Virden is a town in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Oil was first discovered in 1951, and Virden has since come to be known as the "Oil Capital of Manitoba".
History
Virden has its roots as a farming community known as Gopher Creek. However, it became a railway tent town in 1882, and grew in population due to the brick and flour industry, as well as with the discovery of oil in the 1950s. The origin of the name, Virden, allegedly arose as a misspelling of the German town Verden in the homeland of the 7th Duke of Manchester's wife, Louisa Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.
Geography
The town is located at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway (also known as Highway #1) and Highway 83 (the "Palms to Pines" route) and is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Wallace – Woodworth. Virden is a regional service centre owing in part to its location, and it has a stable commercial sector, including several restaurants, gas stations, body shops, a movie theatre, and a performing arts theatre.
Climate
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Virden had a population of 3,118 living in 1,401 of its 1,508 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,322. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.