Brandon was built on the heights on the other side, it became apparent that Brandon was the best place for a city in the area. Rosser had chosen Brandon as the townsite in May 1881, within a year settlers had flocked to Brandon in such numbers that it was incorporated as a city. Brandon never spent any time as a town or village but has only existed as a city. An internment camp was set up at the Exhibition Building in Brandon from September 1914 to July 1916. Post World War II, Brandon experienced a minor disaster when an explosion at the Manitoba Power Commission's steam plant caused the 40 metre (130 ft) brick chimney to collapse, killing two workers in the process. In contemporary times, Shari Decter Hirst defeated incumbent Dave Burgess in the 2010 municipal election to become the first female mayor of the city. Geography Brandon is located in south-western Manitoba, on the banks of the Assiniboine river. It is located in the Canadian Prairies and resides in the aspen parkland ecoregion of the prairies. The terrain is generally flat and rolling surrounding Brandon, and there is a large valley located within the city. The Brandon hills are located to the southeast, from which Brandon got its name. Brandon is from the provincial capital, Winnipeg; and from the Saskatchewan border. Climate Brandon has a dry continental climate (Köppen Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 2b) with warm, sometimes hot summers and cold, dry winters. Daytime temperatures range from in July to in January. Brandon has a fairly dry climate, with of precipitation annually, and as such is located in the Palliser's Triangle region of the Prairies. There is measurable rainfall on 56.0 days throughout the year, and 38.8 days with snowfall. Snow falls from October to April; however, snow has fallen as late as May and as early as September. The highest temperature ever recorded in Brandon was on 11 July 1936, during the 1936 North American heat wave. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 1 February 1893. General seasons Winter: November to March Spring: April to May Summer: June to August Fall: September to October Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Brandon had a population of 51,313 living in 21,203 of its 22,526 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 48,883. With a land area of ,