The Pas, Manitoba

The Pas is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located at , some 630 km north of the provincial capital, Winnipeg.

Known as the "Gateway to the North," The Pas is a multi-industry northern Manitoba town serving a district population of over 15 000. The main components of the region's diversified economy are agriculture, forestry, commercial fishing, tourism, transport, and services (especially health and education). The Pas contains one of the two main campuses of the University College of the North.

History

The area's original inhabitants were the Cree, who migrated from the southeastern prairies 5000 years ago. "The Pas" is a derivative of the Cree word "pasquia" meaning "wooded narrows".

The first European to travel through the area was Henry Kelsey, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company who travelled through the area on his way to the Canadian prairies sometime between 1690 - 1692. The Town of The Pas was incorporated in 1912.

The area today is composed of three distinct communities: The Town of The Pas, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.