Roblin is an incorporated urban community located within the Municipality of Roblin in Manitoba, Canada. Situated approximately 400 kilometres (250 miles) northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Prior to 1 January 2015, Roblin was designated as a town. In 2010, the Town of Roblin and the former
Rural Municipalities of Hillsburg and
Shell River had a total population of 3,284.
About 40% of the population is involved in
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 other resource-based industries. Services,
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 ...
and the processing of
wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
and agricultural products largely contribute to the local
economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
.
History

During the 1880s, the first group of
Europeans
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
to settle in Roblin were mainly
Cattle ranchers and grain
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...
s.
In 1903, many
Eastern European
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountains, and ...
farming families also settled in Roblin with the arrival of the railway. The village was originally named Goose Lake but was renamed Roblin in 1904 after the
Premier of Manitoba
The premier of Manitoba () is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council.
In formal terms, the premier rec ...
,
Rodmond Palen Roblin
Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin (February 15, 1853 – February 16, 1937) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada.
Early life and career
Roblin was born in Sophiasburgh Township, Ontario, Sophiasburgh, in Prince Edward County, Ontario ...
. Also in 1904, the
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
was established as Goose Lake and was located on 8-26-28W. The first
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
was W. Atkey
and the first
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
was Irwin L. Mitchell (1882-1956) who served from 1914 to 1917.
In addition, Roblin also served as the location for the former
Saint Vladimir's College. Later, on 1 May 1912, the village was incorporated and became a town.
Roblin celebrated its 100th anniversary in July 2013. The current mayor of the municipality of Roblin is Robert Misko.
Krosney Lake (east of East Goose Lake) is a commemorative lake officially named by the
Geographical Names Board of Canada
The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canad ...
in memory of Private Darren Michael Krosney (4 July 1965,
Winnipeg, Manitoba
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 ...
– 21 August 1983).
Demographics
According to 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 ...
, Roblin had a population of 1,709 living in 820 of its 903 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,697. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Recreation
Roblin is located on Goose Lake and Krosney Lake, and is within a short drive to
Lake of the Prairies. The community is located between
Duck Mountain Provincial Park and
Riding Mountain National Park
Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area of , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the ...
. Moreover, Roblin has a 9-hole golf course, outdoor swimming pool, ice arena, curling rink and movie theater.
Transportation
Roblin is 90 km west of
Dauphin via
PTH 5, about a 45-minute drive east from
Yorkton
Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province.
Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...
on
PTH 5, and is accessible by the
Roblin railway station, which is served by
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 ...
.
References
Geographical Names Board of Canada, 2011-07-08
External links
Roblin, "Jewel of the Parkland", official site
{{Manitoba
Unincorporated communities in Parkland Region, Manitoba
Unincorporated urban communities in Manitoba
Former towns in Manitoba
Populated places disestablished in 2015
2015 disestablishments in Manitoba