Emerson, Manitoba: Difference between revisions

|leader_title2 = [[House of Commons of Canada|MP]] ([[Provencher (electoral district)|Provencher]])

'''Emerson''' is an unincorporated community recognized as a [[local urban district]] (LUD)<ref name=LUDR>{{cite web | url=http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/current/_pdf-regs.php?reg=174/99 | title=Local Urban Districts Regulation | publisher=Government of Manitoba | date=April 23, 2016 | access-date=April 24, 2016}}</ref> in south central [[Manitoba]], Canada, located within the [[Municipality of Emerson – Franklin]]. It has a population of 678 as of the [[2016 Canada Census|2016 Canada census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=DPL&Code1=460157&Geo2=PR&Code2=46&SearchText=Emerson&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=460157&TABID=1&type=0|accessdateaccess-date=23 May 2021|publisher=Statistics Canada|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census}}</ref>

Emerson, named after writer [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], is located 96 kilometerskilometres south of [[Winnipeg]] along the [[Red River of the North|Red River]], just north of the [[United States]] border at the point where the province of [[Manitoba]] and states of [[Minnesota]] and [[North Dakota]] meet. TheBeing communityin isthe far southwestern corner of municipality, the LUD shares borderedborders bywith the [[Rural Municipality of Montcalm]] in Manitoba, [[Pembina County, North Dakota|Pembina County]] in North Dakota, and [[Kittson County, Minnesota|Kittson County]] in Minnesota. The towns of [[St. Vincent, Minnesota]], and [[Pembina, North Dakota]], are located just a few kilometerskilometres south of the border in the United States. The unincorporated community of [[Noyes, Minnesota]], lies immediately across the border from Emerson,; however, the border crossing between the two is now closed.

{{As of|2020}} Highway 75 at Emerson is currentlywas being redeveloped in order to accommodate expansion of the Emerson port of entry. As part of this project, Emerson's access to Highway 75 was moved {{convert|1.2|km|mi|1|abbr=off}} north of the former junction (removed in 2019).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://pembinavalleyonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42824%3Aborder-highway-redesign-displayed-at-emerson-open-house&Itemid=338|title=Border Highway Redesign Displayed At Emerson Open House|publisher=PembinaValleyOnline.com|date=6 March 2015}}</ref>

With the passage of [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Executive Order 13769]] in 2017, Emerson has seen a large influx of immigrants walking across the border to apply for asylum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macleans.ca/down-on-the-border/|title=Down on the border|first1=Jason|last1=Markusoff|first2=Nancy|last2=Macdonald|first3=Aaron|last3=Hutchins|first4=Meagan|last4=Campbell|publisher=Maclean's|date=2017-07-11|access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> Many of them have found assistance with the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/canada-illegal-immigrants-cross-us-border-emerson-escape-deportation-camps-us-customs-undocumented-a7652756.html|title=Welcome to Emerson, the tiny Canadian border town where hundreds of refugees have fled from Trump's America|first=Andrew|last=Buncombe|work=The Independent|date=2017-04-22|access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref> In 2018, Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party of Canada [[Pablo Rodriguez (Canadian politician)|Pablo Rodriguez]] began a series of visits to immigrant communities, warning potential border crossers that those who do not qualify for refugee status could be returned to their countries of origin rather than the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-canadian-envoy-tps-20180129-story.html|title=Worried about Trump-stoked exodus of immigrants, Canada discourages illegal crossings|first=Cindy|last=Carcamo|newspaper=LALos Angeles Times|date=2018-01-29|access-date=2018-03-21}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=May 2021}}A migrant family of four Indian nationals was found frozen to death in January 2022 on the northern side of the US-Canada border.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-01-27 |title=Family who died in freezing cold by US-Canada border identified |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60162500 |access-date=2023-03-06}}</ref>

[[File:Emerson court house.jpg|thumb|left|Court houseCourthouse and former town hall, built in 1917.]]

In 1873, American businessmen [[Thomas Carney (Canadian politician)|Thomas Carney]] and William Fairbanks, following advice from railroad entrepreneur [[James J. Hill]], received a grant from the Provinceprovince of Manitoba for 640 acres along the east side of the Red River near the [[Canada–United States border]]. Hill had advised Carney and Fairbanks that the area had significant potential to become a railway hub for the region. The existing settlement of West Lynne on the west side of the river had already established itself as a key point along the trading routes between Winnipeg and [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]. With the emergence of railroads during this time, the addition of their own railway would bring great economic prosperity.<ref name="mhsgateway">{{cite journal | last = Ewens| first = Sharon| title = Historical Tour - Emerson: Gateway to the West| journal = Manitoba History | issue = 30| publisher = The Manitoba Historical Society| location = [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]]| year = 1995 | url = http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/30/emersontour.shtml | access-date = 22 August 2012 }}</ref><ref name="mhsrise">{{cite news | last = Forrestor| first = Marjorie| title = The Rise and Fall of Emerson| work = Manitoba Pageant | publisher = The Manitoba Historical Society| location = [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]]| year = 1957 | url =http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/02/emerson.shtml | access-date = 22 August 2012 }}</ref><ref name="emerson">{{cite encyclopedia| title = Emerson|encyclopedia = The Canadian Encyclopedia|last=Lyon|first=D.M. | publisher = Historica-Dominion | access-date = 22 August 2012|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emerson|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203232525/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emerson|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:CN Railway bridge at Emerson, Manitoba.jpg|thumb|[[Canadian National Railway|CN Railway]] bridge crossing the [[Red River of the North|Red River]] at Emerson.]]

West Lynne was established in the early 1870s by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], next to their North Pembina post, prior to which the company had operated a post at [[Pembina, North Dakota|Fort Pembina]] two miles to the south, in American territory. After losing the fort in a [[Fenian raids|Fenian raid]] in 1871, they withdrew and established the post inside Canadian territory.<ref name="ops">{{cite web|title=Postal History of West Lynne, Manitoba|url=http://www.ottawaphilatelicsociety.org/resources/reference-articles/canada-postal-history-of-west-lynne-manitoba|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415150311/http://www.ottawaphilatelicsociety.org/resources/reference-articles/canada-postal-history-of-west-lynne-manitoba|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 April 2013|access-date=22 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.winnipegrealestatenews.com/Resources/Article/?sysid=514|title=WinnipegREALTORS®|work=winnipegrealestatenews.com}}</ref>

Today, the Fort Dufferin site is owned by the Provinceprovince of Manitoba. A cairn and plaque mark the historic site, which is open to the public during the summer.

In the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Census of Population]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], Emerson had a population of 660 living in 294 of its 321 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:660-678}}|678|1}} from its 2016 population of 678. With a land area of {{cvt|7.35|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|660|7.35|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=2021census>{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=9810001201 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdateaccess-date=Sep 3, 2022}}</ref>

Emerson is located at the far southwest corner of the federal riding of [[Provencher (electoral district)|Provencher]], which is represented by [[Ted Falk]]. At the provincial level, the community is represented by [[Josh Guenter]], [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba|MLA]] for the [[Borderland (electoral district)|Borderland riding]].