Churchill | |
|---|---|
| Town of Churchill | |
.jpg) Churchill in 2010 | |
 Flag | |
| Nicknames: | |
  Churchill Churchill (Canada) Show map of Canada | |
| Coordinates:58°46′51″N094°11′13″W / 58.78083°N 94.18694°W /58.78083; -94.18694[2] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Manitoba |
| Region | Northern |
| Census division | 23 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Mayor | Michael Spence |
| • MP | Rebecca Chartrand |
| • MLA | Eric Redhead |
| Area (2021)[3] | |
| • Land | 50.83 km2 (19.63 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 29 m (94 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2021)[3] | |
• Total | 870 |
| • Density | 17.1/km2 (44/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| Postal code | |
| Area codes | 204, 431 |
| Website | churchill |
Churchill is asubarctic port town in northernManitoba, Canada, on the west shore ofHudson Bay, roughly 140 km (87 mi) from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It was named afterJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and governor of theHudson's Bay Company from 1685 to 1691. It is well known for the manypolar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" and to the benefit of its burgeoningtourism industry.
Churchill is located on theHudson Bay, at the mouth of theChurchill River on the58th parallel north, far north of most Canadian populated areas. Churchill is far from any other towns or cities, withGillam, approximately 270 km (170 mi) to the south, being the closest larger settlement. Manitoba's provincial capital,Winnipeg, is approximately 1,000 km (620 mi) south of Churchill. While not part of the city, Eskimo Point[5] and Eskimo Island are located across the river at the former site of thePrince of Wales Fort.
Various nomadicArctic peoples lived and hunted in this region. TheThule people arrived around the year 1000 from the west, the ancestors of the present-dayInuit. TheDene people arrived around the year 500 from farther north.[6] Since before the time of European contact, the region around Churchill has been predominantly inhabited by theChipewyan andCree peoples.[7][8]
Europeans first arrived in the area in 1619 when a Danish expedition led byJens Munk wintered near where Churchill would later stand. Only 3 of 64 expedition members survived the winter and sailed one of the expedition's two ships, the sloopLamprey, back to Denmark.[9] Danish archaeologists in 1964 discovered remains of the abandoned ship, the frigateUnicorn, in the tidal flats some kilometres from the mouth of the river.[10] The discoveries were all taken to Denmark; some are on display at theNational Museum in Copenhagen.
After an abortive attempt in 1688–89, in 1717, theHudson's Bay Company built the first permanent settlement,Churchill River Post, a log fort a few kilometres upstream from the mouth of theChurchill River. Thetrading post and river were named afterJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who was governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in the late 17th century. The fort,Prince of Wales Fort, was rebuilt at the mouth of the river. The fort was primarily built to capitalize on theNorth American fur trade, out of the reach ofYork Factory. It dealt mainly with the Chipewyan living north of theboreal forest. Much of the fur came from as far away asLake Athabasca and theRocky Mountains.[citation needed] A defensive battery, Cape Merry Battery, was built on the opposite side of the fort to provide protection.
As part of the Anglo-French dispute for North America, in 1731–1741, the original fort was replaced with Prince of Wales Fort, a large stone fort on the western peninsula at the mouth of the river. In 1782, the FrenchHudson Bay expedition, led byLa Pérouse, captured it. Since the British, underSamuel Hearne, were greatly outnumbered and, in any event, were not soldiers, they surrendered without firing a shot. The leaders agreed Hearne would be released and given safe passage to England, along with 31 British civilians, in the sloopSevern, on condition he immediately publish his storyA Journey to the Northern Ocean. In return, the British promised the same number of French prisoners would be released, and a British seaman familiar with the waters safely navigated the French away from the Hudson's Bay coastline at a time of year when the French risked becoming trapped in winter ice.[11] The French made an unsuccessful attempt to demolish the fort. The worst effect was on the local indigenous peoples, who had become dependent on trade goods from the fort, and many of them starved. Hearne returned to Churchill the following year but found trade had deteriorated. TheFirst Nations population that had survived the incursion had moved to other posts. Hearne's health began to fail and he delivered up command at Churchill on 16 August 1787 and returned to England. Extensive reconstruction and stabilization of the fort's remains have occurred since the 1950s, and is currently maintained as a heritage site by Parks Canada.[12]
Between the years of decline in thefur trade and the emergence of Western agricultural success, Churchill phased into and then back out of obsolescence. After decades of frustration over the monopoly and domination of theCanadian Pacific Railway, western Canadian governments banded together. They aggressively negotiated for the creation of a significant new northern shipping harbour on Hudson Bay,linked by rail fromWinnipeg. 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 chosen as the alternative afterWorld War One. Surveys by theCanadian Hydrographic Service shipCSS Acadia opened the way for safe navigation. Construction was completed by 1929.
