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Manning is a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...
in northern
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada. It is known as the "Land of the Mighty Moose". It is located on Highway 35 on the Notikewin River, approximately north of Peace River. Manning is a service centre for the local
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
,
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
and gas industries. It also serves the nearby rural area within the
County of Northern Lights The County of Northern Lights is a municipal district in northwest Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division 17, its municipal office is located in the Town of Manning. The municipality recently changed its name from the ''Municipal Distr ...
including
Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communiti ...
,
Hotchkiss Hotchkiss may refer to: Places Canada * Hotchkiss, Alberta * Hotchkiss, Calgary United States * Hotchkiss, Colorado * Hotchkiss, Virginia * Hotchkiss, West Virginia Business and industry * Hotchkiss (car), a French automobile manufactu ...
,
North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude tha ...
and Notikewin.


History

The community of Manning sprung up as a result of growing agricultural development following the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
as the Dominion government sought to provide land to returning soldiers to participate in the workforce. The Soldier Settlement Board provided incentives to veterans to begin farming unsettled tracts on the Battle River Prairie north of the Town of Peace River and west of the Peace River. By 1921 the district would have a population of 500 and the community of Battle River Prairie (later Notikewin) would grow as a regional hub. In the late-1920s the communities of Hotchkiss and North Star would spring up in the region. The northern communities suffered from limited medical resources, which were facilitated by mobile clinics staffed with
Registered Nurses A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...
. In 1928 nurse Mary Little was assigned to the region, and in 1929 she was replaced by Dr. Mary Percy who was recruited from England. Dr. Percy would serve the area until 1937 when the new hospital was completed. The population continued to grow in the 1930s, with farmers moving from the drought-stricken regions of southern Alberta. Pressure began to grow for the construction of a hospital in the region, and the Women's Missionary Society of the
United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catho ...
began collecting funds for the construction, with the Government of Alberta agreeing to match funds collected for the new hospital. In fall 1936 construction began on the eight bed Battle River Hospital, which was completed later on September 4, 1937, and would later become the hub of the new Aurora settlement. The land was donated by John Robertson, and resident doctor Arthur Doige was secured to operate the hospital. Construction was supervised by W.D.C. Buchanon, and the structure would include a operating room, waiting room, kitchen, and accommodation on the second floor for three nurses. The official settlement was founded by American Patrick "Pat" Larry Craig, who purchased land on the south bank of the Notikewin River and built the Aurora hotel, secured a liquor license and constructed other buildings after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The settlement originally intended to be founded under the name "Aurora", but was rejected by the postal authorities because of possibility of confusion with
Aurora, Ontario Aurora ( 2021 population: 62,057) is a town in central York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, within the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the City of Richmond Hill and is partially situated on the Oak Ridg ...
. In 1947 the Mackenzie Highway was pushed through the region and the community became a government construction and maintenance center, and quickly eclipsed North Star and Notikewin in population. At a public meeting in 1947, the community was renamed in honour of
Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning, (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996), a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in Alberta's histo ...
who had become
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
of Alberta four years earlier in 1943, and would serve in the role until 1968. Manning would be incorporated as a Village on December 31, 1951, and later a Town on January 1, 1957. During the 1950s the Manning Municipal Hospital would be constructed at a cost of CA$127,000, and later in September 1962, the Great Slave Lake Railway would be completed by
Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
linking the Town to the rail network.


Climate

Manning has a subarctic climate, very close to being 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 freez ...
, with both May and September averaging only fractionally under . There are vast differences between the warm summers and very cold winters, although areas much further south more eastward in Canada have equally cold winters and cooler summers. The climate data is from minor settlement Notikewin very close to the town.


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, the Town of Manning had a population of 1,126 living in 471 of its 540 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,183. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Manning recorded a population of 1,183 living in 484 of its 544 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,164. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.


Attractions

The Battle River Pioneer Museum is home to many pieces of antique farming equipment, vehicles and other extraordinary items, like the albino moose and Cleave Whitaker's childhood crib. The Manning Farmers’ Market has been a fixture in Manning for over 30 years. Recreation venues include the Manning R.C.M.P. Centennial Pool, a paved walking trail, a curling rink, a skating/hockey arena, two outdoor ice rinks, a ski hill, a concrete skatepark, an outdoor splash park, and the Condy Meadows Golf Course and Recreation Area. The Battle River Hospital located on Centre Street and 1st Avenue North is a -storey hospital built between 1936 and 1937 to serve as the hospital for the region. The Battle River Hospital was designated an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource under the ''Historical Resources Act'' on March 11, 2009.


Infrastructure

Manning has a hospital. It also has a newly constructed RCMP detachment, fire station and skatepark, along with an indoor/outdoor pool. The town is serviced by
Manning Airport Manning Airport is located northwest of Manning, Alberta, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, ...
, located 3.3 km northwest of the community.


Government

The Town of Manning is a
municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ow ...
with a
council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government used for municipalities, counties, or other equivalent regions. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States along with the mayor–council go ...
structure consisting of a seven-member Council elected every four years. The council itself consists of an at-large mayor and six councillors. The legal authority to govern as a "creature of the province" is derived from various regulations and legislation of the
Alberta Legislature The Legislature of Alberta is the unicameral legislature of the province of Alberta, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta,. and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The legislature has existed sinc ...
, of which the ''Municipal Government Act'' provides many of the powers and responsibilities for the town. The current Mayor Robert McLeod was elected over opponent Sunni-Jean Walker in the 2021 Alberta municipal elections. Provincially, the Town of Manning is represented by the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Peace River, which is held by Dan Williams since the
2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...
. Federally, the Town of Manning is represented by the
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
for Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, which is held by Chris Warkentin.


Education

Manning contains two public
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compu ...
s which are part of the
Peace River School Division No. 10 Peace River School Division No. 10 or Peace River School Division is a public school authority within the Canadian province of Alberta operated out of Peace River. See also *List of school authorities in Alberta The Canadian province of Alber ...
, Manning Elementary which provides kindergarten to grade six, and Paul Rowe High School which provides grades seven through twelve. Manning has one separate school under the
Holy Family Catholic Regional Division No. 37 Holy Family Catholic Regional Division No. 37 is a separate school authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practi ...
, Rosary Separate School which provides kindergarten to grade nine.


Media

Manning is served weekly by The Banner Post


See also

*
List of communities in Alberta The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal distr ...
*
List of towns in Alberta A town is an urban municipality status type used in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta towns are created when communities with populations of at least 1,000 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller tha ...


References


External links

* {{Alberta Regions Lower Peace 1951 establishments in Alberta Towns in Alberta