Industry on the upswing in Manitouwadge
Manitouwadge is looking for a few new people to call neighbour. The small town in northern Ontario is seeing an upswing thanks to an increased demand for natural resources.
"Manitouwadge is like a hidden gem," said Mayor-elect Jim Moffat.
“People travel here for the wilderness, the fresh air, it's just a great place to be.”
Manitouwadge is a town of about 2,000 people located on Highway 614, smack dab in the middle between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
The name means 'cave of the great spirit' in Ojibway, a testament to early residents of the area.
"Work-wise, there is a lot of forestry work in Manitouwadge, there are many miners who still live in Manitouwadge and they travel to the local mine at Hemlo or they fly in and fly out," said Moffat.
The long-time local politician said nature is also a recreational must for many.
"You can't beat the snowmobiling out here, lots of snow in the wintertime. We have the best ski hill on the north shore," he said.
"Summertime we've got a great golf course there and fishing, hunting galore."
CLOSE TO BARRICK GOLD
The job bank on the town's website currently has several openings for high-level jobs.
Barrick Gold is also a short commute from the town.
One of the employers helping to sustain the town is Manitouwadge Contracting Ltd. Owner Craig Schut said you can't beat the lifestyle.
"It's a very small, tight-knit community, small in the middle of nowhere," he told CTV News.
"You go around and ask people what brought them here and most people like myself will tell you it was a short-term job. Twenty years later and I'm still here."
Schut said it was mining that really helped create the town. Forestry has always been there.
"We don't have a facility for forestry in town, we deliver the product to other areas," he said.
"We're a stump-to-dump operation for forestry. We rely on ourselves for all aspects of it. So we do everything from building the roads, to harvesting the timber, to processing the timber and looking after getting that timber and all that maintenance that is required in getting that to the mills. We do it all in-house with our employees and direct contractors."
"We are a fully furnished community, we have a wonderful hospital, we have schools," added Schut.
"This is about a small as town as you can get where you have everything. Nobody gets trucked anywhere – a lot of other communities, your kids are on the highway for an hour or two on a school bus. We're very lucky. We're self-sufficient but there is, in between mining and forestry, a need for people here."
Cost of living has been a common joke for many of them. Until recently, it didn't cost much to set up shop.
"For a long time, that was the running gag. You pay more for your vehicle than you do for your housing, but now people are catching on and our values are going up so if you're coming up here, hurry up," laughed Moffat.
A decent price to pay for community, in a peaceful setting full of nature.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.