Rainy River District

Rainy River District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1885. It is the only division in Ontario that lies completely in the Central Time Zone, except for the township of Atikokan (including Sapawe and Kawene to the east) observing Eastern Standard Time for part of the year. Its seat is Fort Frances. It is known for its fishing and its location on the US border opposite International Falls, Minnesota, and Baudette, Minnesota.

Rainy River District
District
Location of Rainy River District in Ontario
Coordinates: 48°50′N 92°00′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Northwestern Ontario
Created	1885
Government
• MPs	Marcus Powlowski (Liberal)
• MPPs	Kevin Holland (PC), Greg Rickford (PC)
Area [1]
• Land	15,400.95 km2 (5,946.34 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	328 m (1,076 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	19,437
• Density	1.3/km2 (3/sq mi)
Time zones
Most of the district	UTC-06:00 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-05:00 (CDT)
Atikokan	UTC-05:00 (Eastern)
Postal code span	P0W, P9A
Area code	807
Largest communities [3]	Fort Frances (7,952) Atikokan (2,787)

Subdivisions

Municipalities

Status	Name	Population (2011)	Mayor or Reeve
Town	Fort Frances	7,952	Andrew Hallikas
Town	Atikokan	2,787	Dennis Brown
Township	Emo	1,252	Harold McQuaker
Township	La Vallee	988	Ken McKinnon
Township	Alberton	864	Mike Ford
Town	Rainy River	842	Deborah Ewald
Township	Chapple	741	Rilla Race
Township	Dawson	563	Bill Langner
Township	Morley	474	George Heyens
Township	Lake of the Woods	296	Valerie Pizey

Unorganized area:

• Rainy River, Unorganized (served by the Eva Marion Lake local services board)

First Nations

Reserves:

• Agency 1
• Assabaska
• Big Grassy River 35G
• Big Island 31D
• Big Island 31E
• Big Island 31F
• Big Island 37
• Big Island Mainland 93
• Couchiching 16A
• Lake of the Woods 31H
• Lake of the Woods 34
• Long Sault 12
• Manitou Rapids 11
• Naongashing 31A
• Neguaguon Lake 25D
• Rainy Lake 17A
• Rainy Lake 17B
• Rainy Lake 18C
• Rainy Lake 26A
• Sabaskong Bay 35C
• Saug-a-Gaw-Sing 1
• Seine River 23A
• Seine River 23B

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Rainy River District had a population of 19,437 living in 8,315 of its 10,679 total private dwellings, a change of −3.3% from its 2016 population of 20,110. With a land area of 15,400.95 km² (5,946.34 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.3/km² (3.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

	2021	2016	2011
Population	19,437 (-3.3% from 2016)	20,110 (−1.3% from 2011)	20,370 (−5.5% from 2006)
Land area	15,400.95 km2 (5,946.34 sq mi)	15,486.75 km2 (5,979.47 sq mi)	15,484.83 km2 (5,978.73 sq mi)
Population density	1.3/km2 (3.4/sq mi)	1.3/km2 (3.4/sq mi)	1.3/km2 (3.4/sq mi)
Median age	45.2 (M: 44.0, F: 46.0)	44.7 (M: 44.1, F: 45.2)
Private dwellings	10,679 (total)  8,315 (occupied)	11,217 (total)	10,792 (total)
Median household income	$78,000	$64,320

Canada census – Rainy River District community profile

References: 2021^[4] 2016^[5] 2011^[6]

Population history of the Rainy River District

Year Pop. ±% 1921 13,518 —     1931 17,359 +28.4% 1941 19,132 +10.2% 1951 22,132 +15.7% 1956 25,483 +15.1% 1961 26,531 +4.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 25,816 −2.7% 1971 25,750 −0.3% 1976 24,768 −3.8% 1981 22,798 −8.0% 1986 22,871 +0.3% 1991 22,997 +0.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1996 23,138 +0.6% 2001 22,109 −4.4% 2006 21,564 −2.5% 2011 20,370 −5.5% 2016 20,110 −1.3% 2021 19,437 −3.3%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[1][7]

Sunset in Quetico Provincial Park

Culture

As of 2013, the Rainy River District School Board has partnered with the Seven Generations Education Institute, the Ministry of Education, and local First Nations communities in development of new technologies and programs for revitalization of the Ojibwe language. ^[8]

See also

• List of Ontario Census Divisions
• Quetico Provincial Park
• List of townships in Ontario
• List of secondary schools in Ontario#Rainy River District