Once this transportation rail link from farms to the Churchill port was completed, commercial shipping took many more years to pick up. In 1932,Grant MacEwan was the first person to cross through Churchill customs as a passenger. This was purely due to his determination to take the Hudson Bay route toSaskatchewan from Britain—most passengers returned via theSt. Lawrence River.[13]
In 1942, theUnited States Army Air Forces established a base called Fort Churchill, 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the town. After World War II, the base served several other purposes, including being aRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and aStrategic Air Command facility. Following the demolition of the base it was repurposed intothe town's airport.[14]
Naval Radio Station Churchill, call sign CFL, was activated as an ionospheric study station by theRoyal Canadian Navy in support of theU-boathigh-frequency direction finding (HFDF) net and became operational on 1 August 1943. Around 1949, Churchill became part of the Canadian SUPRAD (signals intelligence) network and remained in that role until it closed its doors in 1968. The Operations and Accommodations building remains today but is abandoned.[15]
This area was also the site of theChurchill Rocket Research Range, part of Canadian-American atmospheric research. Its first rocket was launched in 1956, and it continued to host launches for research until closing in 1984. The site of the former rocket range now hosts the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a facility for multidisciplinaryArctic research.[16]
In the 1950s, the British government considered establishing a site near Churchill for testing their early nuclear weapons before choosing Australia instead.[17]
Churchill is situated at theestuary of theChurchill River at Hudson Bay. The small community stands at anecotone, on theHudson Plains at the juncture of threeecoregions: the boreal forest to the south, theArctic tundra to the northwest, and the Hudson Bay to the north.Wapusk National Park, located at57°46′26″N93°22′17″W / 57.77389°N 93.37139°W /57.77389; -93.37139 (Wapusk National Park)[18], is to the southeast of the town.
The landscape around Churchill is influenced by shallow soils caused by a combination of subsurfacepermafrost andCanadian Shield rock formation. Theblack spruce dominant tree cover is sparse and stunted by these environmental constraints. There is also a noticeableice pruning effect on the trees.[19] The area also offers sport fishing. Several tour operators offer expeditions on land, sea and air, using all-terrain vehicles, tundra buggies, boats, canoes, helicopters, andultralight aircraft.[20][21]
Like all northern communities in Canada, Churchill can sometimes see theaurora borealis (Northern Lights) when there is a high amount of solar activity and the skies are clear, usually in February and March.[22] Visibility also depends on the sky being dark enough to see them, which usually precludes their visibility in the summer due tonautical twilight all night long.[23]
Churchill has a very harshsubarctic climate (Köppen climate classification:Dfc) with long, frigid winters (from early October to May) and short, cool to mild summers.[24] Churchill's winters are much colder than a coastal location at a latitude of 58 degrees north should warrant. The shallow Hudson Bay freezes over in the winter, eliminating maritime transit. Prevailing northerly winds from theNorth Pole jet across the frozen bay, leading to a January average temperature of −26.0 °C (−14.8 °F),[25] comparable to the frigid cold in theSiberianArctic city ofNorilsk, which is at a much higher latitude of 69 degrees north.Juneau, Alaska, by contrast, is also at a latitude of 58 degrees north but is moderated by the warmer and much deeperPacific Ocean. Juneau's −3.5 °C (25.7 °F)[26] January average temperature is a full 22.5 °C (40.5 °F) warmer than Churchill's.
