Northern Manitoba (also known as NorMan or Nor-Man) is a geographic and cultural
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
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 ...
. Manitoba originally encompassed only a small square around the
Red River Colony, but it was extended north to the
60th parallel in 1912, thus acquiring a large northern region.
The region's specific boundaries vary, as "northern" communities are considered to share certain social and geographic characteristics, regardless of latitude.
Geography
There is no universally accepted definition of Northern Manitoba, but the most detailed description is provided by the Manitoba Indigenous and Northern Relations Department:
For marketing purposes, Travel Manitoba considers Northern Manitoba to encompass everything north of the
53rd parallel.
In contrast, the Look North economic development agency defines the North as consisting of Statistics Canada's Census Divisions 19, 21, 22, and 23.
There is also a defined territory of responsibility for the
Northern Regional Health Authority, which excludes the town of Churchill.
Northern Manitoba is mostly pristine wilderness, regardless of the exact boundaries used to define it. It is situated on the
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...
and includes the province's
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...
coastline. Forestry, mining and hydro-electric development are significant economic drivers with long-term consequences to the environment in the region. The region has a much higher proportion of
Indigenous people than the rest of the province.
Climate
Manitoba's northern region is mostly within the
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 ...
zone (
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 ...
''Dfc''). It also has some
Humid Continental (Koppen Dfb) areas in the south. This region features long and extremely cold winters and brief, warm summers with little precipitation.
Overnight temperatures as low as occur on several days each winter.
Ecology
This region is covered by large extents of stunted
Black Spruce dominant forest, with association of
Tamarack. There are several mammals in the region including the
Arctic fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...
,
Beluga whale and
Polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
. The Polar bear has a significant
denning area within the
Wapusk National Park, from which annual bear migrations to
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...
are made.
Protected areas
Northern Manitoba includes one national park (
Wapusk National Park), a provincial forest (
Cormorant Provincial Forest), several ecological reserves, and more than twenty provincial parks.
The provincial parks are as follows:
*
Zed Lake Provincial Park and
Burge Lake Provincial Park are located near the town of Lynn Lake.
*
Caribou River Provincial Park 59.5636°N 96.6611°W
*
Clearwater Lake Provincial Park 54.08305°N 101.078333°W
*
Grass River Provincial Park 54.6664°N 100.831°W
*Little Limestone Lake Provincial Park
*North Steeprock Lake Provincial Park
*Nueltin Lake Provincial Park
*
Numaykoos Lake Provincial Park 57.865277777778°N 95.963333333333°W
*
Sand Lakes Provincial Park 57.84222°N 98.53°W
*
Colvin Lake Provincial Park
*
Paint Lake Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Bakers Narrows Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Bell Lake Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Grand Rapids Provincial Park is located at
*
Neso Lake Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Overflowing River Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Pisew Falls Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Red Deer River Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Rocky Lake Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Sasagiu Rapids Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Twin Lakes Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
*
Wekusko Falls Provincial Park The park is
in size. It is located at
Economy
The major economic activities are
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
and
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 ...
.
Demographics
The region is composed of four
census divisions: 19 and 21–23. Its total population according to the
2016 Census of population was 89,637, 7.0% of Manitoba's total population. The largest municipality is the city of
Thompson. Other major population centres include the city of
Flin Flon and the town of
The Pas.
Indian reserves
In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." R ...
comprise more than 49% of the region's population. There are 54 reserves with a total population of 40,572. The largest of these are
Norway House 17 and
Peguis 1B.
Communities
The following communities are within the northern Manitoba area:
*
Churchill
*
Flin Flon
*
Gillam
*
Gods River
*
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
*
Granville Lake
*
Ilford
Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...
Infrastructure
Northern Manitoba is accessed by two Provincial Trunk Highways:
PTH 10 to Flin Flon and
PTH 6 to Thompson, as well as a network of smaller roads. These are extended in the winter by an additional network of
winter roads.
Northern Manitoba is served by a single rail line running north from Winnipeg, via eastern Saskatchewan. The
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
operates the line as far as
The Pas. At The Pas, the line splits into branches. The
Keewatin Railway Company owns the branch connecting The Pas to
Pukatawagan, while the
Hudson Bay Railway operates a cargo-only branch to
Flin Flon and a mixed-use branch connecting to
Churchill. All rail service between The Pas and Churchill was suspended from 2017 to 2018 due to a washout of tracks north of Amery.
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada.
As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...
passenger service operates on these lines as part of its
Winnipeg–Churchill service.
Air transport provides access to many northern communities with 58 airfields in the region.
Calm Air and
Perimeter Aviation provide scheduled passenger service into larger northern communities. Chartered
bush planes land on lakes when airfields are not available.
See also
*
First Nations in the Northern Region of Manitoba
*
Nelson River Hydroelectric Project
*
Southern Manitoba
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 55, 10, N, 95, 30, W, region:CA-MB_scale:5000000, display=title
Geographic regions of Manitoba