Winnipeg, the Capital of Manitoba, Canada Updated: 10/29/2014 About the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg is the capital city of the province of Manitoba , Canada. Located at the geographical centre of Canada, Winnipeg is a transportation centre, with extensive rail and air links, as well as the head offices of several major Canadian trucking firms. Winnipeg has a diverse economy and is also a multicultural city where more than 100 languages are spoken. While Winnipeg is an eminently affordable city, it is host to world-class ballet, theatre, visual arts, music and festivals. Location of Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg is located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, near the centre of North America. 464.08 sq km (179.18 square miles) (Statistics Canada, 2011 Census) Population 663,617 (Statistics Canada, 2011 Census) Date Winnipeg Became the Capital of Manitoba 1870 Date Winnipeg Incorporated as a City 1873. Reincorporated in 1972.

Government of the City of Winnipeg A Winnipeg general municipal election is held every four years on the fourth Wednesday in October. This includes elections for the Mayor and city councillors, as well as elections for school trustees. Date of the last Winnipeg municipal election: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Date of the next Winnipeg municipal election: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 Winnipeg's city council is made up of 16 elected representatives: one mayor and 15 city councillors. Origin of the names of Canada’s provincial and territorial capitals | Natural Resources Canada Origin of the names of Canada’s provincial and territorial capitals Origin of the names of Canada’s provincial and territorial capitals Whitehorse, Yukon Ottawa, Canada The name Ottawa is derived from the Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”. The settlement was originally incorporated as Bytown in 1850. The name was changed to Ottawa in 1855. (Sources: Canadian Geographical Names Data Base, Geographical Names Board 18th Report) Find out more: Geographical name search results: Ottawa St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador There is some disagreement regarding the history behind how St. John’s acquired its name.

The most widely accepted explanation comes from the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real, who recorded the area as Rio de San Johem in 1519. The earliest recording of the modern day spelling came from an English merchant who travelled to Newfoundland in the 1570’s. Geographical name search results: Toronto Winnipeg, Manitoba The Cree named the lake to the north “Win” (muddy) and “nipee” (water). In 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. (Source: City of Winnipeg ) Find out more: Geographical name search results: Winnipeg Regina, Saskatchewan Cree hunters stacked buffalo bones in the area of Regina, and named it Oskana-Ka-asateki or "the place where bones are piled." Early explorers, fur traders and settlers called the area “Pile of Bones.” It was decided in 1882 when the town began to grow that it required a more regal name. Princess Louise suggested that the town be named Regina in honour of her mother and the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria.

Geographical name search results: Iqaluit Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife acquired its name from the aboriginal group known as the “T'atsaot'ine”, or “Yellowknives”. It became the capital of the Northwest Territories in 1967. Known for its valuable minerals, it has the traditional name of Smbak'è, which means money place. (Source: Canadian Geographical Names Data Base) Find out more: Geographical name search results: Yellowknife Whitehorse, Yukon Originally called White Horse, the name came from the foam in nearby rapids on the Yukon River which looked similar to the manes on white horses. Whitehorse was incorporated as a city in 1950, and replaced Dawson as the capital of the Yukon in 1953. (Sources: Canadian Geographical Names Data Base) Find out more: The City of Winnipeg, Capital city of Manitoba canada Winnipeg, Capital of Manitoba Assiniboine Park Winnipeg is the largest city and capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Located at the eastern edge of the prairie region of Western Canada, Winnipeg plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and education.

Because all rail and highway traffic between eastern and western Canada must travel through or near the city, it is often called the "Gateway to the West". The city is located near the geographic centre of North America on a flood plain at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, a point now commonly known as The Forks. Winnipeg lies in close proximity to hundreds of lakes, including Lake Winnipeg , Canada's fifth largest lake and the world's eleventh largest, as well as Lake Manitoba and the Lake of the Woods. The city is a cultural centre and is the home of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. It boasts historic architecture, scenic waterways, numerous parks including Assiniboine Park, and distinctive neighbourhoods. Winnipeg is about an hour's drive from the eastern beaches cottage country. The Eastern Beaches Area is a favorite destination for Winnipeggers for a Day Trip. winnipeg history Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine River and the Red River, which is known as The Forks, a historic focal point on canoe river routes travelled by Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years. The name Winnipeg is a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters".

