Everything about Churchill Manitoba totally explained
Churchill (
2006 Population 923) is a town on the shore of
Hudson Bay in
Manitoba,
Canada, situated at the
estuary of the
Churchill River at Hudson Bay. The small community stands at an
ecotone, the juncture of three
ecoregions: the
boreal forest to the south, the Arctic
tundra to the northwest, and the
Hudson Bay to the north.
It is most famous for the many
polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the
autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing
tourism industry.
Canada's only main port on the
Arctic Ocean, Churchill is linked to the rest of the country only by the
Hudson Bay Railway and by airplane.
History
A variety of nomadic Arctic people lived and hunted in this region. The
Thule people arrived around
1000 A.D. from farther west, and later evolved into the present-day
Inuit culture. The
Dene people arrived around
500 from farther north. Since before the time of
European contact, the region around Churchill has been predominantly inhabited by the
Chipewyan and
Cree peoples.
Europeans first arrived in the area in
1619 when a Danish expedition led by
Jens Munk wintered where Churchill would later stand. Only 3 of 64 expedition members survived the winter and journeyed back to Denmark.
The first permanent settlement was a log fort built at the mouth of the Churchill River in
1717 as a part of the extensive fur-trading network established by the
Hudson's Bay Company — mostly to capitalize on the northern trade, out of the reach of
York Factory. The town gains its name from
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of
Winston Churchill, who was governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company in the late
1600s. The company replaced it with
Prince of Wales Fort, a large stone fort finished in
1741. The fort was taken without firing a shot by
French warships and razed in
1782, and a new fort was built a short distance upriver. It dealt mainly with the Chipewyan peoples living north of the boreal forest. Due to its distance from the lands of heavy competition between the
North West Company and the
Hudson's Bay Company, it remained a relatively stable, if not extravagantly profitable, source of furs.
Between the years of decline in the fur trade and surfacing of western agricultural success, Churchill phased into and then back out of obsolescence. After decades of frustration over the monopoly and domination of the
Canadian Pacific Railway and then the false promises of the
Canadian Northern Railway, western governments banded together and fought for the creation of a major new northern shipping harbour on Hudson Bay, linked by rail from
Winnipeg. Initially
Port Nelson was selected for this purpose in 1912. After several years of effort and millions of dollars, this project was abandoned and Churchill was selected as the alternative after World War One. Surveys by the Canadian Hydrographic Service ship
CSS Acadia opened the way for safe navigation. However, construction and use of the railroad was extremely slow and the rail line itself didn't come to Churchill until
1929.
Even once the link from farm to port was completed, commercial shipping took many more years to pick up. In
1932 John Walter Grant MacEwan was the first person to cross through Churchill customs as a passenger. This was purely due to his determination in taking the Hudson Bay route to
Saskatchewan from
Britain — most passengers returned via the
Saint Lawrence River.
This area was also the site of the
Churchill Rocket Research Range, part of Canadian-American atmospheric research. Its first rocket was launched in
1956, and it continued to host launches for research and commercial satellites until closing in
1984. The site of the former rocket range now hosts the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a facility for Arctic research. See
Fort Churchill for the main article on this subject.
Economy
Churchill is a popular spot for
ecotourism, as well as for
Arctic research. The town also counts with a health center, several hotels, tour operators, some restaurants and a shipping marine port with a large
grain elevator.
Ecotourism
Churchill is situated along Manitoba’s 1400 km coastline, on Hudson Bay at the meeting of three major
biomes: marine,
boreal forest and
tundra. Tourists can safely view
polar bears from specially modified buses known as
tundra buggies. Use of the buggies helps sustain local tourism, but can also cause damage the local ecology when driven outside the established trails. October and early November are the most popular times to see the bears, hundreds of which wait on the vast peninsula until the water freezes on
Hudson Bay so that they can return to hunt their primary food source,
harp seals. Local authorities maintain a so-called "polar bear jail" where bears (mostly adolescents) who persistently loiter in or too close to town are held after being tranquillized, pending release back into the wild when the bay freezes over. Polar bears were once thought to be solitary animals that would avoid contact with other bears except for mating. In the Churchill region, however, many alliances between bears are made in the fall. These friendships last only until the ice forms, then its every bear for himself as they hunt
ring seals.
