McCreary | |
|---|---|
Unincorporated urban community | |
  McCreary Location of McCreary in Manitoba | |
| Coordinates:50°46′20″N99°29′35″W / 50.77222°N 99.49306°W /50.77222; -99.49306 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Manitoba |
| Region | Parkland |
| Municipality | McCreary |
| Incorporated | 1 January 1964 |
| Amalgamated | 2015 |
| Named after | William McCreary |
| Government | |
| • Reeve | Mike Gawaziuk |
| • MP (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa) | Dan Mazier |
| • MLA (Agassiz) | Jodie Byram |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.84 km2 (0.71 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 351 m (1,152 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 497 |
| • Density | 270/km2 (700/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (Central (CDT)) |
| Area code | 204 |
McCreary is an unincorporated urban community in theMunicipality of McCreary,Manitoba,Canada.
Settled as early as the 19th century, it wasincorporated in 1964 as avillage—a status it lost uponamalgamating with the Municipality of McCreary on 1 January 2015.
McCreary covers an area of 1.70 km2, and has a population of 472. As the self-proclaimed "Ski Capital of Manitoba," the former village previously held significance as the closest settlement to the formerMount Agassiz Ski Area.
McCreary was named for the surroundingMunicipality of McCreary, both of which share their name with the local post office, which adopted the name in 1899 fromWilliam McCreary.[2]
McCreary was incorporated as a village in 1964, but wasamalgamated into the Municipality of McCreary on 1 January 2015.[3]
McCreary is located in theParkland region of Manitoba. It is located on flatprairie land, but lies immediately east ofRiding Mountain National Park.
McCreary has ahumid continental climate (KöppenDfb) with cold winters and warm summers. Average daytime temperatures range from 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) in July to −9.3 °C (15.3 °F) in January. McCreary gets an average 539 millimetres (21.2 in) of precipitation annually, noticeably wetter than other areas of the Parkland region. There is measurable rainfall 80.1 days of the year on average, and measurable snowfall 46.9 days of the year. McCreary’s average winter daytime highs and record highs, are among the highest in Manitoba due to theFoehn wind effect of downslope winds from nearby Riding Mountain, which can cause a local warming effect. NearbyWasagaming is over 900 feet (275 metres) higher in elevation. McCreary’s January daytime average high is 0.7 °C warmer thanMorden despite being 200 kilometres northwest of Morden.
| Climate data for McCreary (1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 13.7 | 10.7 | 18.7 | 28.9 | 34.0 | 44.7 | 47.2 | 47.5 | 41.1 | 27.5 | 23.0 | 11.8 | 47.5 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.0 (60.8) | 24.0 (75.2) | 34.5 (94.1) | 36.0 (96.8) | 38.0 (100.4) | 36.7 (98.1) | 38.5 (101.3) | 37.5 (99.5) | 32.5 (90.5) | 24.4 (75.9) | 14.5 (58.1) | 38.5 (101.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −9.3 (15.3) | −6.3 (20.7) | −0.1 (31.8) | 9.9 (49.8) | 17.3 (63.1) | 22.0 (71.6) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.2 (75.6) | 18.1 (64.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | −0.2 (31.6) | −7.2 (19.0) | 8.6 (47.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −14.8 (5.4) | −11.9 (10.6) | −5.4 (22.3) | 3.8 (38.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.2 (64.8) | 12.3 (54.1) | 4.9 (40.8) | −4.8 (23.4) | −12.2 (10.0) | 3.0 (37.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −20.3 (−4.5) | −17.3 (0.9) | −10.6 (12.9) | −2.3 (27.9) | 4.3 (39.7) | 10.3 (50.5) | 13.3 (55.9) | 12.1 (53.8) | 6.4 (43.5) | −0.4 (31.3) | −9.3 (15.3) | −17.2 (1.0) | −2.6 (27.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −40.6 (−41.1) | −41.0 (−41.8) | −35.4 (−31.7) | −27.0 (−16.6) | −10.5 (13.1) | −1.1 (30.0) | 0.6 (33.1) | 1.0 (33.8) | −6.5 (20.3) | −19.5 (−3.1) | −35.0 (−31.0) | −39.5 (−39.1) | −41.0 (−41.8) |
| Record lowwind chill | −50 | −49 | −45 | −24 | −13 | −4 | 0 | 0 | −10 | −18 | −32 | −44 | −50 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 21.5 (0.85) | 18.1 (0.71) | 33.7 (1.33) | 29.8 (1.17) | 62.7 (2.47) | 87.6 (3.45) | 74.2 (2.92) | 61.9 (2.44) | 58.2 (2.29) | 42.7 (1.68) | 25.9 (1.02) | 22.7 (0.89) | 539 (21.22) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.8 (0.03) | 7.9 (0.31) | 16.6 (0.65) | 62.1 (2.44) | 87.6 (3.45) | 74.2 (2.92) | 61.9 (2.44) | 57.9 (2.28) | 34.7 (1.37) | 6.4 (0.25) | 0.9 (0.04) | 411 (16.18) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 26.1 (10.3) | 19.5 (7.7) | 28.1 (11.1) | 12.3 (4.8) | 0.6 (0.2) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.1) | 8.4 (3.3) | 22.6 (8.9) | 27.3 (10.7) | 145.2 (57.1) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 10.3 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 11.5 | 14.5 | 12.9 | 11.9 | 11.3 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 10 | 125.6 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.07 | 0.37 | 2.4 | 5.7 | 11.4 | 14.5 | 12.9 | 11.9 | 11.2 | 7.5 | 1.7 | 0.54 | 80.1 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 10.2 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 2.5 | 0.41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.07 | 2 | 7.2 | 9.6 | 46.9 |
| Source:Environment Canada[4] | |||||||||||||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, McCreary had a population of 497 living in 232 of its 273 total private dwellings, a change of-2% from its 2016 population of 507. With a land area of 1.84 km2 (0.71 sq mi), it had a population density of270.1/km2 (699.6/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
In the2011 Canadian census, the median age was 58.1 years old, 17.5 years older than the national average of 40.6. There were 250 private dwellings, 228 of which were occupied.
