Information/Write-up
The Pas is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located in Division No. 21, Manitoba in the Northern Region, some 630 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, near the border of Saskatchewan. It is sometimes still called Paskoyac by locals. That was the official name of the town until it was incorporated in 1912 and its name was changed. The word "Paskoyac" comes from the European transliteration "O'Paskoyac", an attempt to render phonetically the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
Known as "The Gateway to the North", The Pas is a multi-industry northern Manitoba town serving a district population of over 15,000 (including the Opaskwayak Cree Nation). The main components of the region's economy are agriculture, forestry, commercial fishing, tourism, transportation, and services (especially health and education). The main employer is a paper and lumber mill operated by Tolko Industries. The Pas contains one of the two main campuses of the University College of the North.
The Pas is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, as well as part of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
The area's original inhabitants were the Cree. They are thought to have migrated from the southeastern prairies over 9000 years ago.
The first European recorded to encounter the Cree here was Henry Kelsey, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. He travelled through the area between 1690 and 1692 on his way to the Canadian prairies.
During the years of New France, La Vérendrye, the first western military commander, directed the construction of Fort Pascoyac near here. It was named after the Opaskwayak Cree nation, or their word pasquia meaning "wooded narrows".
For years the settlement was called Pascoyac, sometimes shortened to Le Pas. The Town of The Pas was incorporated in 1912. The area today is composed of three distinct communities: The Town of The Pas, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.
The history of the city and the region may be seen at the Sam Waller Museum, located in the old courthouse in downtown The Pas.
Hello Robert,
Thanks for sending this link .... a wonderful clean crisp time capsule. I will definitely put the link on our site and will plug it in our next issue. Are there also links for Flin Flon and Thompson? Craig Oliver no less! Thanks again.
Best regards,
Frank Fieber
Box 911
Flin Flon, Manitoba
R8A 1N7
info@northroots.ca
www.northroots.ca
Tel: (204) 687-5411
Fax: (204) 687-3280
Hello Mr. Williston.
Thank you very much for your email. I have been away on vacation or would have sent you my thanks earlier.
I will pass along the information to my contacts here. There’s quite a debate about where our name came from, so it should be interesting.
Thanks for thinking of us.
Pamela
Pamela Smyth
Director, External Relations
University College of the North
(204) 627-8322
psmyth@ucn.ca
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