Thompson (pop. 13,035) is a city in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It lies on the Burntwood River, in north-central Manitoba.
Thompson was founded in 1956, following the discovery of a huge deposit of nickel ore in the area by the International Nickel Company of Canada, also known as Inco. The city was named after John F. Thompson, chairman of the company at that time. The first permanent residents arrived in Thompson in 1958.
Inco built a huge nickel-producing complex in Thompson. This facility was the first in the world to handle all the processes of nickel production, from mining through refining. Production began in 1961. The Brazilian company Vale acquired Inco in 2006. Vale ended smelting and refining operations at Thompson in 2018, but mining and milling continued.
Thompson is also a center of government and transportation for northern Manitoba. Airlines and freight and passenger trains serve the city. Thompson has a council-manager form of government.