Thousands of
Beluga whales which move into the warmer waters of the Churchill River estuary during July and August to calf, are a major summer attraction. Churchill is also a destination for bird watchers from late May until August. The
Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) are seen in late August and from December to late April in the night skies over Churchill. The area also offers wonderful sport fishing. Several tour operators offer expeditions on land, sea and air, using all terrain vehicles, boats, canoes, helicopters and even
ultralight aircraft.
Transportation
The town is the northern terminus of the
Hudson Bay Railway Leased by
OmniTRAX. It is a useful link in the export of Canadian grain to European markets, with rail-sea connections made at Churchill. The port of Churchill is also owned by OmniTRAX. It is Canada's principal
seaport on the
Arctic Ocean. The
Hudson Bay (passenger train) operated by
VIA Rail provides service between the
Churchill railway station and
Union Station in
Winnipeg.
Churchill is the main Arctic Ocean seaport in North America with a rail connection to the south. Lesser ports
Moosonee,
Ontario and
Hay River,
Northwest Territories also provide a rail link to the Arctic Ocean. Hay River is a
riverport. Cargo shipped north from Hay River travels by barge. There are no roads from Churchill leading to the rest of
Canada. Rail passenger service is available from
Winnipeg 3 times a week by
Via Rail, a 35 hour trip from
Winnipeg.
Churchill is serviced by two scheduled airlines offering flights to and from Winnipeg and to points north of Churchill in Nunavut.
Calm Air offers service from
Churchill Airport with daily flights to Winnipeg and the
Kivalliq Region of
Nunavut.
Kivalliq Air provides direct flights six days per week between Churchill and Winnipeg and connections to all communities in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut.
The sea freezes first near Churchill because of the large volume of fresh water delivered by the nearby Churchill and Seal Rivers and because the predominant northeast wind causes ice to pile up along the shore just north of Churchill. For this reason, the port is iced in for much of the year but it's useful for shipping grain and other bulk cargoes because shipping by rail costs several times as much, per ton, as shipping by sea. Its short 3-month shipping season and shallow waters have restricted its development as an ocean port.
Health care
The town also counts with a modern health centre, the Churchill Regional Health Authority, which employs about 100 people. It counts with 44 beds, dental care and diagnostic laboratories to service the residents of Churchill and the communities of the
Keewatin Region of the Territory of
Nunavut.
Arctic research
The Northern Studies Center is a non-profit research and education facility located 23 km east of the town of Churchill. They provide accommodations, meals, equipment rentals, and logistical support to scientific researchers working on a diverse range of topics of interest to northern science.
Culture
About half of the population is Caucasian and the other half are Aboriginal, mostly
Chipewan and Swampy
Cree. A minority is composed of
Inuit natives. Hunting, trapping and fishing is still an important activity to most of these men. The main language is English and several residents also speak
Cree language.
The town has a modern multiplex center housing a public library, hospital, health center, day care, swimming pool, ice hockey rink, curling rinks, gym, basket ball courts, indoor playground, one cinema and a cafeteria. Nearby is the "Eskimo Museum", with over 850 high quality
Inuit carvings on permanent display. The exhibits include historic and contemporary sculptures of stone, bone, and ivory, as well as archaeological and wildlife specimens.
Parks Canada visitor center also has artifacts on display and makes use of audiovisual presentations of various topics involving the region's natural and archaeological history.
By the late 1980s, both the local government and
Parks Canada had successfully educated its population on polar bear safety, significantly reducing lethal confrontations and fuelling ecotourism in a way that the community and polar bears have benefited.
Local media
Radio
CHFC 1230 AM -
CBC Radio One
Weekday mornings (Tuesday-Friday) from 8:15-8:30, David Caskey hosts the local morning announcement program.
NCI-FM 96.9 FM -
NCI
Television
Newspapers
Churchill has one newspaper called
The Hudson Bay Post. It is a monthly newspaper, published occasionally, according to the front page.
Famous people from Churchill, Manitoba
Susan Aglukark, singer
Jordin Tootoo, NHL hockey playerFurther Information
Get more info on 'Churchill Manitoba'.
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