Morden, Manitoba

Morden is a city located in the Pembina Valley region of southern Manitoba, Canada near the United States border. It is about 11 km west of the neighbouring city of Winkler; together Morden and Winkler are often referred to as Manitoba's Twin Cities. Morden, which is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Stanley, is the eighth largest and fastest-growing city in Manitoba. According to Statistics Canada, the city had a population of 9,929 in 2021, an increase of 14.5% from 2016, making it Manitoba's fastest growing city.

History
Morden was founded in 1882, when the Canadian Pacific Railway built a railway line crossing the Dead Horse Creek (called Le Cheval Mort by the French fur traders) at a place then known as Cheval. This spot became a popular resting place as it was ideal to provide water for drinking and locomotives. The settlement was renamed "Morden", after Alvey Morden, on whose family's land the community was established. Morden was incorporated as a municipality on January 1, 1882. The Manitoba government granted Morden town status in 1903 and later city status in 2012.

Climate
Morden has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 3a ) with hot summers and cold winters. The average high in July is 25.6 C and the average low is 14.3 C. Since the Morden area experiences some of the warmest temperatures in Manitoba, it has become a centre for agricultural and horticultural research. Since 1915, the city has been home to the Morden Research and Development Centre, which is operated by the Government of Canada. The average high in January is -10.0 C and the average low is -19.1 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Morden was 111 F on 11 July 1936. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -42.0 C on 16 January 1993.

Demographics


In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Morden had a population of 9,929 living in 3,995 of its 4,162 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 8,668. With a land area of 16.29 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Arts and culture


Morden is home to the largest collection of marine reptile fossils in Canada, located at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. Their collection includes a 13-metre-long, 80 million year old mosasaur; it is a Guinness Record holder as the largest mosasaur on public display.

Pembina Hills Art Gallery is located in Morden.

In 2008, Morden was designated a "Cultural Capital" by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women in 2008 for its emphasis on art and culture. This includes hosting various festivals such as the Back Forty Festival, which highlights aboriginal influences in the community. Award money was spent on a new performing arts centre, and four murals.

Corn and Apple Festival


Morden holds the Corn and Apple Festival each August. Founded in 1967, the festival includes free corn and apple cider, and celebrates a fruit and vegetable that thrive in Morden's long growing season. Notable entertainers at past festivals include Prairie Oyster, Colin James, Dr. Hook, Randy Bachman, The Trews, Chad Brownlee, and Rick Mercer.

Morden's quaint and historic downtown was featured in the 2020 TV series Tales from the Loop by Amazon Prime Video and the 2022 Hallmark Channel TV film Pumpkin Everything. In 2023 Still Standing, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV show about "towns that are against the ropes but still hanging in there", featured the city of Morden.

Attractions
The community's recreation hub is the Access Event Centre. The multi-purpose facility houses two indoor arenas, a 1,000-seat community hall, the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as banquet and conference rooms. The lower level of the facility is home to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre.

Sports
Morden is home to various ice hockey teams, including the Morden Bombers of the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League, Morden Thunder of the Manitoba High School Hockey League, and the Pembina Valley Hawks of the Manitoba Female Hockey League. The 2017 Esso Cup, Canada's national female midget hockey championship, was hosted by the Hawks in Morden.

The Morden Mud Hens are the men's senior baseball team that plays in the Border Baseball League and captured a provincial title in 2018.

Morden has been the host of the Manitoba Games in its summer and winter editions in 1996 and 2014 respectively.

Government
Morden is governed by a mayor and six councilors who are elected by residents. The current Mayor of Morden is Brandon Burley, who won the 2018 Municipal Election with 1,334 votes (49.17%). Councilor Doug Frost currently serves as Deputy Mayor. Also serving on City of Morden Council are Councilor Gord Maddock, Councilor Garry Hiebert as Corporate Chair-Person, Councilor Hank Hildebrand, Councilor Jim Hunt, and Councilor Nancy Penner as Operations Chair-Person. The City of Morden City Manager has been Nicole Reidle since spring of 2020.

Morden is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (as part of the Morden-Winkler riding) by Progressive Conservative MLA Carrie Hiebert and in the House of Commons of Canada (as part of the Portage—Lisgar riding) by Conservative MP Branden Leslie.

Transportation
Roadways in Morden include: Provincial Road 432, Manitoba Provincial Highway 3, Manitoba Highway 14, and Manitoba Highway 75.

Morden is located 21.5 km north of the United States border.

Morden is served by a small rural airport, Morden Regional Aerodrome. The city has a taxi service. Greyhound provides a courier service to Morden; passenger service was discontinued. Morden is bisected by the Canadian Pacific railway, running east–west. The Boundary Trail Railway interlines with the Canadian Pacific in Morden.

Education
Morden public schools are part of the Western School Division, which consists of two elementary schools - Maple Leaf Elementary School and Minnewasta Elementary School, one middle school, École Morden Middle School, one high school, Morden Collegiate Institute and an Adult Education centre.

Morden is also home to a branch of Campus Manitoba, providing post-secondary courses from Red River College.

Media
Morden's local newspaper is The Winkler-Morden Voice, also published weekly and distributed by mail to households in both Winkler and Morden and many surrounding smaller communities. A previous paper, The Morden Times, closed in 2020.

Notable people

 * George Thomas Armstrong, politician
 * George Ashdown, politician
 * Jim Barrie, politician
 * Lillian Beynon Thomas, journalist and feminist
 * Candice Bergen, politician
 * Jeff Blair, journalist
 * John Alton Duncan, judge
 * Kristen Foster, curler
 * Cameron Friesen, politician
 * Henry Friesen, an endocrinologist
 * Chay Genoway, an ice hockey player for the Hershey Bears
 * Colby Genoway, hockey player
 * Keith Hamel, musician
 * Jake Hoeppner, politician
 * Charles Holland Locke, judge
 * John MacAulay, lawyer
 * Benjamin McConnell, politician
 * Loreena McKennitt, Celtic musician
 * Casey Plett, writer
 * Don Rudd, curler
 * John Ruddell, politician
 * Brent Stewart, judge
 * William Tobias, politician
 * Howard Winkler, politician
 * Valentine Winkler, politician
 * Wooden Sky, band
 * Taylor Woods, hockey player