| Climate data for Churchill (Churchill Airport) Climate ID: 5060600; coordinates58°44′21″N94°03′59″W / 58.73917°N 94.06639°W /58.73917; -94.06639 (Churchill Airport); elevation: 29.3 m (96 ft); 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1929−present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 1.2 | 1.7 | 8.3 | 28.0 | 30.7 | 36.5 | 39.7 | 44.2 | 34.1 | 23.0 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 44.2 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) | 1.8 (35.2) | 9.0 (48.2) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.9 (84.0) | 32.2 (90.0) | 36.9 (98.4) | 34.5 (94.1) | 29.2 (84.6) | 21.7 (71.1) | 7.2 (45.0) | 3.0 (37.4) | 36.9 (98.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −21.2 (−6.2) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −13.7 (7.3) | −5.0 (23.0) | 2.9 (37.2) | 12.8 (55.0) | 18.2 (64.8) | 16.7 (62.1) | 10.4 (50.7) | 1.8 (35.2) | −8.3 (17.1) | −17.0 (1.4) | −1.9 (28.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −25.3 (−13.5) | −24.3 (−11.7) | −18.6 (−1.5) | −9.7 (14.5) | −0.9 (30.4) | 7.6 (45.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 12.5 (54.5) | 7.1 (44.8) | −0.7 (30.7) | −12.0 (10.4) | −20.9 (−5.6) | −6.0 (21.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −29.2 (−20.6) | −28.5 (−19.3) | −23.5 (−10.3) | −14.4 (6.1) | −4.7 (23.5) | 2.5 (36.5) | 7.8 (46.0) | 8.2 (46.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | −3.2 (26.2) | −15.8 (3.6) | −24.8 (−12.6) | −10.2 (13.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −45.6 (−50.1) | −45.4 (−49.7) | −43.9 (−47.0) | −34.0 (−29.2) | −25.2 (−13.4) | −9.4 (15.1) | −2.2 (28.0) | −2.2 (28.0) | −11.7 (10.9) | −24.5 (−12.1) | −36.1 (−33.0) | −43.9 (−47.0) | −45.6 (−50.1) |
| Record lowwind chill | −64.4 | −62.6 | −61.4 | −56.6 | −37.1 | −12.7 | −6.9 | −6.2 | −16.7 | −35.5 | −51.1 | −58.5 | −64.4 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 14.7 (0.58) | 13.8 (0.54) | 14.1 (0.56) | 15.8 (0.62) | 25.2 (0.99) | 42.0 (1.65) | 74.0 (2.91) | 80.5 (3.17) | 74.9 (2.95) | 49.9 (1.96) | 28.9 (1.14) | 14.9 (0.59) | 447.7 (17.63) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (0.02) | 1.1 (0.04) | 16.1 (0.63) | 41.0 (1.61) | 59.8 (2.35) | 69.3 (2.73) | 66.0 (2.60) | 20.9 (0.82) | 1.3 (0.05) | 0.1 (0.00) | 276.0 (10.87) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 21.7 (8.5) | 19.3 (7.6) | 20.4 (8.0) | 24.9 (9.8) | 15.5 (6.1) | 3.3 (1.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 4.2 (1.7) | 29.8 (11.7) | 39.2 (15.4) | 22.9 (9.0) | 201.2 (79.2) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 12.2 | 10.9 | 10.2 | 8.8 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 14.5 | 16.7 | 16.5 | 16.7 | 15.7 | 13.1 | 156.8 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.09 | 0.05 | 0.45 | 1.4 | 5.1 | 10.7 | 13.9 | 14.9 | 14.5 | 6.5 | 0.91 | 0.24 | 67.5 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 11.9 | 10.3 | 11.1 | 8.3 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.06 | 2.6 | 11.6 | 15.6 | 12.3 | 92.1 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 1500 LST) | 70.5 | 68.5 | 69.9 | 73.2 | 75.8 | 66.4 | 65.3 | 69.0 | 72.1 | 80.1 | 82.3 | 75.5 | 72.4 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | −30.2 (−22.4) | −28.5 (−19.3) | −22.0 (−7.6) | −11.3 (11.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | 2.7 (36.9) | 7.4 (45.3) | 7.5 (45.5) | 2.4 (36.3) | −3.3 (26.1) | −13.8 (7.2) | −25.1 (−13.2) | −9.8 (14.3) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 79.7 | 117.7 | 177.8 | 198.2 | 197.0 | 243.0 | 281.7 | 225.9 | 112.0 | 58.1 | 55.3 | 53.1 | 1,799.5 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 36.2 | 45.1 | 48.7 | 45.8 | 37.7 | 44.3 | 51.6 | 47.2 | 29.0 | 18.2 | 23.5 | 26.7 | 37.8 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada[27] (rain/rain days, snow/snow days 1981–2010)[25][28][29] (dew point 1300 LST 1951–1980) Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980[30][31] | |||||||||||||
