Thompson, Manitoba, Canada

🇨🇦 Thompson is the largest city in the Northern Region of Manitoba and is situated along the Burntwood River, 761 km (473 mi) north of Winnipeg. Originally founded in 1956 as a mining town, it now primarily serves as the "Hub of the North", providing goods and services such as healthcare and retail trade to the surrounding communities.

Thompson's trade area is larger than New Mexico, with many of the smaller communities accessible only by air or winter road. Despite its isolated location in the heart of Canada's boreal forest, it is connected to Winnipeg via paved highway, railway (Via Rail), and Thompson Airport. It also has modern amenities, such as fibre optic internet and a large retail scene, including half a dozen shopping malls and several large chain stores (e.g., Walmart, Giant Tiger, Safeway, Shoppers Drug Mart and Canadian Tire).

Thompson's natural and undisturbed surroundings make it popular with outdoor enthusiasts. The largest marina in Manitoba is 38 km (24 mi) south in Paint Lake Provincial Park, hundreds of km of snowmobile trails are maintained, and the lack of light pollution and Thompson's northern latitude allows for occasional viewing of the northern lights, even within the city limits.

History The Thompson area was first inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indian hunters around 6000 BC, sometime after the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.

For a 10-year period beginning in 1946, Inco Limited explored northern Manitoba for nickel deposits; on February 4, 1956, a major ore body was discovered, and the modern history of Thompson began.

Thompson, named after Inco's chairman at the time, Dr. John F. Thompson (1881–1968), was founded following the December 3, 1956, agreement between the Government of Manitoba and Inco Limited. On March 25, 1961, Inco formally opened the first integrated nickel mining-smelting-refining plant in the Western Hemisphere (in Thompson) and the second largest nickel-producing operation in the world (after Inco's Sudbury operations).

Thompson was incorporated as a town in 1967 on Canada's Centennial Anniversary; in 1970 Thompson gained city status in the royal presence of Queen Elizabeth II.

The community was initially planned for a population of 8000, but Thompson grew rapidly to 19,001 residents by the 1971 Census; the population has even been estimated as high as 26,000 residents prior to the recession in 1971. Major layoffs at Inco Limited in 1971 and 1977 led to Thompson's population declining to 14,288 by the 1981 Census.

Thompson's rapid boom and bust was attributed to changes in the nickel market; during the 1960s, following large increases in the demand for nickel, 6 additional mines (Birchtree, Soab North, Soab South, Pipe Number 1, Pipe Number 2, and Pipe Open Pit) were constructed near Thompson. After the Soviet Union gained access to the world nickel market in 1970, world supply of nickel exceeded world demand; in response, four nickel mines (Soab North, Soab South, Pipe Number 1, and Pipe Number 2) were closed in 1971 and 30% of Inco's workforce in Thompson was laid off. In 1977, when nickel prices declined substantially, a fifth mine (Birchtree) was put on care and maintenance and an additional 650 Inco employees in Thompson were laid off.

Economy The economy of Thompson is centred around nickel mining and providing goods and services to the surrounding communities in both Census Division No. 22 (in which Thompson is located) and Census Division No. 23; these two Census Divisions have a combined population of 51,136, which includes over 38,000 First Nations people. Thompson is by far the largest community in either of these Census Divisions, with the next largest community being Norway House Cree Nation (population 4,927).

As is common in resource-based communities, Thompson has experienced above-average employment income and significant swings in mining-sector employment throughout its history.

The median employment income in 2015 for full-year full-time workers in Thompson was $65,262; this was 22% higher than the Canadian median of $53,431.

Thompson's unemployment rate in 2016 was 7.6%, slightly below the Canadian average of 7.7%.

As of the 2016 Census, Thompson had 7065 employed persons, with the five largest sectors of the economy being: • mining (1255 employees) • health care and social assistance (1100 employees) • accommodation and food services (710 employees) • educational services (710 employees) • retail trade (670 employees)

Between the 2016 Census and 2018, approximately 400 job losses have occurred in the mining industry.

Mining Vale Limited is the owner and operator of Thompson's mining operations, which involves the mining, milling, and concentrating of nickel; the concentrated nickel slurry is then shipped (for final processing) to Vale Limited's operations in Long Harbour and Sudbury.

Founded on a large and high-grade deposit of nickel, Thompson accounted for 11% of the world's finished nickel production in 1962, having produced over 40,800 metric tonnes of nickel that year; Thompson's nickel production peaked in 1970 and 1971 at over 60,000 metric tonnes (per year) and has since declined to 23,000 metric tonnes in 2017.

Despite the fact that Vale Limited's placed their nearby Birchtree Mine on care and maintenance (suspending nickel extraction at the mine for the time being), Thompson may be particularly well positioned for future growth in nickel mining industry: Vale recently invested over $100 million in the concentrate load out facility and Vale's North Atlantic mining operations director Alistair Ross recently stated that, "If you were to look across the world for an area that had nickel that could be invested in on a standalone nickel basis, there isn’t a better place [than Thompson]".

Health care and social assistance The Northern Regional Health Authority (Eastern Campus) provides health care services to most of the communities in Census Division No. 22 and Census Division No. 23; Thompson-based facilities include the Thompson General Hospital, Northern Spirit Manor (personal care home), the Thompson Clinic, and Hope North (centre for youth in crisis).

Addictions Foundation of Manitoba also has a facility located in Thompson.

Accommodation and food services Thompson has eight hotels, including Best Western, Days Inn, and Quality Inn, which have over 600 beds (total).

There are over 20 restaurants in Thompson including Boston Pizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald's.

Educational services The School District of Mystery Lake, based in Thompson, provides K–12 education through six primary schools and one secondary school; the Franco-Manitoban School Division also operates one school for K–8.

The University College of the North and the University of Manitoba's "Northern Social Work Program" provides post-secondary education centered around nursing, social work, and the trades.

The Northern Manitoba Sector Council provides essential skills and employment skills training to Northern Manitobans.

The Frontier School Division, the largest school division in Canada by geographical area, has an Area Office in Thompson.

Retail trade Thompson's retail trade is centered mostly in several malls, such as: • City Centre Mall, which includes a Wal-Mart, Safeway, TD Canada, and Tim Hortons. • Burntwood Plaza, which includes Shoppers Drug Mart and RBC Financial. • Plaza Shopping Centre, which includes a Canadian Tire and Family Foods. • Westwood Mall, which includes a Giant Tiger.

Transport The city is served by Thompson Airport, which is the third-busiest airport in Manitoba and provides Thompson with several hundred jobs.

First Nations organizations Thompson has several advocacy, non-profit, and administrative organizations focused around First Nations people, including Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO), Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba, Keewatin Tribal Council, and Ma-Mow-We-Tak Friendship Centre.

Twenty-four governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations are partners to the Thompson Aboriginal Accord, originally signed in 2009, outlining a common understanding towards equitable economic development and reconciliation.

Cold weather testing MDS Aerotest currently operates a cold weather testing centre just south of Thompson, as part of a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney Canada and Rolls-Royce. Thompson was selected from an initial list of 150 candidate communities due to the area's ideal testing conditions and urban amenities.