Manitoba is the easternmost of Canada’s three Prairie Provinces. Its highest point is Bauldy Mountain, with 831 m. Manitoba’s farmland, triangle-shaped, is bordered by Saskatchewan and the EUA, passing diagonally through Lake Winnipeg. All Manitoba’s waters flow into Hudson Bay. In order to favour agriculture in the region, a drainage system was built from the centre to the south of the province.
Manitoba has an area of 649.950 sq km, 548.360 of which are land.
Manitoba’s economy, which is based on traditional resources and high-technology, is rich and stable. Commerce is essential to its success, once production is higher than consumption. Exports from Manitoba for the rest of the world have doubled since 1990. Furthermore, Manitoba offers low production costs, dedicated and high-qualified manual work and excellent opportunities of communication and research. It also offers sophisticated substructures in terms of telecommunication and information.
Manitoba’s ethnic composition is diverse and rich, with people from all continents and virtually from all countries in the world. The population comprised the indigenous peoples, settlers of Scottish origin, the Selkirk, in 1811, the British and the French-Canadians, after Confederation, in 1870. Moreover, the population increased by colonists from Russia, by Icelandic, Ukrainian and German settlers. After the Second World War, Manitoba accepted immigration from Europe, and more recently from the Caribbean, South America, Africa and Asia. The census of 1996 showed a population of about 1.113.898.
Winnipeg
The city of Winnipeg is the capital of the Province of Manitoba. It has approximately 1.150.000 inhabitants and is located in the centre of Canada. In winter, temperatures reach -18ºC and in summer 20ºC.
In summer, Winnipeg hosts the festival of gastronomy, “A Taste of Manitoba” and the “Folklorama” Festival in July, which attract people from all corners. These festivals are a unique possibility to visit hundreds of countries in the same place.
The name Winnipeg comes from the Indian Cree, “Win” means muddy and “Nippe” water.
Winnipeg is located in the junction of the Red River and the Assiniboine River. It stays at 40 miles south of Winnipeg Lake and 60 miles north of the border line between Canada and the United States, almost in the middle of the Atlantic and the Pacific, at an altitude of 760 feet above sea level.
Winnipeg grew from a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company (Fort Garry) in 1870, with a population of 215 inhabitants, into an urban centre with 256.000 inhabitants and 500.000 in the surrounding metropolitan area. With the incorporation of the city in 1873, the number of inhabitants reached 1.869.000. In 1878, the steam railways connection of St. Paul, Minnesota, reached Winnipeg River, and on July 1, 1886, the first train from Montreal arrived Winnipeg. This event was the beginning of a steady circulation of people and the increasing of population numbers, which led to the construction of a city whose importance is only surpassed by a few other Canadian cities.
Winnipeg has become the greatest cereal centre of the American continent, and the financial, commercial and industrial centre of the west, thanks to its geographic location and to the opportunities given by the railways. It also offers great possibilities for trading and encourages the appearing of manufactures and several industries.
Winnipeg has the lowest prices of electricity in the north-American continent.
Nowadays, the city has excellent hotels, motels and restaurants. It is “a paradise for shopping” and one of the few tax free provinces. It also offers good facilities for the practise of golf, tennis, swimming, boat trips and other outdoor sports, including fishing in the nearby lakes.