Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River about northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 2021 census. The mainstays of the local economy are tourism, a steel mill, and a psychiatric hospital. A vertical lift bridge over the Red River connects Selkirk with the smaller town of East Selkirk. The city is connected to Winnipeg via Highway 9 and is served by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The city was named in honour of Scotsman Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, who obtained the grant to establish a colony in the Red River area in 1813. History The present-day city is near the centre of the area purchased by the Earl of Selkirk from the Hudson's Bay Company. The first settlers of the Red River Colony arrived in 1813. Although the settlers negotiated a treaty with the Saulteaux Indians of the area, the commercial rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company gave rise to violent confrontations between the settlers and the trading companies. In recognition of the Earl's importance in bringing settlers to the region, the town was named Selkirk and incorporated in 1882. Economy Entertainment Selkirk is advertised as the Catfish Capital of the World due to the large amounts of catfish in the nearby Red River. This nickname was part of an advertising campaign to attract American anglers to fish for trophy-sized catfish. Selkirk is also home to Chuck the Channel Cat, a fiberglass statue of a catfish that measures long. The catfish was named after local sport fisherman Chuck Norquay, who drowned while doing what he loved most: fishing in the Red River. After Chuck was built in 1986, the town council decided to place Chuck in front of Smitty's Restaurant on Main Street. The Marine Museum of Manitoba, a collection of historical marine artifacts of Lake Winnipeg and the Red River area, is located in Selkirk. Selkirk is also the site of a Canadian Coast Guard base. The yearly Selkirk Fair and Rodeo is held to celebrate the area's agricultural history. It celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2008. Employment The Selkirk Mental Health Centre, the largest mental health facility in the province, is a major employer in the city. It is surrounded by a park-like campus on the outskirts of the city. Gerdau, owned by Gerdau