Tourism andecotourism are significant contributors to the local economy, with the polar bear season (October and November) being the largest. Tourists also visit to watchbeluga whales in the Churchill River in June and July. The area is also popular for birdwatchers and to view theaurora borealis.[20][21]
ThePort of Churchill is the terminus for theHudson Bay Railway operated by theArctic Gateway Group. The port facilities handle shipments of grain and other commodities around the world. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre also attracts visitors and academics from around the world who are interested in sub-Arctic and Arctic research. The town also has a health centre, several hotels, tour operators, and restaurants; it serves locals and visitors.[20][21][32]
Churchill is situated along Manitoba's 1,400 km (870 mi) coastline, on Hudson Bay at the meeting of three majorbiomes: marine, boreal forest and tundra,[33][34][35][36] each supporting a variety of flora and fauna. Each year, 10,000–12,000 eco-tourists visit, about 400–500 of whom are birders.
Polar bears were once considered 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, it is every bear for itself to huntringed seals.[citation needed] Starting in the 1980s, the town developed a sizable tourism industry focused on the migration habits of the polar bear.[37]
Many locals leave their cars unlocked in case someone needs to quickly escape the polar bears in the area.[38] Local authorities maintain a so-called "polar bear jail" where bears (primarily adolescents) who persistently loiter in or close to town, are held after being tranquillised, pending release back into the wild when the bay freezes over.[39] It is the subject of a poem,Churchill Bear Jail, written bySalish Chief Victor A. Charlo.[40]
Thousands ofbeluga whales, which move into the warmer waters of the Churchill River estuary during July and August to calf, are a significant summer attraction. Polar bears are present as well and can sometimes be seen from boat tours at this time of year.[20][21]
Churchill is also a destination forbirdwatching from late May until August; normally, 175 species are found there.[41] Birders have recorded more than 270 species within a 40 km (25 mi) radius of Churchill, includingsnowy owl,tundra swan,American golden plover andgyrfalcon. More than 100 birds, includingparasitic jaeger,Smith's longspur,stilt sandpiper, andHarris's sparrow nest there.[42] Other birds that are seen around Churchill, but less often, include thenorthern hawk-owl,three-toed woodpecker and theRoss's gull.[41]
The town has a modern health centre, operated by theWinnipeg Regional Health Authority, which employs about 129 people, including six doctors and eighteen nurses. It provides 21 acute care beds, dental care and diagnostic laboratories to service the residents of Churchill andthe regions of Nunavut.[32]
The Churchill Northern Studies Centre is a non-profit research and education facility 23 km (14 mi) east of the town of Churchill. It provides accommodations, meals, equipment rentals, and logistical support to scientific researchers who work on a diverse range of topics of interest to northern science.[43]
The Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO), operated by theUniversity of Manitoba, was constructed with federal funds beginning in 2015.[44][45] The observatory became operational in December 2021.[46] It facilitates studies to address technological, scientific and economic issues pertaining to Arcticoil spills, gas exploration,[47] and other contaminants.[48] The facility is located in the Churchill River estuary, and consists of two saltwater sub-pools designed to simultaneously accommodate contaminated and control experiments on various scenarios of the behaviour of oil spills in sea ice.[49][50] The concrete pools are equipped with a movable fabric roof to control snow cover and ice growth, and various sensors and instruments to allow real-time monitoring.[48][49] The project is estimated to cost about $32 million.[51]
Churchill Airport, formerly a United States and Canadian military base, is serviced byCalm Air operating scheduled flights connecting Churchill toWinnipeg.[52]
