© 2014 The International Institute for Sustainable Development
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Cree called the river Missinipi “big river”. Munk branded his discovery the Danish River, but it was renamed the Churchill River as early as 1686, after Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Duke of
Marlborough John Churchill Gough, 2010.
The deep connection of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples to this land and watershed is based on their long history and stewardship of the land. Their knowledge in managing these landscapes is integral to
integrated watershed-based planning eforts.
2.3 People
In 2011 the population in the northern NCRB was up 2.32 per cent, to 37,215 people, compared to the 2006 census. Though this area covers 31 per cent of Manitoba’s land, only 3.08 per cent of the
province’s population lives there Statistics Canada, 2007, 2012. Many of the residents in the northern communities identify as Indigenous. Distribution of the population is discontinuous—issues surrounding
transportation and remoteness from major centres preclude a smoother urbanrural distribution. Many of the residents of the area identify as Indigenous and reside in northern communities within the region.
In Table 1, “settlement area” deines spatially contiguous boundaries of Statistics Canada’s Dissemination Blocks that have a permanent population greater than zero. Figure 4 shows the population distribution
in northern Manitoba. As of the 2011 census, there were zero residents in large swaths of the northern NCRB. Most settlements are either on or adjacent to Indigenous communities—a key historical factor in
the resulting distribution of settlement in northern Manitoba.
Figure 4 . Map of population distribution in northern Manitoba.
Source: Produced by IISD based on the data from the 2011 Canadian census Statistics Canada, 2012
Ilford Gillam
Brochet
Wabowden Thompson
Snow Lake Sherridon
Lynn Lake Churchill
Cross Lake Pikwitonei
Leaf Rapids Tadoule Lake
Norway House York Landing
Granville Lake Split Lake 171
Pukatawagan 198 Thicket Portage
Nelson House 170 Lac Brochet 197A
South Indian Lake
Populated Places 2011
10 100
10,000
Dissemination Blocks
Populated Unpopulated
Transportation
Highway Winter Road
Railway
Fox Lake 2
© 2014 The International Institute for Sustainable Development
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Table 1. Settlement area population 2011.
Settlement Area Population
Total Dwellings Occupied Dwellings
Thompson 12,839
5,394 4,741
Norway House 5,066
1,334 1,234
Cross Lake 4,710
1,048 933
Nelson House 170 2,471
512 463
Split Lake 171 2,107
406 389
Pukatawagan 198 1,826
385 356
Gillam 1,281
553 427
Lac Brochet 197A 816
194 175
Churchill 813
523 351
South Indian Lake 767
151 151
Snow Lake 733
531 328
Brochet 552
157 132
Wabowden 550
226 195
Lynn Lake 482
295 169
Thicket Portage 468
238 176
Leaf Rapids 453
264 140
York Landing 450
114 107
Tadoule Lake 321
141 112
Fox Lake 2 193
50 44
Ilford 141
33 31
Sherridon 80
36 32
Pikwitonei 76
26 26
Granville Lake 16
5 5
Source: Produced by IISD based on the data from the 2011 Canadian census. Source: Statistics Canada 2012
2.4 Land Use