Beausejour, a charming town in the Canadian province of Manitoba, is located 46 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Nestled just west of the Canadian Shield and Whiteshell Provincial Park, Beausejour is a place of beauty and history. The town's French name, Beauséjour, translates to "beautiful stay", perfectly encapsulating the experience of visitors and residents alike.
Originally known as Stony Prairie, Beausejour was renamed in 1877 by Mrs H.W.D. Armstrong, the wife of a government railway surveyor. The town's history is deeply intertwined with the "Manitoba Glass Works", the first glass container factory in Western Canada, founded in 1906 by Joseph Keilback and his partners.
The factory, sustained by a nearby deposit of high-quality sand, employed glassblowers from Poland and the United States. They produced bottles for breweries and soft drink companies in Winnipeg. Despite its initial success, the factory was unable to compete with Eastern Canadian manufacturers and was purchased by a Montreal company in 1913. The factory site remains a Provincial Heritage Site to this day.
Beausejour was incorporated as a town in 1912 and is the birthplace of former Provincial Premier and Governor General Edward Schreyer. The town's Edward Schreyer School is named in his honour. Beausejour also served as the setting for the 1990 film "The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick" and its subsequent television series adaptation.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Beausejour had a population of 3,307. With a land area of 5.42 km2, it had a population density of 610.1/km2 in 2021, marking a 2.7% increase from its 2016 population of 3,219.
Beausejour is serviced by major highways PTH 44 and PTH 12, which run concurrently north of town. From the south, the town can be reached by traveling PTH 12 and Provincial Road 215 east into town or by taking PR 302. These roads intersect at the west side of town. Prior to the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, PTH 44 was the main route from Winnipeg to the Ontario border.
Beausejour is home to the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships and the Double B Agricultural Festival. The town is also known for its annual "Shades of the Past" car show, attracting over 500 classic and special interest vehicles.
In addition, Beausejour has hosted the 2011 Manitoba provincial men's curling championship and two Manitoba provincial women's curling championships at the Sun Gro Centre.
Beausejour experiences a humid continental climate due to its far inland position in the higher mid-latitudes. This results in warm and occasionally hot summers and frequently severely cold winters, with January average highs being below −11 °C (12 °F).
