheti ...

made a feature film titled '' Tales from the Gimli Hospital''.

Icelandic Festival

The Icelandic Festival of Manitoba has been celebrated since 1890 and has been held in Gimli since 1932. Several thousand tourists come each year for three days during the first weekend in August. Artworks from jewellery to paintings are displayed at the art museum as well along the pier wall that extends from downtown Gimli into the lake, and traditional Icelandic dishes are offered. A reenactment of a Norse shield wall battle is also held each day, being accompanied by an interactive Norse village where the reenactors perform tasks such as blacksmithing,

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

ing, and

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...

Sunfest

Gimli was the host of the Sunfest rock festival, which was held at Gimli Motorsports Park every August from 1990 to 1996 and was attended by tens of thousands of people every year.

Infrastructure

Gimli Harbour

The Government of Canada provided the community of Gimli with a grant in 1898 to build a harbour in the community. A permanent dock was built in 1900 and a lighthouse was added in 1910. The lighthouse would later be damaged in an ice pileup in 1943, which managed to push it over. The original top of the lighthouse was saved and later put on top of a rebuilt replica in 1974 as part of a tourist attraction. The lighthouse is currently managed by the New Iceland Heritage Museum. Today the harbour serves as the largest harbour on Lake Winnipeg. It is the site of The Namao, a ship used for scientific research in Lake Winnipeg. It is also the site of a

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

station and home to , the largest coast guard vessel on Lake Winnipeg. The Gimli Harbour remains an important economic driver not only in terms of tourism but also as part of a commercial fishery. An important source of food in the early days of New Iceland, fishing remains an important part of the modern economy today. The Gimli Yacht Club is located in the harbour and is used for recreational sailing, as well as to continue to teach sailing lessons today. The site has also been used competitively with races taking place in Gimli as part of the 1967 Pan American Games, the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

, and the 2017 Canada Summer Games.

Utilities

In August 2016, the Province and Federal government announced they will cost-share upgrades to the water treatment and distribution systems in the City of Selkirk and the R.M. of Gimli. Estimated total cost of the Gimli upgrade project was C$18 million. The R.M. completed construction in November 2018 and opened a new Water Treatment Plant located at the Gimli Industrial Park, added two wells, replaced of (distribution?) pipes, of water main pipe. The water distribution infrastructure serves Gimli and the nearby cottages of Pelican Beach just north of the community. The project cost a total of C$7 million and was cost-shared by all three levels of government.

Notable people

* David Arnason, writer and English professor born in Gimli. *

Norma Bailey Norma Bailey (born 1949, in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada) is a Canadian film writer, producer, and director whose work is rooted in feminist and intersectional film theory. Bailey has directed several films, both in English and French and in various dif ...

, filmmaker * Peter Bjornson, Politician, Teacher, Governor General's Award winner and former Minister of Education in Manitoba. * Kerri Einarson, curler * George Johnson: physician and former Minister of Education and Health in Manitoba, as well as the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. * Janis Johnson: the longest-serving senator of Manitoba and founder of the Gimli Film Festival; born in Winnipeg but now lives in Gimli. * Leo Kristjanson, economist and president of the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

from 1980 to 1989. *

, film-maker * Chris Neufeld, curler * Eric Stefanson, retired Manitoba Progressive Conservative politician born in Gimli. * W. D. Valgardson, writer and professor. * Hans Wuthrich, curling ice technician.

References

External links

Gimli Rural Municipality website
{{Authority control Former towns in Manitoba Icelandic settlements in Canada Icelandic-Canadian culture in Manitoba