The general area was popular for thousands of years by First Nations. In prehistory, through oral stories, archaeology, petroglyphs, rock art, and ancient artifacts, we know that natives would use the area for hunting, fishing, camps, trading, and some agriculture further north. The rivers provided transportation far and wide, and linked many peoples for trade and knowledge sharing, such as the Cree, Ojibway, Mandan, Assiniboine, Sioux, Lakota, and others Geography and climate Winnipeg is situated just west of the longitudinal centre of Canada (near the geographical centre of North America), and approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the border with the United States. It is near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, and about 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Lake Winnipeg. It is situated in the floodplain of the Red River and is surrounded by rich agricultural land. The closest urban area with over 500,000 people is the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Winnipeg has an extreme humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfb). Spring and autumn are highly variable seasons, and winters are long and cold.

In a typical year, daily average high temperatures range from around -14°C to 26°C; the recorded extremes are -45°C and 40.6°C (-49°F and 105.1°F). Winnipeg also reaches temperatures of above 30°C more often than other Canadian cities See also our Manitoba business section You are looking in other areas in Manitoba for businesses? Manitoba | history - geography - province, Canada | Britannica.com province, Canada Gregory Selinger (New Democratic Party) Date of admission Time zone Central (GMT − 6 hours) Manitoba, province of Canada , one of the Prairie Provinces , lying midway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. The province is bounded to the north by Nunavut territory, to the northeast by Hudson Bay , to the east by Ontario , to the south by the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota , and to the west by Saskatchewan . Manitoba contains more than 100,000 lakes, including Lake Winnipeg , one of the world’s largest inland bodies of fresh water. More than two-fifths of the province’s land area is forested. Winnipeg , Manitoba’s largest city, is the capital.

The province’s name comes from an Indian word meaning “the god who speaks.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The Northern lights, Churchill, Man., Can. © Altrendo Nature/Getty Images Manitoba became Canada’s fifth province when the area that had been the Red River Settlement was admitted to the confederation in 1870. The present-day province straddles the boundary between the Prairie and Central Canada, and it has both a large agricultural sector and a topography similar to those of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta . It also has a mixed economy, an urban orientation, and a multiethnic character, all of which are more like Ontario than the Prairie West. While other areas of the Canadian West have experienced economic cycles of boom and bust, Manitoba has maintained a steadier pace. Similarly, the province’s political and cultural life has largely avoided the extremes that tend to characterize western Canadian society. Area 250,116 square miles (647,797 square km), of which about one-sixth is inland water. Pop. (2011) 1,208,268.

Land Relief, drainage, and soils Extreme southern Manitoba is part of the Saskatchewan plain, a land of rich, level prairies and rolling pastures. The Manitoba Lowland to the north is the basin that once held glacial Lake Agassiz , remnants of which include Lake Winnipeg (9,416 square miles [24,387 square km]), Lake Winnipegosis (2,075 square miles [5,374 square km]), and Lake Manitoba (1,785 square miles [4,623 square km]). Upland plateaus, wooded river valleys, limestone outcrops, forests, and swamps mark the area that is drained by the Red River of the North and the Assiniboine River into Lake Winnipeg. Much of this river region is a natural floodplain, which has often been inundated. Modern flood-control measures (particularly the Red River Floodway and the Portage Diversion) have mitigated the problem. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Seven Oaks Massacre Caribou, Arctic foxes, martens, wolves, otters, lynx , red squirrels, and mink live in the northern forests; deer, moose , cougars, elk, black bears, beavers, weasels, raccoons, red foxes, coyotes, and muskrats inhabit the more southerly areas. Polar bears roam along Hudson Bay. Grouse, prairie chickens, and other game birds live in the uplands, and millions of geese and ducks breed in Manitoba’s sloughs and ponds. Fish include bass, pickerel, sauger, pike, trout , and whitefish. Beluga whales inhabit Hudson Bay. People Population composition Manitoba is home to a number of North American aboriginal groups, including the Assiniboin and Ojibwa Indians (First Nations) in the south, the Cree and Chipewyan Indians in the north, and the Inuit (aboriginal Arctic people of Canada, called Eskimo in the United States) on the Hudson Bay coast. The aboriginal peoples have occupied the region for thousands of years, although historically there has been considerable population movement.

