Thompson, Manitoba
Thompson is a city in north-central Manitoba, Canada, the largest city and most populated municipality in Northern Manitoba.
Situated along the Burntwood River, Thompson is located north of Lake Winnipeg and north of the City of Winnipeg. Originally founded in 1956 as a mining town, it is one of the largest fully planned communities in Canada. It now primarily serves as the "Hub of the North", providing goods and services such as health care and retail trade to the surrounding communities.
Thompson has fewer than 15,000 residents, with many of the smaller communities accessible only by air or winter road. Despite its isolated location in the heart of Canada's boreal forest, the city is served by an all-weather road and Manitoba Highway 6, Thompson station, and by the Thompson Airport.
Thompson's natural and undisturbed surroundings make it popular with outdoor enthusiasts. The largest marina in Manitoba is south in Paint Lake Provincial Park. The lack of light pollution and Thompson's northern latitude allows for occasional viewing of the northern lights, even within the city limits.
History
The Thompson area, located on the south side of the Burntwood River, was first inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indian hunters around 6000 BC, sometime after the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.Founding
For a 10-year period beginning in 1946, Inco Limited explored Northern Manitoba for nickel deposits; on February 4, 1956, a major ore body was discovered southwest of Moak Lake, and the modern history of Thompson began.On December 3, 1956, Inco and the Government of Manitoba reached agreement on developing the area. A town and a rail link with the Canadian National Railway had to be built. The town was founded in 1957, and was named after Dr. John F. Thompson, Inco's chairman at the time.
The construction of the fully planned city was completed by a workforce of several thousands in 1961, coinciding with the formal opening of the mine on March 25. It was the second largest nickel-producing operation in the world.
New mines were opened during the 1960s, and the population topped 20,000, despite the townsite being designed for 8,000 to 12,000.
Incorporation
Thompson was incorporated as a town in 1967 on Canada's Centennial Anniversary. In 1970, Thompson gained city status in the royal presence of Queen Elizabeth II.The community was initially planned for a population of 8000, but Thompson grew rapidly to 19,001 residents by the 1971 Census; the population has even been estimated as high as 26,000 residents at the time prior to the recession. However, major layoffs at Inco Limited in 1971 and 1977 led to Thompson's population declining to 14,288 by the 1981 Census.
Thompson's rapid boom and bust was attributed to changes in the nickel market; during the 1960s, following large increases in the demand for nickel, 6 additional mines were constructed near Thompson.
After the Soviet Union gained access to the world nickel market in 1970, world supply of nickel exceeded world demand; in response, four nickel mines were closed in 1971 and 30% of Inco's workforce in Thompson was laid off.
In 1977, when nickel prices declined substantially, a fifth mine was put on care and maintenance and an additional 650 Inco employees in Thompson were laid off.
As Inco's workforce dwindled from over 4000 in the 1970s to around 850 in 2018, the economic driver of Thompson shifted to providing goods and services to the surrounding communities, earning Thompson the nickname, "The Hub of the North".
Geography
Thompson covers an area of and is located on the Precambrian Canadian Shield.Situated along the Burntwood River, Thompson is located north of Lake Winnipeg and north of the City of Winnipeg.
The city is surrounded by boreal forest and bordered on the west and north by the Burntwood River.
Ecology
Flora
Thompson is located on the border of plant hardiness zones 1a and 1b, making outdoor commercial agriculture impossible; for comparison, Winnipeg is located within zone 4a.The dominant coniferous species are white spruce, black spruce, jack pine, tamarack and balsam fir. White birch is the most common deciduous species.
Fauna
Hundreds of ravens, known locally as "Thompson Turkeys", reside in Thompson year-round. Many bird species visit Thompson and area in the summer to breed, such as herring gulls, bald eagles, golden eagles, sandhill cranes, and common terns ''.Beavers are ubiquitous around Thompson, with a few residing in the city limits. Red foxes can also be found in Thompson. Black bears, and less commonly, wolves, are occasionally spotted on the fringes of town. Moose and herds of boreal woodland caribou can also occasionally be seen near Thompson. Rarely seen predators outside of Thompson include the marten, the wolverine, and the lynx.
