Brandon, Manitoba

History

Prior to the influx of people from Eastern Canada, the area around Brandon was primarily used by the Sioux people, the Bungays, the Yellow Quills, and the Bird Tails. In the 1870s and early 1880s, the Plains Bison were nearly completely wiped out by over-hunting. With the destruction of their staff of life, the buffalo, the nomadic Sioux people began to agree to settle in reservations such as the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, or left the area entirely.

French Canadians also passed through the area on river boats on their way to the Hudson Bay Post, Fort Ellice located near present-day St. Lazare, Manitoba. The city of Brandon gets its name from the Blue Hills south of the city, which got their name from a Hudson's Bay trading post known as Brandon House, which got its name from a hill on an island in James Bay where Captain James had anchored his ship in 1631.

During the 1870s it was believed by most that the transcontinental railway would take a northwesterly direction from Portage la Prairie. Many thought that the route would most likely go through either Minnedosa or Rapid City, Manitoba because they were both located at natural river crossings. Rapid City was the front runner for the site of the new railway and had prepared for the impending building boom accordingly. But suddenly, in 1881, the builders of the railway decided to take a more westerly route from Winnipeg, towards Grand Valley. Grand Valley was located on the northern side of the Assiniboine, opposite the side of the river where present-day Brandon sits.

Grand Valley was originally settled by two brothers John and Dougal McVicar, and their families. With the expectation of the new railroad, settlers and prospectors now rushed to an area they had previously avoided. Around 1879 a few settlers led by Reverend George Roddick had begun to build their new homes about 10 miles south of Grand Valley, at the foot of the Brandon Hills.

Meanwhile, in Grand Valley with the promise of the railway, the town began to boom. Regular voyages were made by steam sternwheelers to the city, each bringing more and more settlers. In the spring of 1881, General Thomas L. Rosser, Chief Engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in Grand Valley. It was Rosser's job to choose the townsites for the railway. Rosser approached Dougald McVicar of Grand Valley and offered him $25,000 for the railway in Grand Valley. McVicar countered with $50,000 to which Rosser replied that “I’ll be damned if a town of any kind is ever built here". So instead Rosser crossed the Assiniboine river and built the site of the railway on the high sandy south of the River, two miles west of Grand Valley. So the site was then moved to a site just west of today's current First Street bridge in Brandon. A shanty had been built there by a man named J.D. Adamson, and it was on this quarter section Adamson claimed that Rosser chose as the townsite for the CPR Railway and named Brandon.

After the location of the railway was once again changed, there was still hope that Grand Valley could become a rival neighbour to Brandon. But late in June 1881 it became clear that Grand Valley would not have lasted as a city long term. A flood hit in late June, and as the city was built on a low-lying part of the river, flooded quickly and dramatically. Because Grand Valley was built on a low flood plain, and Brandon was built on the heights on the other side, it became apparent that Brandon was the best place for a city in the area.

Rosser had chosen Brandon as the townsite in May 1881, within a year settlers had flocked to Brandon in such numbers that it was incorporated as a city. Brandon never spent any time as a town or village but has only existed as a city.

An Internment camp was set up at the Exhibition Building in Brandon from September 1914 to July 1916.

In contemporary times, Brandon City Council elected its first female mayor when Shari Decter Hirst defeated incumbent Dave Burgess in the 2010 municipal election.

Geography

Brandon is located in western Manitoba, on the banks of the Assiniboine river. It is located in the Canadian Prairies and resides in the aspen parkland ecoregion of the prairies. The terrain is generally flat and rolling surrounding Brandon, and there is a large valley located within the city. The Brandon hills are located to the southeast, from which Brandon got its name. Brandon is 214 km (133 mi) from the provincial capital, Winnipeg; and 120 km (75 mi) from the Saskatchewan border.

Climate

Brandon has a dry continental climate (Köppen Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 2b) with warm, sometimes hot summers and cold, dry winters. Daytime temperatures range from 26.0 °C (78.8 °F) in July to −10.5 °C (13.1 °F) in January. Brandon has a fairly dry climate, with 462 millimetres (18.2 in) of precipitation annually; and, as such is located in the Palliser's Triangle region of the Prairies. There is measurable rainfall on 56.0 days throughout the year, and 38.8 days with snowfall. Snow falls from October to April, however snow has fallen as late as May and as early as September. The highest temperature ever recorded in Brandon was 43.3 °C (110 °F) on 11 July 1936. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −46.7 °C (−52 °F) on 1 February 1893.