In addition, their numbers were greatly reduced as a result of exposure to European diseases, particularly smallpox. In the early 19th century the Métis (people of mixed Indian and European ancestry, whom the Canadian government granted legal recognition as a native group at the beginning of the 21st century) developed a unique plains culture . The early agricultural Red River Settlement attracted a number of Scottish farmers, and improvements to river and rail transportation led to the rapid growth of European settlement between 1870 and 1900. Most early settlers were from elsewhere in Canada, but Icelanders and German-speaking Mennonites also arrived beginning in the 1870s. After 1896 immigration from eastern Europe began in considerable numbers. Manitoba’s population declined during the Great Depression in the 1930s and World War II but grew steadily thereafter, largely through natural increase. Manitoba is noted for its ethnic diversity . There are many ethnic enclaves within the city of Winnipeg. Notably, the north end of the city retains a strong eastern European character, and the St. Boniface district has one of the largest Francophone communities outside Quebec .

Francophones established a number of communities south of Winnipeg; Germans settled in south-central Manitoba; and a sizable Icelandic settlement developed around Gimli, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Although more than two-fifths of the current population is of British descent, significant ethnic minorities include Germans, Ukrainians, French, South Asians, Italians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Poles. Roman Catholicism and the United Church of Canada are the largest religious denominations, although there are substantial numbers of Anglicans , Lutherans , Mennonites , and adherents to Eastern Orthodoxy and the Ukrainian Catholic ( Eastern rite ) church, plus many smaller groups. Winnipeg’s Jewish community is the largest in the Prairie Provinces. Settlement patterns In the south, Manitoba’s countryside has an older, more occupied look than those of the other Prairie Provinces. The development of the Red River Settlement in the 19th century gave the early province a distinctly rural character. The rapid occupation of the agricultural lands between 1870 and 1914 and subsequent expansion into the Interlake and northwest areas maintained the rural dominance. During World War II, however, the rural-urban balance tipped.

Since then, the depopulation of rural Manitoba has continued apace, and Winnipeg and the province’s network of smaller urban centres have grown accordingly. By the turn of the 21st century, nearly three-fourths of the province’s population was urban. Over four-fifths of this urban population (and about three-fifths of the total population of the province) resides in metropolitan Winnipeg. Other than Winnipeg, the province’s main towns are Brandon , an industrial and agricultural centre serving the southwest; Thompson , a nickel-mining and nickel-processing town in the northern forest; The Pas, a trading and communications centre on the Saskatchewan River ; Flin Flon , a mining centre near the Saskatchewan border; Churchill , a trans-shipment centre and port on Hudson Bay; Dauphin , a regional service town in west-central Manitoba; Selkirk, the centre of commercial fishing and water transportation on Lake Winnipeg; and several service towns, such as Steinbach and Morden, in the southeastern region. Brandon, Man.

Malak, Ottawa Demographic trends Mainly because Manitoba’s economy faltered in the late 20th century, at least by comparison with the economies of other western Canadian provinces, there has been a steady out-migration of young people and professionals to other provinces—especially the Canadian West. Immigration to the province now comes mainly from less-developed countries. Manitoba’s population also has become consistently older since the end of World War II. The province’s birth rate is slightly higher than the national average. As a result of all of these factors, Manitoba’s population was barely growing at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Economy Agriculture, forestry, and fishing Agriculture remains an important sector of the Manitoban economy, though climate and soil types limit agricultural production; indeed, some marginal areas, including the Interlake District, have been farmed for several generations with little success. A significant portion of the province lies north of the 53rd parallel, where the Canadian Shield begins, and has an extremely short growing season.

While much of the agricultural production is grain for export, a sizable market gardening sector (cultivation of vegetables and flowers for sale in nearby markets) has developed in the lands bordering the Red and Assiniboine rivers. In addition, poultry, hogs, and cattle are raised throughout the southern districts of the province, and the livestock sector has grown significantly. Wheat remains the province’s main crop; others include barley, rapeseed (canola), flaxseed, oats, rye, sugar beets, sunflowers, corn (maize), and canning vegetables. Dairy products, eggs, and potatoes are also important. Field of sunflowers on a farm in the Assiniboine River valley near Carberry, Manitoba. E. Otto/Comstock Forestry is a key factor in northern Manitoba’s economy. More than one-fourth of the province’s landmass supports valuable timber, although there has been much devastation from forest fires. Manitoba also has a specialized commercial fishing industry, primarily located around the major lakes—Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis. Resources and power The province has a range of resources to draw upon, which has allowed it to diversify its economic base.

