The Pas

Manitoba, Canada

The Pas, Manitoba

Canada seems filled with many quaint and historical towns, and the Town of The Pas in Manitoba is considered by many as one of these interesting and charming Canadian towns. If you head northwest from Winnipeg, you would encounter the Town of The Pas, Manitoba. Many people actually have different theories as to how this town was named The Pas.

This curious sounding Canadian town was once inhabited by prairie-living North American indigenous people. Coming from the wide, flat and open prairies, they were quite astounded by the forested and sloping region that was the future site of The Pas and they called it 'pasquia' which meant 'wooded narrows'. And many people this that The Pas was derived from the Cree term of pasquia. Even the locals in Manitoba continue to call The Pas as Paskoyac, which by the sound and spelling clearly shows it to be a derivative of the former pasquia.

But other people think that the name The Pas did not come from a North American word but from a French one. Many think that the term 'le pas' which means 'the steps' is what lead to the name The Pas. This idea of the area of The Pas, Manitoba being a sort of series of steps or way may be due to the fact that the Town of The Pas is known to everyone as the Gateway to the North.

Wherever the name came from, what is more important is what the town has made of that name. The fashion houses in Europe actually lead to the founding of The Pas, although it was not a full-blown town by then. It started out as a humble settlement build in Manitoba, Canada because of the demand for fur in Europe which are worn by the rich and fashionable.

People soon realized however, that the region had more to offer than just animal hide and skin. Some of the industries that still remain progressive in modern The Pas where founded several centuries ago. Agriculture, forestry, transportation, commercial fishing, health services and education began small back then but grew to such degrees that they still continue to thrive now at the 21st century.

Now, the Town of The Pas, Manitoba is recognized as a town whose economy is raised up by many diverse economies and industries including old ones like forestry and agriculture as well as new ones such as tourism and education.