Emo is a small rural township, located along the Rainy River near the southwestern corner of northern Ontario, Canada, on the U.S. border directly north of the state of Minnesota. Emo had a population of 1,333 in the Canada 2016 Census.

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (January 2011)

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Emo
Township (single-tier)
Township of Emo
Emo
Coordinates: 48°38′N 93°50′W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
District	Rainy River
Settled	1880s
Incorporated	1899
Government
• Type	Township
• Mayor	Harold McQuaker
• Federal riding	Thunder Bay—Rainy River
• Prov. riding	Kenora—Rainy River
Area [1]
• Land	203.09 km2 (78.41 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	1,333
• Density	6.6/km2 (17/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Postal code	P0W 1E0
Area code	807
Website	www.emo.ca

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It is known for its stock car races, its picturesque, family-friendly waterfront park, the annual Rainy River Agricultural Fair (cattle industry is key in the area) and the Emo Walleye Classic fishing tournament.

Emo was officially created on July 1, 1899, and celebrated its centennial in 1999. Emo's first reeve was Alexander Luttrell, an Irishman who named the town after a namesake village in Ireland near where he was born. The council was composed of Charles Fisher, John Dungey, Benjamin Phillips, and Thomas Shortreed.^[3]

The post office, Emo River, dates from 1887.^[4]

Emo has a four-season humid continental climate with extreme temperature differences between summer and winter. The daily mean difference between January and July is as much as 34 °C.^[5]

Emo is located in the Rainy River District. The current serving (acclaimed) mayor is Harold McQuaker, while Lisa Teeple, Harrold Boven, Phil Whatley, and Gerald Weiringa serve as councillors. Elections are held every four years, in October. Emo has been a source of controversy in the past, as it refused in 2020 to declare Pride Week or fly a pride flag. Mayor McQuaker, councillor Boven and former councillor Warren Toles voted against the motion to declare Pride Week, while former councillors Lincoln Dunn and Loriann Shortreed voted in favour.^[7] Subsequently, a complaint was filed against the Township and the three councillors with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, which is ongoing, and has cost Emo taxpayers an estimated $100,000 in legal fees, including the legal fees of the three council members named in the complaint.^[8]

Emo is about halfway between two bridges to the United States, one at Fort Frances (approximately a 30-minute drive) and the other at Rainy River (about 40 minutes by road). It is identified in many cycling resources as an excellent overnight stopping point because of the facilities (shelter, showers and bathrooms) available in the waterfront park.

There are many volunteer groups and a strong sense of community in Emo. In Emo's Lion's Park, a picturesque riverfront area, a new play structure was funded through volunteer fundraising efforts, and a 2005-2006 fiscal year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation . The park is also home to the Emo Spray Park, a $500,000 community-driven project completed in July 2010. A safe way for kids to engage in water play, the spray park attracts thousands of visitors in the summertime.

The spring brings the opening of the walleye fishing season, and the annual Emo Walleye Classic.

The Emo Speedway draws race participants and fans from the central United States, Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba. The track is a 600-metre, high-banked dirt oval track which operates every Saturday from May through Mid-September.

Emo is also home to four different religious denominations, including Knox United Church of Canada,^[9] as well as Baptist, Catholic, and Christian Reformed churches.

The Emo Food Bank and Thrift Shop, located in what was formerly the Anglican Church, helps hundreds of area residents in need every year.

Initially located in private homes of local women, the town library was moved to the schoolhouse in 1940 and to its own building in the 50s.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Emo had a population of 1,204 living in 472 of its 521 total private dwellings, a change of -9.7% from its 2016 population of 1,333. With a land area of 202.28 km² (78.10 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.0/km² (15.4/sq mi) in 2021.^[11]

The Emo Walleye Classic is a two-day catch and release fishing tournament held annually in Emo, during the final week of May each year.^[16] It takes place on the Rainy River, which marks the border between Minnesota and Ontario.

Upwards of sixty Canadian and American teams of two participate each year, each paying a participation fee ($500 in 2015). An organizing committee and many local volunteers assist at the event, and many local businesses and individuals sponsor the event.^[16]

On each morning of the tournament, anglers head upstream and downstream from the Emo waterfront to their chosen fishing spots. The weigh-ins are held in the evenings at the Emo/LaVallee Community Centre where results are posted live. On the final day of the tournament, the top ten teams from day one are brought into the arena with their boats.

• List of townships in Ontario