Melita () is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
located in the
south-western corner 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 ...
. It is surrounded by the
Municipality of Two Borders and occupies a bend of the
Souris River.
Graham Creek runs along the west side of town and into the Souris River. The population at the 2016 census was 1,042. It sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 83, approximately 320 km southwest of
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 ...
. Melita is known as the "Grasslands Bird Capital of Manitoba" and is located in Manitoba's
banana belt.
History
Evidence of First Nations habitation in the area includes the Linear Mounds Archaeological Site and the Brockinton Archaeological Site, which have provided artifacts dating back to 800 AD. The site has been designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
.
Charles West was the first recorded European settler, in 1879. The early inhabitants chose the name "Melita" for the town after hearing a Bible reading
Acts 28:1 about
St. Paul's shipwreck on the island of
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
(Melita is an older name for the island).
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 ...
, Melita had a population of 1,041 living in 465 of its 548 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,042. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Notable people
*
James Breakey, politician
*
John Cobb, politician
*
Jim Downey, politician
*
Betty Fox, cancer research activist and mother of
Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...
; raised in Melita
*
Wayne Hall, professional hockey player
*
Kory Karlander, professional hockey player
*
J. Arthur Ross, politician
See also
*
Melita Airport
*
Westhope–Coulter Border Crossing
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Manitoba