Numerous mineral deposits, including nickel, copper, gold, lead, silver, cadmium, and zinc, make mining a vital part of the economy. Oil and natural gas have been found in the southwest, particularly around Virden, although the fields are relatively small. Manitoba also has a huge network of streams, rivers, and lakes with considerable potential for hydroelectric development. Manitoba Hydro, the government-owned utility, has developed a number of large power stations along the Nelson and Saskatchewan rivers, and a portion of the power generated is exported. Moreover, Manitoba has arguably the best wind resources in North America , which the province is in the process of developing. Grand Rapids hydroelectric power station on the Saskatchewan River at its influx at the … George Hunter Manufacturing Manufacturing has overtaken agriculture as the largest sector of the province’s economy. The traditional industries are chiefly involved with resource processing: meatpacking, flour milling, and the production of lumber, pulp, and paper. Distilling, printing, textile manufacture, and nickel and copper ore smelting also remain important. Beginning in the latter part of the 20th century, the economy was supplemented by technology industries, including the manufacture of aeronautical systems, computers, and electrical equipment.

Although no single industry dominates the Manitoba economy, many communities are dependent upon only one industry. In general, Manitoba’s non-resource-based industries are located in the Winnipeg area, while those based on resource processing are found throughout the province. Services, labour, and taxation The service sector has become the largest single part of Manitoba’s economy. Winnipeg, once the commercial centre for western Canada, remains a major financial centre and home to the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange as well as other financial institutions, including insurance companies. The growth of government services also has contributed to the expansion of Manitoba’s service sector, as has tourism, which increased steadily at the end of the 20th century, although the province’s distance from the centres of North American population remains a drawback. Sportfishing is particularly vital to Manitoba’s tourist industry. Government revenues are derived largely from taxation and federal grants, with a small portion coming from fees and royalties on hunting, fishing, and oil, as well as from other sources. Transportation and telecommunications Because of its central location, Manitoba has long been a focus for transportation activity. The construction of transcontinental railways after Manitoba joined the confederation in 1870 stimulated much development in the region.

With the growth of roadways and the decline in passenger train traffic in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, however, many branchlines in outlying areas have been abandoned. The province has an extensive network of major highways running east to west (including the Trans-Canada Highway ) and north to south, supplemented by secondary gravel roads. The home of many of Canada’s major trucking companies, Manitoba has attempted to exploit the north-south corridor opened by international free-trade agreements. Winnipeg was once the service headquarters for Trans Canada Airlines, the predecessor of Air Canada , and remains a major hub for air travel. Scheduled flights carry travelers from Manitoba airports to major Canadian centres and the United States, while nonscheduled operators provide service to isolated areas of Manitoba. The railway port and former military base of Churchill on the shore of Hudson Bay provides a short, direct sea route to Europe. The port is open for only 10 weeks, in late summer, however. Waterborne freight traffic plies Lake Winnipeg in summer, and isolated northern communities and logging and mining camps are served by sled trains and vehicles designed for winter roads. Manitoba Telecom Services is the principal communications carrier in the province.

It began as a government monopoly and was privatized in 1996. It now faces stiff competition from other wireless providers. Government and society Constitutional framework Manitoba derives its authority from the Canadian constitution and the Manitoba Act of 1870. The lieutenant governor of Manitoba, appointed by the (federal) governor-general in council, represents the crown; the duties of this office are largely honorary and ceremonial. The functioning head of the government is the premier. The unicameral legislature sits for five years or until dissolved by executive action. The Legislative Building (centre), Winnipeg, Man. Tourism Canada; photograph, E. Bork Municipalities are incorporated by the province, and local administration is under provincial control. Each municipality is governed by a council headed by a mayor or reeve. Local government districts are governed by provincial administrators. Greater Winnipeg, consolidated into a single administrative unit in 1972, has an elected mayor and council. Provincial policing is handled by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police , except in Winnipeg, which has its own police force. Health and welfare The people of Manitoba enjoy a relatively high standard of living and access to a wide range of government services.

Sanitation and water-delivery systems are part of an extensive public health and safety service. The province oversees medical and hospital insurance programs and provides all Manitobans with free medical insurance. Manitoba has an extensive hospital network, with most specialized services available in Winnipeg or in regional centres. The province also maintains a substantial social welfare infrastructure . Health care and its improvement are among the major political issues in the province. Education Elementary, secondary, technical, and vocational schools and universities are a provincial responsibility. Schools are administered by elected boards under the supervision of the Department of Education and are financed by government grants and local taxes. After French-speaking Manitobans fought for their linguistic rights, French was reinstated as a language of instruction in 1970, and immersion programs for non-Francophones became extremely popular, with a doubling of the number of French-speaking Manitobans between the 1970s and ’90s. Manitoba has four universities. The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is the major academic institution and home to most professional schools. Chiefly an undergraduate institution in arts and sciences and education, the University of Winnipeg is noted for its Institute of Urban Studies. Brandon University is located in the southwestern part of the province.

