Note: As of January 1, 2003, The Town of Gimli has been amalgamated with, and is now part of the Rural Municipality of Gimli.
Geography
The Rural municipality of Gimli is located in Manatoba's beautiful Interlake region. Located in Central Manitoba, this Rural Municipality is nestled along the south western shore of Lake Winnipeg, and is only an 80 kilometre drive from Manitoba's capital city, Winnipeg. Gimli is easily accessible by the scenic Provincial Trunk Highway 8, which follows along the shore of Lake Winnipeg, or by Provincial Trunk Highway 9. The Town of Gimli is the major regional service centre for the Rural Municipality of Gimli. The Town of Gimli offers many professional services as well as recreational and tourist activities for the residents of the Rural Municipality.
Other significant communities in the R.M. of Gimli include Sandy Hook, Husavick, McElheran and Arnes.
History
Gimli was formally incorporated as a municipality in 1887, yet the history of the area dates back before this time. In 1875, Icelandic immigrants landed at Willow Point (a short distance south of Gimli) and founded a community there. The community was originally part of the Republic of Iceland, and was an independent state until it was absorbed into the future Province of Manitoba. Looking for a better life in Canada, these immigrants quickly set down strong roots, turning to commercial fishing for their livelihoods. The Rural Municipality of Gimli's council was first formed on March 15, 1887. The new rural municipality retained 34 kilometres of the fine sandy beaches and shoreline that are associated with Gimli today.
In 1905, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a line north from Winnipeg to serve the Town of Gimli. The railroad heralded a rich immigration of Ukrainian and Polish settlers eager to settle the rich agricultural farmland around Gimli. The Town of Gimli was part of the rural municipality until 1908 when it was incorporated as a Town.
Economic Base
The economic ties to commercial fishing and agriculture, are still strong in the Rural Municipality of Gimli. Yet with a growing population, a diversified economic base has evolved in Gimli. The municipality's largest private sector employers are Faroex, which creates fiberglass products, and Seagram's Distillers. The Evergreen School Division represents the largest number of employees in the public sector. Together, these businesses employ approximately 350 of Gimli's residents. Another significant employer is the Rural Municipality of Gimli, which employs approximately 25 residents.
Bouchurka Brothers, Interlake Formworks and Sveinson Construction, are all construction companies that employ approximately 30 residents together. Gimli offers many incentives to new families. The Town of Gimli boasts a hospital, medical clinics, an excellent volunteer fire department, and an RCMP detachment.
The municipality is among the province's lowest, in municipal tax rates. The town offers all the services found in larger urban centres, such as grocery stores, restaurants, financial institutions and commercial stores. Future developers will also be attracted to Gimli because of its growing and fully accessible industrial park.
Major Attractions
The beautiful beaches in Gimli are definitely a wonderful weekend getaway to help keep cool during the summer months. Enjoy a game a golf at Pelican Beach Golf Course. Gimli's Harbour provides "art walk", which features paintings of many talented Manitobans and is a great walk along Gimli's marina. The Gimli District Museum features a wonderful collection of historic artifacts that describe in detail the rich fishing and farming heritage of Gimli.
Facilities - Recreation, Parks, Culture
The hot summer nights in Gimli heat up with featured races at the popular Gimli MotorSport Park. Races happen throughout the summer from May to October of every year, and are a must see for all. Gimli also boasts the Manitoba Ice Racing Championship event every winter.