The privately ownedPort of Churchill is Canada's principalseaport on theArctic Ocean. The port was originally constructed by the government in the 1930s, although the idea of building such an Arctic deep-water port originated in the 19th century.[53] It is the only Arctic Ocean seaport connected to theNorth American railway grid. The port is capable of servicingPanamax vessels.[54] The presence of ice onHudson Bay restricts navigation from mid-autumn to mid-summer.[55][56] Churchill experiences the highest tides in Hudson Bay.[57][58] The Churchill estuary has a narrow entrance, and ships planning to moor at the port have to execute a relatively tight 100-degree turn.Maritime transportation companies, Nunavut Sealink and Supply (NSSI) asGroupe Desgagnés,[59] and Nunavut Eastern Arctic Sealink (NEAS)[60] both have bases in Churchill and providesealift toNunavik and allNunavut communities. The port was used for the export of Canadian grain to European markets, with rail-sea connections made at Churchill.[61]
There are no roads from Churchill that connect to the Canadian highway network.[61] The only overland route connecting Churchill to the rest of Canada is theHudson Bay Railway, formerly part of theCanadian National Railway (CN) network, which connects the Port of Churchill and the town's railway station to CN's rail line atThe Pas. TheWinnipeg–Churchill train, operated byVia Rail, provides passenger service betweenChurchill station in downtown Churchill andUnion Station in downtown Winnipeg twice per week and from The Pas once per week. The 1,700 km (1,100 mi) journey from Winnipeg takes approximately 40 hours, and services many smaller communities in northern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan.[62][63]
In 1997, the railway line and port were sold by the Canadian government to the American railway-holding companyOmniTRAX. The government ofManitoba proposed in 2010 that thePort of Churchill could serve as an "Arctic gateway," accepting container ships from Asia whose containers would then be transported south by rail to major destinations in North America.[64] Churchill has been used to transship grain since 1929.[54] In October 2012, theFinancial Post reported that due to delays in the approval of several new pipelines fromAlberta's oil fields, oil industry planners were considering shipping oil by rail to Churchill, for loading onpanamaxoil tankers.[54] Under this planicebreakers would extend the shipping season. In July 2016, OmniTRAX announced the closure of thePort of Churchill and the end of daily rail freight service to the port. Weekly freight service to the town remained[53] until May 2017, when floods washed out the track.[65]
In 2018, the Port of Churchill, the Hudson Bay Railway, and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm were purchased byArctic Gateway Group, a public-private partnership that includes Missinippi Rail LP (a consortium ofFirst Nations and local governments),Fairfax Financial andAGT Food and Ingredients.[66] The group engagedCando Rail Services andParadox Access Solutions[67] to repair the flood damage.[68] On 1 November 2018, Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau joined Churchill residents to celebrate the resumption of rail freight service to the town.[69][70][71] Regular freight shipments resumed in late November and passenger service in early December 2018.[72][73]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 231 | — |
| 1951 | 830 | +259.3% |
| 1956 | 1,178 | +41.9% |
| 1961 | 1,878 | +59.4% |
| 1966 | 1,689 | −10.1% |
| 1971 | 1,604 | −5.0% |
| 1976 | 1,699 | +5.9% |
| 1981 | 1,304 | −23.2% |
| 1986 | 1,217 | −6.7% |
| 1991 | 1,143 | −6.1% |
| 1996 | 1,089 | −4.7% |
| 2001 | 963 | −11.6% |
| 2006 | 923 | −4.2% |
| 2011 | 813 | −11.9% |
| 2016 | 899 | +10.6% |
| 2021 | 870 | −3.2% |
| Source:[74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][3] | ||
In the2021 Canadian census conducted byStatistics Canada, Churchill had a population of 870 living in 389 of its 540 total private dwellings, a change of-3.2% from its 2016 population of 899. With a land area of 50.83 km2 (19.63 sq mi), it had a population density of17.1/km2 in 2021.[3]
