Pinawa, Manitoba, a local government district and small community, is home to 1,331 residents according to the 2016 census. Nestled in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, this charming town is situated 110 kilometres north-east of Winnipeg. Pinawa is located on the Canadian Shield within the western boundary of Whiteshell Provincial Park, near the Manitoba-Ontario provincial boundary.
The community of Pinawa was established in 1901 to support the operation of an early hydroelectric generating station. However, the site was abandoned in 1951 when the station was shut down. In 1963, Pinawa was re-established about 10 km from the original Hydro town when Atomic Energy of Canada Limited built the Whiteshell Laboratories nuclear research facility in the area.
Pinawa was chosen as the site for the research station due to the seismic stability of the area. The town was developed as a planned community, preserving many of the natural features of the site and designating all riverfront property as public reserve. Whiteshell Laboratories, similar to the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario, began decommissioning in 1998. Today, the economy of Pinawa is diversifying and includes small recreation and resort businesses and a number of environmental science firms.
Pinawa is located beside the Winnipeg River, offering access to a variety of water recreational activities such as boating, kayaking, and canoeing. Other attractions include an 18-hole golf course, beach, outdoor pool, tennis courts, a curling rink, a hockey arena and many kilometres of cross-country ski trails.
The Trans-Canada Trail runs through the town of Pinawa along the Riverside. The town also hosts the Eastern Manitoba Concert Association or EMCA's concerts, held in the community centre's gymnasium in the secondary school building once a month between October and April.
Pinawa is home to an abundance of wildlife, including deer, bears, and other species. The people of Pinawa are very familiar with white-tailed deer, although their views on them may differ. Five deer in the backyard is a common sight there, and the town is known as the Deer Capital of Manitoba.
Pinawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm summers and severely cold winters. Precipitation is moderate, but is somewhat higher in summer than at other times of the year.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pinawa had a population of 1,558 living in 708 of its 797 total private dwellings, a change of 3.6% from its 2016 population of 1,504. With a land area of 126.51 km2 (48.85 sq mi), it had a population density of 12.3/km2 (31.9/sq mi) in 2021.
Pinawa boasts a full service hospital with 24 hour emergency service, doctors' offices, and an ambulance station. The town also has a small shopping centre with a post office, credit union, grocery store, bakery, hairdresser, and offices. Additional amenities include a motel, a conference centre, and an art gallery.