Climate
Thompson is marked by a subarctic climate, with long, severely cold winters and short warm summers.Monthly means range from in January to in July, and the annual mean is. A majority of the annual precipitation of falls from June to September. Snowfall totals per year, falling mainly from October to May.
Economy
The economy of Thompson is centred around nickel mining, and provides goods and services to the surrounding communities in both Census Division No. 22 and Census Division No. 23; these two Census Divisions have a combined population of 51,136, which includes over 38,000 First Nations people. Thompson is by far the largest community in either of these Census Divisions, with the next largest community being Norway House Cree Nation.As is common in resource-based communities, Thompson has experienced above-average employment income and significant swings in mining-sector employment throughout its history.
The median employment income in 2015 for full-year full-time workers in Thompson was $65,262; this was 22% higher than the Canadian median of $53,431. Thompson's unemployment rate in 2016 was 7.6%, slightly below the Canadian average of 7.7%.
As of the 2016 Census, Thompson had 7065 employed persons, with the five largest sectors of the economy being:
- mining
- health care and social assistance
- accommodation and food services
- educational services
- retail trade
Mining
Founded on a large and high-grade deposit of nickel, Thompson accounted for 11% of the world's finished nickel production in 1962, having produced over 40,800 metric tonnes of nickel that year; Thompson's nickel production peaked in 1970 and 1971 at over 60,000 metric tonnes and has since declined to 23,000 metric tonnes in 2017.
Despite the fact that Vale Limited's placed their nearby Birchtree Mine on care and maintenance, Thompson may be particularly well positioned for future growth in nickel mining industry: Vale recently invested over $100 million in the concentrate load out facility and Vale's North Atlantic mining operations director Alistair Ross recently stated that, "If you were to look across the world for an area that had nickel that could be invested in on a standalone nickel basis, there isn’t a better place ".
Between the 2016 Census and 2018, approximately 400 job losses have occurred in the mining industry.
| Thompson-Area Mines | Years of Nickel Production |
| Thompson T1 | 1959–Present |
| Thompson T3 | 1959–Present |
| Birchtree | 1966–1977 & 1989–2017 |
| Soab North | 1969–1971 |
| Soab South | 1969–1971 |
| Pipe Number 1 | 1970–1971 |
| Pipe Number 2 | No significant production |
| Pipe Open Pit | 1970–1985 |
| Thompson Open Pit | 1985–1995, 2002, & 2006 |
Other
The city is served by Thompson Airport, which is the third-busiest airport in Manitoba and provides Thompson with several hundred jobs.MDS Aerotest currently operates the Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research, a cold weather testing centre just south of Thompson, as part of a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney Canada and Rolls-Royce. Thompson was selected from an initial list of 150 candidate communities due to the area's ideal testing conditions and urban amenities.
Thompson's retail trade is centered mostly in several malls, including:
- City Centre Mall, which includes a Wal-Mart, Safeway, TD Canada, and Tim Hortons.
- Burntwood Plaza, which includes Shoppers Drug Mart and RBC Financial.
- Plaza Shopping Centre, which includes a Canadian Tire and Family Foods.
- Westwood Mall, which includes a Giant Tiger.
First Nations organizations
Twenty-four governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations are partners to the Thompson Aboriginal Accord, originally signed in 2009, outlining a common understanding towards equitable economic development and reconciliation.
Amenities
Thompson primarily serves as the "Hub of the North", providing goods and services such as health care and retail trade to surrounding communities in Northern Manitoba.Transportation
The city is served by road via an all-weather road, Manitoba Provincial Road 280, Manitoba Provincial Road 391, and Manitoba Highway 6; by rail via Thompson station, which is served by Via Rail's Winnipeg–Churchill train, which extends from Winnipeg, through The Pas, to Churchill; and by air via the Thompson Airport and Thompson Water Aerodrome.The city is connected to Winnipeg via a paved highway, rail, and air.
Thompson Transit, the city's public transit agency, ended service in 2024.