Canadian Mennonite University, an amalgamation of three smaller colleges, was established in 1998 in Winnipeg. Community colleges based in Winnipeg, The Pas, Portage la Prairie, and Brandon operate campuses throughout the province. Cultural life Manitoba’s diverse population has created a rich and varied cultural life. Ethnic groups—European, Asian, and aboriginal—maintain vigorous attachments to their traditional cultures through schooling, dance, art, music, and crafts. Winnipeg exhibits a variety of cultures; the towns and villages of the southwest have a strong, uniformly British tradition; and ethnic enclaves throughout the province reflect the pattern of initial settlement. Manitoba is noted for its efforts to retain minority languages. Arts and cultural institutions Manitobans have a reputation for supporting cultural agencies. Winnipeg is home to a number of major artistic institutions: the internationally famous Royal Winnipeg Ballet , the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Rainbow Stage, Le Cercle Molière, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. A major centre in downtown Winnipeg houses a concert hall and a planetarium, as well as the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature.

Manitoba also played an important role in the development of rock music in Canada. In the mid-1960s community clubs in Winnipeg provided crucial venues for a generation of aspiring musicians that included Neil Young and the quintessential Canadian rock band the Guess Who. Important modern writers include Margaret Laurence and Gabrielle Roy . Painters of note include Ivan Eyre and William Kurelek. Manitoba’s most distinguished composer was Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté. The province maintains a strong sense of its past. The Manitoba Historical Society is the leading agency in that regard. The Archives of Manitoba is a major repository for historical documents, including the collection of the Hudson’s Bay Company. There are dozens of historical museums in the towns and cities of the province, as well as a number of historic sites, including the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site, located just north of Winnipeg, and York Factory National Historic Site on the shores of Hudson Bay. Manitobans sponsor and support an exceptional array of community and cultural festivals. Among the more important are the Winnipeg Folk Festival; Folklorama, also in Winnipeg; Gimli Icelandic Festival; the National Ukrainian Festival at Dauphin; the Festival du Voyageur in St.

Boniface; and the Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival at The Pas. Sports and recreation Professional sports franchises include the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian (gridiron) Football League and a minor league baseball and hockey team. Curling is an important winter sport. In addition to hockey, other major participant sports include baseball, football (soccer), cross-country skiing, fishing, and hunting. Manitoba has one national park, Riding Mountain, and numerous provincial parks. Media and publishing Manitoba is served by a number of daily and weekly newspapers, of which the most important are the Winnipeg Free Press and the Brandon Sun. There is a small but lively publishing industry centred in Winnipeg. History The fur-trade era Aboriginal (Indian [First Nations] and Inuit) peoples, who had lived in the Manitoba region for thousands of years, first came in contact with Europeans through the fur trade. Explorers searching for the Northwest Passage reached Hudson Bay in 1610, when Henry Hudson navigated the east side of the bay to which he gave his name. He was followed by a number of adventurers, including Thomas Button (1612), Jens Munk (1619), and Luke Fox and Thomas James (1631).

As a result of the opening of the fur trade in Hudson Bay by French Canadian adventurers Pierre Radisson and Médard Chouart des Grosseilliers, the Hudson’s Bay Company was incorporated in England in 1670 and granted a monopoly over the fur trade in an area designated as Rupert’s Land . The Hudson’s Bay Company established a number of posts along the bay. The company faced tremendous competition from French traders, who, led by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye , reached the Red River in the early 1730s and established a series of posts in the area, including Fort Rouge on the present site of Winnipeg . The French forced the Hudson’s Bay Company to expand inland, but the British traders were unable to compete successfully with other traders based in Montreal who eventually organized as the North West Company . That company’s agents, known as Nor’westers, came overland into the region and wintered with the aboriginal peoples to facilitate fur trading with them. The agents also worked closely with the Métis and resisted the British company’s attempts to establish an agricultural colony at Red River. Several decades of intense competition between the British and French Canadian traders ensued.

