Niverville is a town in the

Eastman Region Eastern Manitoba, or the Eastman Region (), is an informal geographic List of regions of Manitoba, region of the Canada, Canadian Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Manitoba. It is bounded on the north by the Winnipeg River and Lake W ...

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. The town lies between the northwest corner of the

Rural Municipality of Hanover The Rural Municipality of Hanover is a rural municipality (RM) in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, located southeast of Winnipeg in Division No. 2. It is Manitoba's most populous rural municipality and fourth-most populous municipality overall ...

and the southeastern portion of the

Rural Municipality of Ritchot The Rural Municipality of Ritchot () is a rural municipality (RM) in the Winnipeg Capital Region, bordering the south side of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The separately-administered town of Niverville lies adjacent to its southeast, betwee ...

. Niverville's population as of the 2021 census is 5,947, making it the largest town and 10th-largest community in Manitoba.

History

In 1874, after the establishment of the Mennonite

East Reserve The East Reserve was a block settlement in Eastman Region, Eastern Manitoba initially set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1873 (although settlement did not occur until 1874). Most of ...

William Hespeler William Hespeler (December 29, 1830 – April 18, 1921), born ''Wilhelm'', was a German-Canadian businessman, immigration agent, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He served as Speaker of the Legislature and as honorary c ...

, who had recruited Mennonites to the area, saw the opportunity to develop a rail station to supply the new Mennonite settlements, at a location selected by railway tycoon Joseph Whitehead. Initially the town that grew up around the station was named Hespeler, but eventually became known by the name of the railway station, Niverville, after 18th-century explorer and fur trader Chevalier

Joseph Boucher de Niverville Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

. The first grain elevator in western Canada, a unique round structure was built in Niverville in 1879 by Hespeler. Originally within the

, Niverville was incorporated as a village in 1969. In 1970, Niverville was host to the

Niverville Pop Festival The Niverville Pop Festival was a rock music festival held on an acreage southeast of Niverville, Manitoba on May 24, 1970. Held nine months after Woodstock, the festival is widely regarded as the first rock festival in Manitoba and one of the most ...

, the first rock festival in Manitoba. Niverville has expanded on multiple occasions through annexation of land from the

to the west and Hanover to the east and north. It was incorporated as a town in 1993. Many inhabitants today are Mennonite or British, with a growing number of immigrants of other backgrounds. In recent years, Niverville has grown into a "bedroom community" of Winnipeg and is among the fastest growing towns in the province.

Geography

Niverville lies in the

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

. It is located at the crossing of Provincial Road 311 and the CPR Emerson rail line, between Provincial Road 200 and Provincial Trunk Highway 59.

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 ...

, Niverville had a population of 5,947 living in 1,971 of its 2,010 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 4,610. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Niverville's economy is based on agriculture and construction as the town has become a bedroom community for Winnipeg. Employers include the Great GORP Project (Food Industry), Spectis Moulders (polyurethane architectural products),

Maple Leaf Foods Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a Canadian multinational consumer-packaged meats and food production company. Its head office is in Mississauga, Ontario. History Maple Leaf Foods is the result of the 1991 merger between Canada Packers and Maple ...

(

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

), William Dyck and Sons (hardware store and lumberyard), Wiens Furniture (furniture, appliance and bedding retailer) and Niverville Credit Union.

Arts and culture

Niverville host an annual Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair, which is held the second weekend of June. Niverville's Community Resource and Recreation Centre (CRRC) is the community's main indoor recreation complex that houses an athletic fieldhouse, theatre, and an ice hockey arena that is home to the

Niverville Nighthawks The Niverville Nighthawks are a Canadian junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Niverville, Manitoba. The Nighthawks are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, with 2022-23 being the team's inaugural season. Season-by-season record , ...

of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

and Niverville Clipper ice hockey teams. The town's other recreational facilities include the Niverville Centennial Arena, Niverville Curling Club, an outdoor tennis court located at Niverville Middle School, a fitness and dance gym, a nine-hole golf course, and Hespeler Park. The

Crow Wing Trail The Red River Trails were a network of ox cart routes connecting the Red River Colony (the "Selkirk Settlement") and Fort Garry in British North America with the head of navigation on the Mississippi River in the United States. These trade routes ...

also runs through the town. A heritage wall documenting Niverville's history was opened on Main Street in 2021. A museum documenting local history, including a Red River Ox Cart, is located on the second floor of the CRRC.

Government

The town is governed by a mayor and council elected by the residents. The current mayor is Myron Dyck. Niverville lies within the federal riding of

Provencher Provencher is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1871. It is a largely rural constituency in the province's southeast corner. Its largest community is the city of ...

; the current MP for this riding is

Ted Falk Theodore J. "Ted" Falk (born May 23, 1960) is a Canadian politician, who currently represents the electoral district of Provencher, Manitoba, in the House of Commons of Canada. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, he was first elected ...

. At the provincial level, Niverville has been part of several different ridings as boundaries have changed over the years. Currently, Niverville is part of the

Springfield-Ritchot Springfield-Ritchot is a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Manitoba that came into effect at the 2019 Manitoba general election. It contains the R.M. of Ritchot, Niverville and the west of the R.M. of Springfield. In 2 ...

electoral district, represented by

Ron Schuler Ronald Reinhold Schuler is a Canadian politician. He is currently a member of the Manitoba Legislature and a representative of the Progressive Conservative Party (PCs). He was first elected in the 1999 provincial election. and was re-elected i ...

Infrastructure

Niverville improved its Water Treatment Plant in 2012, expanding the reservoir to 1.2 megalitres. In June 2017, hot, dry weather caused higher water usage, and town notified residents to cut back on water usage because the reservoir could not be replenished quickly enough. A new well field opened in 2017 to prevent future water shortages.

Education

Niverville schools are part of the Hanover School Division. Niverville Elementary School (K-4), Niverville Middle School (5-8), and Niverville High School (9-12) provide education for the students of Niverville and surrounding area. Niverville High School (NHS) replaced the former Niverville Collegiate Institute (NCI) in 2019.

Notable people

David Bergen David Bergen (born January 14, 1957) is a Canadian novelist. He has published eleven novels and two collections of short stories since 1993 and is currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His 2005 novel ''The Time in Between'' won the Scoti ...

, novelist *

K.R. Byggdin K.R. Byggdin (born 1991) is a Canadian novelist from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career Byggdin began publishing short fiction in 2018, with publications in '' The Antigonish Review'', ''Grain'', and others. Their debut novel, ''Wonder World'', was pu ...

, novelist * Amanda Lindsey Cook, Christian recording artist *

, town founder * Jordan St. Cyr, Christian recording artist

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Manitoba Winnipeg Metro Region