Thompson (Manitoba)

Thompson is a city in northern Manitoba. As the "Hub of the North" it serves as the regional trade and service centre of northern Manitoba. Thompson is located along the Burntwood River, 830km north of the Canada–United States border, 739km north of the provincial capital of Winnipeg, and 396km northeast of Flin Flon. As of 2016, it has a population of 13,123 residents.HistoryThe Thompson area was first inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indian hunters 6000 BC. Europeans conducted a federal geological survey in Thompson in 1896.The modern history of Thompson began in 1956 when on February 4, a major ore body was discovered by use of an airborne electromagnetometer following ten years of mining exploration in the region. The community was founded in 1957 following an agreement with the Government of Manitoba and Inco Limited. Thompson is a planned community and is named after Inco's chairman, John F. Thompson. The population has been estimated as high as 26,000 residents prior to the recession in the 1970s. The 1957 agreement required that Inco provide financial assistance towards the Kelsey Generating System, and a spur line to connect the community with CN's Bay Line near Thicket Portage. Thompson was incorporated as a town in 1967 on Canada's Centennial Anniversary, and in 1970 as a city in the royal presence of Queen Elizabeth II, having reached a population of 20,000.