English is the main language used in McCreary, being spoken fluently by virtually all of the population. In terms of Canada's official languages, 92.1% of the population speaks exclusively English, while 6.8% also speaksFrench. Other languages spoken as amother tongue includeUkrainian (3.4%),German (2.2%),Tagalog (1.1%), andOjibwe (1.1%), though only Ukrainian sees regular use at home, by 1.1% of the population.
Of those in McCreary aged 15 or over, 60.5% aremarried or living with acommon-law partner, 17.3% have never been married, 2.5% areseparated, 6.2% aredivorced, and 13.6% arewidowed.[5]
McCreary was formerly known for the nearbyMount Agassiz Ski Area atRiding Mountain National Park which opened in 1961 (and renovated for the 1979Canada Winter Games at the cost of nearly $500,000).[6] Despite previously holding the position as the only ski "mountain" (as opposed to valley) in Canada betweenThunder Bay and theRocky Mountains, Mount Agassiz closed in 2000 after its owner's bankruptcy. Attempts to re-open Mount Agassiz as recent as 2015 with the purpose of reviving tourism in the area fell through, and the old structures at the site have been demolished, thoughParks Canada is still taking proposals for the site.[7]
In contemporary times, the former village still features some public recreational facilities, including a tennis court shared with McCreary School, a curling arena, three baseball diamonds and a swimming pool. Though McCreary now lacks facilities for downhill skiing, several trails for cross-country skiing are available in the winter.[8]
The Burrows Trail Arts Council has provided professional performances, visual art exhibitions, workshops and classes to the area including McCreary since 1986. It was named for the historical Burrows Trail that ran through McCreary.[9]
The McCreary and District Library rotates with the collections of other libraries included in the Parkland Library Service, and contains over 15,000 volumes, as well as mobile and local art collections and two public computers with Internet service.[10]
McCreary played a role in the 1979Canada Winter Games, as some events were held at the nearbyMount Agassiz Ski Area.[6]
McCreary Centennial Arena is a predominant outlet for sports in the area, hostingice hockey teams underHockey Manitoba, as well asbroomball teams.[citation needed]
McCreary is also known for its history in the sport of curling.[citation needed]
Prior to 2015, McCreary was represented by a mayor from the time of its incorporation in 1964.
Now being amalgamated with the surrounding municipality, McCreary is represented by a council consisting of a reeve and six councillors. The present reeve, Mike Gawaziuk, was elected to office in 2018. The previous reeve, Larry McLauchlan, was elected in 2015, and prior to that served as reeve of the former Rural Municipality of McCreary from 2007.[3][11] The remaining council consists of councillors Clayton Kohlman, Allan Whyte, Dave Smith, Linda Cripps, Shawn Buchanan, and Coreen Roy.[12]
The former village lies within the federal riding ofDauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, which is represented by MPDan Mazier, a member of theConservative Party of Canada. Provincially, it lies within the riding ofAgassiz, which is represented in theManitoba Legislative Assembly by MLAJodie Byram, a member of theProgressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.
Historically, passenger and mail service in the area was available by stagecoach from 1891 until 1903. The service ran along the Burrows Trail, an early north-south thoroughfare through the Parkland area that was constructed by the federal government to facilitate settlement of the region.[9] Motorized taxi service began in 1910, and in starting in 1929, the village was serviced by a bus from Winnipeg that stopped at towns alongManitoba Highway 5. The village was served by theCanadian National Railway from 1912 to 1982.[2] While the village is no longer serviced by CN, the station remains intact today as a historical site.[13]
In contemporary times, the area is served byVia Rail passenger train service, as well asMcCreary Airport, a small public airport with one 2,600 ft (790 m) turf runway and a hangar. The airport has seen use from government agencies, skiers and pleasure pilots.[2]
McCreary is located along Manitoba Highway 5, which connects it to the Parkland region's largest centre,Dauphin, 78 km (48 mi) to the northwest, as well asNeepawa, 60 km (37 mi) to the south. It also marks the beginning ofManitoba Highway 50, which allows access from the former village to several communities along the western shore ofLake Manitoba.
McCreary is part of the Turtle River School Division, and has one public school, McCreary School. The school has 126 students in grades K-12, and offers academic andvocational classes.[14]
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