As of the 2021 Canada Census, just over 56 percent of the population isIndigenous, and the rest (43 percent) are non-native. Of the Indigenous population, there were 345First Nations (69 percent), 80Métis (16 percent), 25Inuit (5 percent) and 35 people (7 percent) had multiple Indigenous ancestry.[3]
The non-native population is mainly of European descent, although a small number ofBlack Canadians (2.3%) andLatin Americans (1%) also reside in Churchill.[86]
English is the most commonly spoken language, followed byCree,Inuktitut, French andDene.[3]
The town has a modern multiplex centre housing a cinema, cafeteria, public library, hospital, health centre, daycare, swimming pool, ice hockey rink, indoor playground, gym, curling rinks and basketball courts. Nearby is theItsanitaq Museum, operated by theDiocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson, with over 850 high qualityInuit carvings on permanent display. The exhibits include historical and contemporary sculptures of stone, bone, and ivory, as well as archaeological and wildlife specimens.[87] TheParks Canada visitor centre 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 such that both the community and the polar bears benefited.[88]
Churchill has a newspaper calledThe Hudson Bay Post. It is a monthly newspaper "published occasionally," according to the front page.
In the late 1950s, the first local paper, the weeklyChurchill Observer, was produced by an avocational journalist, Jack Rogers, at Defence Research Northern Laboratories (DRNL) and continued for some years even after his departure. Later another small paper, theTaiga Times, was published for a few years.[citation needed]
The idea of building a deep-water port on Hudson Bay began in the 19th century. It was conceived as a great nation-building enterprise, a more direct route to Europe, and a strategic gateway, giving Canada an indisputable claim to the Arctic. The rail line from The Pas took six years to build, cutting through the forest and over the muskeg. The first grain shipment left in 1931. In 1997, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien sold the railroad and port to Omnitrax, based out of Denver. The port soon saw record volumes of exports being shipped to Europe, the Middle East, and even Africa. Then Stephen Harper's Conservatives ended the Wheat Board monopoly, and farmers could sell their grain to whomever they chose. They chose companies shipping out of Thunder Bay or Vancouver. So the ships stopped coming, and in July, Omnitrax announced it was closing the port and ending its rail freight service, too.
Discussions are quietly underway between Calgary's oil community, Canada's only Arctic seaport, railway companies, and refiners on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, as well as in Europe, to collect unrefined oil by rail from fields across Western Canada, get it to the port on the west coast of Hudson Bay and load it on Panamax-class tankers.
Marking its most successful season, navigation closed Thursday out of Churchill, Manitoba's northern seaport. The Brandon and the Ashworth, with cargoes for European points, sailed yesterday, and no other boats are scheduled to dock here between now and October 10, official date for the close of navigation.
Federal Rhine was the first ship this year and it ended up being the earliest arrival of any commercial vessel at the port on July 11th.
At least ships are in safe hands once they arrive at the Port of Churchill. The George Kidd and the larger H. M. Wilson are the two tugboats that assist the oceangoing vessels in docking.
Man, too, has intermittently found the rocky, wind-blasted bit of coast a fit place to settle: The Inuit stayed here in prehistory, European explorers in the early 17th Century, and the Hudson's Bay Co. a hundred years after that. The railroad reached the area in the 1930s to supply a grain port;
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