Manitoba

For other uses, see Manitoba (disambiguation).

Manitoba

Flag of Manitoba Coat of Arms of Manitoba
Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free)
Official languages	English
Capital	Winnipeg
Largest city	Winnipeg
Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba	John Harvard
Premier	Gary Doer (NDP)
Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats	14 6
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 8th 647,797 km² 14.5%
Population  - Total (2005)  - Density	Ranked 5th 1,177,556 1.80/km²
Confederation	July 15, 1870 (5th)
Time Zone	UTC-6
Abbreviations  - Postal  - ISO 3166-2  - Postal Code Prefix	MB CA-MB R
Web site	www.gov.mb.ca

Manitoba is one of Canada's provinces. It is the fifth Canadian province (created by the government in 1870). Its population as of July 1, 2005 (Statistics Canada) was 1,177,556 (Manitobans). It is the easternmost of the three Prairie Provinces. The name is Ojibwa, meaning "straits of the spirit".

Its capital and largest city (containing over one half the provincial population) is Winnipeg. Other important cities and towns include Brandon, Thompson, Dauphin, Swan River, Churchill, The Pas, Selkirk, Portage la Prairie, Flin Flon, Steinbach, Morden, and Winkler.

Geography

Manitoba is located in the longitudinal centre of Canada, although it is considered part of Western Canada. It borders Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east, Nunavut to the north, and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south.

The province has a coast with Hudson Bay, and contains the very large Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba (its namesake), and Winnipegosis. Important watercourses include the Red River, Assiniboine River, Nelson River, Winnipeg River, Hayes River and Churchill River.

It is generally flat and low-lying though there are some hilly areas in the province. Baldy Mountain is the highest point at 831m (2,727 feet) and the Hudson Bay coast the lowest at sea level. Other upland areas include Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills, and the Canadian Shield regions to the east.

The climate in Manitoba is typical of its mid continent location and northerly latitude. In general, temperatures and precipitation decrease from south to north. Summers are generally warm to hot and winters very cold. Both spring and autumn are contracted seasons. As Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water (all of Manitoba's lakes freeze during the winter months), and because of its generally flat landscape, it is exposed to numerous weather systems throughout the year including prolonged cold spells in the winter months when arctic high pressure air masses settle over the province. This has resulted in the capital of the province being nicknamed "Winterpeg". In the summer months the climate is often influenced by low pressure air masses originating in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in hot and humid conditions and frequent thunderstorms.

Only the southern parts of the province support extensive agriculture. The northern reaches of the province range through coniferous forests, muskeg, and up to tundra in the far north. There is approximately 24,000 square miles of untouched boreal forest on the eastern side of Lake Winnipeg. This area is renowned by naturalists and sportsmen for its pristine wilderness.

Entering Manitoba from Saskatchewan on the Yellowhead Highway.

History

Manitoba was settled by members of the Ojibwa and Assiniboine tribes. The first European to reach present-day Manitoba was Sir Thomas Button, who visited the Nelson River in 1612. Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de la Vérendrye, visited the Red River Valley in the 1730s as part of opening the area for French exploration and exploitation. An important French-Canadian population (Franco-Manitobains) still lives in Manitoba, especially in the Saint-Boniface district of Winnipeg.

The territory was won by Britain in 1763 as part of the French and Indian War, and became part of Rupert's Land, the immense monopoly territory of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Manitoba Legislature

The founding of the first agricultural community in 1811 by Lord Selkirk, near modern Winnipeg, resulted in conflict between the white colonists and the Métis who lived near there. Twenty colonists, including the governor, were killed by the Métis in the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816.

When Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories, a lack of attention to Métis concerns led their leader Louis Riel to establish a provisional government, The Red River Rebellion. Negotiations between this government and the Canadian government resulted in the creation of the province of Manitoba and its entry into Confederation in 1870.

Originally the province was only 1/18 of its current size and square in shape - it was known as the "postage stamp province." It grew progressively, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories until it attained its current size by reaching 60°N in 1912.

Demographics

Ethnic origin

Note: the percentages do not necesarily add up to 100% as multiple responses are allowed.

