Ashern is a

local urban district A local urban district is a type of unincorporated community within the Canadian province of Manitoba. According to ''The Municipal Act'', a local urban district is a locality wholly within a rural municipality that "has at least 250 residents a ...

located in the

Municipality of West Interlake The Rural Municipality of West Interlake is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. History The RM was incorporated on January 1, 2015, via the amalgamation of the RMs of Eriksdale and Siglunes. It was formed as a ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Interlake Region The Interlake Region is an informal geographic region of the Canadian province of Manitoba that lies roughly between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The region comprises 14 rural municipalities, one city ( S ...

. Today, the community supports the agriculture (mostly beef in addition to a few private pork and chicken farms), fishing, mineral extraction, recreation and tourism industries. The community of Ashern is the largest community in the municipality and is a regional service centre to a trading area of approximately 8,000 people.

History

The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

arrived in this area in 1911, and a fourth-class CPR station was built in 1920. Ashern was named after A. S. Hern, a timekeeper of the firm that constructed the railway that served the Western Interlake. The Ashern School District was established in February 1911, originally as number 1556 but later being reformed as number 1880 in April 1917, when the former number was reused for the Beatty School District. In 1919, the Ashern Presbyterian Church was constructed, later becoming the Ashern United Church in 1925. An addition to the building was made in the 1950s. A new school building was constructed in 1953, later replaced with the present-day Ashern Central School. The Ashern Primary School (also known as Ashern Elementary) would later be replaced with Ashern Early Years School. In 1967, Ashern became part of the Lakeshore School Division. The community previously belonged to the

Rural Municipality of Siglunes In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

, incorporated in 1917, which amalgamated with RM of Eriksdale to become the

in 2015.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Ashern had a population of 616 living in 279 of its 326 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 565. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Amenities and activities

Ashern is home the world's largest sharptail grouse, a monument erected in 1979 to commemorate the

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

and hunting qualities of the area. The Ashern Museum, open seasonally between June and September, features six restored heritage buildings: the Ashern fourth-class

station (built in 1920), which is now the museum office; St. Michael's Anglican Church (1912); Hoffman log house (1929); Ashern post office building (1931); Siglunes municipal office (1931); and Darwin School No. 1576 (1912). Ashern has a community hall, an Elk's Hall and a

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...

Hall that cater to a wide variety of events and community groups. The fall months are welcomed by avid hunters as the Siglunes region is a popular place for hunters. It hosts the Annual Ashern Rodeo during the

Labour Day Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the labour movement and its labor rights, achievements. It has its origins in the trade union, labour union movement, specifically the Eight-hour day movement, eight-hour day movement, which advoca ...

weekend. A street dance, fireworks, parade, rodeo and social are also a part of Labour Day Weekend in Ashern, as well as the Ashern Horse Show. The Ashern Hornets is the hockey team that plays in the South Interlake Hockey League (SIHL). Ashern is the hometown of the former NHL player

Chuck Arnason Ernest Charles Arnason (born July 15, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing who played 401 games over eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Kansas C ...

, as well as actor

Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in '' Smoke Signals''; Frank Fencepost in '' Dance Me Outside''; Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger''; Kickin' Wing in '' Joe Dirt''; U.S. Marin ...

. Ashern is about two hours north of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. The (Grade 5–12) high school is the largest in the division. It also has an elementary school (Kindergarten-Grade 4), recently built daycare, and a hospital serving the region.

Climate

Ashern has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') with warm summers and very cold winters. Due to its position far from large moderating bodies of water and its quite high latitude Ashern see extreme temperature variation over the course of the year.

Pop culture

The 1982

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

film, ''The Pedlar'', was shot in town.

Notable people

, former professional hockey player *

, Actor *Sasha Carter, World Champion Curler

References

{{MBDivision18 Designated places in Manitoba Local urban districts in Manitoba Unincorporated communities in Interlake Region, Manitoba