General seasons

2011

According to the 2011 Canadian census, the population of Brandon is 46,061, an 11.0% increased from 2006, making it the second largest city in Manitoba. Brandon's land mass is 76.89 km² with a population density is 599.1 people per km². The median age is 35.6 years old which is 5 years younger than the national average at 40.6 years old. There are 20,235 dwellings in Brandon with an occupancy rate of 95.5%, and the median cost of a dwelling at $219,747, lower than the national average at $280,552.

As far as education goes, for those who are 25 to 64 years old, the highest levels of education are as followed; 49.6% of people have a post-secondary schooling degree, 30.1% have a high school degree (or equivalent too) and 20.2% have nothing. The unemployment rate is 6.0% in Brandon, lower than the national average at 7.8%. The median household income before taxes is $57,177, and after taxes at $49,836, which is a bit lower than the national average at $54,089.

According to the 2011 National Household Survey, 91.0% of Brandon's residents are Canadian citizens, and about 9.0% of residents are recent immigrants (from 2001 to 2011). The racial make up of Brandon is; European (77.3%), Aboriginal (11.2%); First Nations (6.3%), Metis (4.7%), Latin American (4.4%), East Asian (3.5%), Black (1.2%) Southeast Asian (1.0%), South Asian (1.0%), West Asian & Arab (0.3%) and 0.1% of the population is multiracial while the rest of the population (0.1%) is of another group. Brandon has the highest Latin American percentage of any Canadian city over 10,000 people, most of whom are of Salvadoran descent (49.8%).

2006

As of the 2006 Census, 41,511 inhabitants in Brandon itself, and 48,256 inhabitants in the Brandon Census Agglomeration (CA). Brandon is Manitoba's second largest city, and the nations 64th largest CMA/CA. The regional Municipality of the Cornwallis, including the unincorporated urban area of Shilo CFB-BFC, the Regional Municipalities of Whitehead, and Elton all make up the Brandon Census Agglomeration.

For Brandon, 47.4% of the city's population were male, and the remaining 52.6% were female. The average age of Brandonites in 2006 was 37.0, slightly below the provincial average of 38.1. Brandon's population increased by 4.5%, above the 2.6% average increase for the province but below the 5.6% increase for the nation.

A majority of Brandon's inhabitants are of European ancestry. 9.8% of Brandon's citizens identify themselves as Aboriginal, and 4.0% of Brandon's citizens are part of a visible minority. Though English is the dominant mother tongue for most people in Brandon (90%), some 600 citizens or 1.5% claim French as some part of their first language. However 8.9% of people within the city claim some other language besides French or English as their mother tongue.

2001

According to the 2001 census 76.6% of Brandonites belonged to a Christian denomination. The census also revealed that 21.9% of the city's residents did not affiliate with any religion, this is on par with the largest city in Manitoba with 21.7% of Winnipeggers not following a religion. This is above the 18.7% of Manitobans as a whole that do not affiliate with a religion.

Brandon's demographics have been changing with an ever increasing immigrant population due to Maple Leaf recruiting foreign workers from China, Ethiopia, Ukraine, and Latin and South America. From 2004–2009 the plant brought in more than 1,700 immigrants to work for the company.

Education

Public schools in Brandon are governed by the Brandon School Division #40. There are approximately 7200 students, 900 staff, 22 schools and a budget exceeding $50 million. There are three high schools: Vincent Massey High School, Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, and Neelin High School, as well as Neelin High School's Off-Campus learning centre. Brandon is also home to four post-secondary institutions: Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College, Robertson College, as well as the Manitoba Emergency Services College.

Local teams

Major events

Sports venues

Transportation

Media

The Brandon Sun publishes newspapers on a daily basis.

Music and the arts

Brandon hosts numerous arts festivals every year, such as the Brandon Festival of the Arts, Brandon Jazz Festival, and the Brandon Folk Music Festival which has seen performers such as Crash Test Dummies, Rheostatics, Fred Penner, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Sebastian Owl and the Wailin' Jennys. The Brandon Folk Festival takes place every summer on the Keystone Centre grounds. In addition to the music festivals the Brandon University School of Music hosts the annual 'Pro Series' which has included guests like Bob Brookmeyer, George Crumb, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 Brandon was host to the Western Canadian Music Awards.

The "Words Alive" was an annual literary festival held in downtown Brandon, from 2007-10. Authors that participated in this festival included Robert J. Sawyer, Maggie Siggins, Fred Stenson and Corey Redekop.

Some of the local arts venues include the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, Lorne Watson Recital Hall, Evans Theatre, and the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba.

Events and exhibitions