• 22.8% Canadian
• 22.0% English
• 18.1% German
• 17.7% Scottish
• 14.2% Ukrainian
• 13.0% Irish
• 12.6% French
• 9.9% North American Indian
• 6.6% Polish
• 5.1% Métis

Ethnic origins with less than 3% of the responses are not listed. Source

Manitoba is home to the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland.[1] There are about 26,000 people with Icelandic ancestry living in Manitoba.[2] About 35% of the Icelandic-Canadian population lives in Manitoba.[3]

Religious groups

• 43.0% Protestant
• 29.3% Roman Catholic
• 4.0% Christian not included elsewhere
• 1.4% Christian Orthodox
• 1.1% Jewish
• 18.6% No religious affiliation

Religions that make up less than 1% are not listed. Source

Famous Manitobans

• Randy Bachman, musician, (The Guess Who) & Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO)
• Ashleigh Banfield, TV actress, TV host
• Cordell Barker, Oscar nominated animator The Cat Came Back
• Brenda Barrie, novelist and poet
• Burton Cummings, musician (The Guess Who)
• Len Cariou, actor
• Bill Cody, actor
• Richard Condie, Oscar nominated animator The Big Snit
• Ma-Anne Dionisio, actress, played role of Kim in Miss Saigon in Toronto and in Sydney, Australia
• Deanna Durbin, actress
• Marcel Dzama, artist
• Brendan Fehr, actor, star of the television series Roswell
• Ken Finkleman, director, writer and actor
• Terry Fox, cancer activist and national hero
• Aaron Funk, musician
• Joanna Gleason, actress
• Monty Hall, TV celebrity, television game show host
• Bob Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace
• Doug Henning, magician
• Terry Jacks, singer
• Chantal Kreviazuk, musician & actress
• Mimi Kuzyk, tv actress
• Margaret Laurence, author
• Kyle McCulloch, actor, writer for South Park
• Todd MacCulloch, basketball player
• Gisele MacKenzie, singer
• Mary MacLane, writer
• Guy Maddin, director
• Joan Mitchell, painter, first wife of Alan Greenspan
• Bob Nolan, musician
• Anna Paquin, actress
• Fred Penner, children's entertainer, musician
• Frank Pickersgill, SOE agent in World War II executed by the Nazis
• Douglas Rain, actor
• Brad Roberts, musician, Crash Test Dummies
• Gabrielle Roy, author
• Ray St. Germain, musician
• John K. Samson, singer-songwriter (The Weakerthans)
• Terry Sawchuk, NHL goalie
• Remy Shand, musician
• Al Simmons, musician, children's entertainer
• Alexander Steen, NHL
• David Steinberg, actor, comedian
• Sir William Stephenson (aka Intrepid), spy, man on whom the character of James Bond is based
• Nia Vardalos, actress and writer
• Catherine Wreford, stage actress, wife of Jeff Goldblum
• Maiko Watson, musician, founding member of girl-group Sugar Jones, wife of Remy Shand

Map

See also

• Manitoba Act
• Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
• Provinces and territories of Canada
• Manitoba cabinet ministers
• Manitoba Hydro
• Manitoba Telecom Services
• List of cities in Canada
• List of Manitoba general elections
• List of Manitoba lieutenant-governors
• List of Manitoba premiers
• List of Manitoba regions
• List of communities in Manitoba
• List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
• Louis Riel
• Republic of Manitoba (1867-68)
• Dominion Land Survey
• Red River Flood, 1997
• Same-sex marriage in Manitoba
• list of rural municipalities in Manitoba
• List of Manitoba School Divisions and Districts
• First Nations in Southern Manitoba
• First Nations in the Northern Region of Manitoba

Provinces and territories of Canada
Provinces: Alberta | British Columbia | Manitoba | Newfoundland and Labrador | New Brunswick | Nova Scotia | Ontario | Quebec | Prince Edward Island | Saskatchewan
Territories: Northwest Territories | Nunavut | Yukon

	Manitoba Communities
Manitoba Cities: Brandon | Dauphin | Flin Flon | Portage la Prairie | Selkirk | Steinbach | Thompson | Winkler | Winnipeg
Manitoba Regions: Winnipeg Capital Region | Central Plains | Eastman | Interlake | Northern | Parkland | Pembina Valley | Westman

External links

• Government of Manitoba
• The Manitoba School Question
• The Manitoba Historical Society