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| Gillam, Manitoba, Canada, is a community between Thompson and Churchill on the Hudson Bay Railway line. Gillam is a significant community because of the nearby hydro-electric and DC converter stations on the Nelson River.
The large Gillam Local Government District was established by the Manitoba government in the mid-1960s to facilitate development of hydroelectricity on the lower Nelson River. At 1988.51 square kilometres, Gillam is considered to be the 15th largest city or town in Canada, although the majority of the encompassing area of the District is largely uninhabited and undeveloped, but filled with many lakes, rivers and large forests of pine trees. Manitoba's largest hydro dams -- Kettle Generating Station, Long Spruce Generating Station, and Limestone Generating Station -- are located within Gillam's boundaries. Power from these stations is converted into DC at Henday and Radisson converter stations and then shipped to Winnipeg via two bi-pole lines. The Town of Gillam itself is quite small with an approximate population of 1200 people most of whom are employed by Manitoba Hydro and work at one of the many stations in the surrounding area. There are also several small businesses, a small mall, grocery store, school (K-12), recreation centre, a train station and a local Royal Canadian Mounted Police branch.
Gillam is also the home of Fox Lake Cree Nation, an Indian Band whose members originally inhabited the area. A majority of the members of Fox Lake Cree Nation live in the Town of Gillam or on Reserve Land in the nearby community of Bird, which is also located within the Gillam Local Government District. The ghost town of Sundance, whose purpose was to facilitate the building of the Limestone Generating Station, is also within the District of Gillam. Once a busy, fully functioning town, it has since been abandoned and torn down after the completion of Limestone (named for the Limestone River that empties into the Nelson just downstream of the dam).
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