The bitter, often violent competition culminated in the Seven Oaks Massacre of 1816. Increasing violence and declining profits forced the two firms to merge into the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821. Settlement The successful settlement of the western United States in the 19th century encouraged expansionists in Central Canada to look to the western regions of British North America as Canada’s natural hinterland. The agricultural potential of the vast prairie lands west of Red River was documented by two scientific expeditions in 1857: the Palliser Expedition, commissioned by the British government and led by John Palliser, and the (Henry Youle) Hind expedition, authorized by the government of Canada. Negotiations between the Hudson’s Bay Company, the British government, and the government of the new Dominion of Canada resulted in an agreement in 1869 to transfer Rupert’s Land to Canada. In 1870, under the Manitoba Act , the territory joined the confederation as a province; the remaining lands were designated the Northwest Territories . The federal government encouraged western settlement by providing land to would-be settlers.

There was an initial rush to the new province, but the absence of a rail connection to markets reduced the attractiveness of the region. Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway had reached Manitoba by the early 1880s; however, settlement was delayed by a Métis uprising in 1885 and further slowed by the continued availability of homestead lands in the United States. Nevertheless, some settlers did come during this period, among them Ontario farmers, Mennonite immigrants, and Icelandic peoples. At the turn of the century, immigration to Manitoba boomed, fueled by massive government advertising, social conditions in Europe, and the decline in available land in the United States. Manitoba since 1900 The immigration boom ushered in an era of prosperity and growth. Winnipeg grew rapidly, becoming the major urban centre for western Canada and earning the nickname “Chicago of the North.” Manitoba farmers, aided by reduced freight rates, higher world prices for wheat, and improved strains of grain seed, enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. Manitoba’s economy was transformed during the early part of the century.

A strong agricultural sector, diversified among wheat and other grains, livestock, and market gardening, provided the basis for a rapid increase in the commercial and industrial economy, especially around Winnipeg. Manitoba’s boundaries expanded westward in 1881, eastward in 1884, and northward in 1912, mainly at the expense of the Northwest Territories. The economic boom ended just before World War I , ushering in a depression that lasted through the first years of the conflict. Labour unrest over wages and working conditions arose during the war and peaked afterward with the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. The province was severely affected by the Great Depression of the 1930s, although the problem was more one of prices than of production in the agricultural sector. Nonpartisan or coalition governments ruled the province from 1922 to 1958, when Dufferin Roblin led the Progressive Conservatives into office. The return to prosperity during World War II was matched by a resolve to diversify the province’s economic base. The provincial government gained control of natural resources in the 1930s and began to encourage northern development, particularly of mining and lumbering.

Government involvement in the economy peaked during the administrations of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 1969 to 1977 and 1981 to 1986, with major investments in infrastructure and some controversial experiments in direct ownership. Indicators of the province’s future in the 21st century are mixed. On one hand, Manitoba’s economy is growing stronger and more diversified. On the other hand, the province’s relatively harsh climate is not particularly attractive to new immigrants, and it has suffered from much out-migration. Capital Cities of Canada Capital Cities of Canada Toronto, Halifax and Yellowknife are among Canada's provincial capitals Ottawa Parkway Heading Downtown. Dennis McColeman / Photographer's Choice / Getty Images By Susan Munroe Updated October 18, 2016. Canada has 10 provinces and three territories, each of which has its own capital. From Charlottetown and Halifax in the east to Toronto and Winnipeg in the center, to Yellowknife in the north and Victoria in the west, each of Canada’s capital cities has its own unique identity.

The nation's capital is Ottawa, which was incorporated in 1855 and gets its name from the Algonquin word for trade. Ottawa's archaeological sites point to an indigenous population that lived there for centuries before Europeans discovered the area. Between the 17th century and 19th century, the Ottawa River was the primary route for the Montreal fur trade. By 1830, Ottawa was a major supplier of timber to Britain, and the Grand Trunk Railway secured the city's status as the country's capital. Ottawa is home to a number of post-secondary, research and cultural institutions, including the National Arts Centre and the National Gallery. Read on for more about the capital cities of Canada's provinces and territories. Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton , on the North Saskatchewan River, is the northernmost of Canada’s large cities and is frequently referred to as the Gateway to the North, due to its road, rail, and air transportation links. Indigenous people inhabited Edmonton area for centuries before Europeans arrived. It’s believed that one of the first Europeans to explore the area was Anthony Henday, who visited in 1754 on behalf of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Henday sought to establish fur trading with Edmonton’s indigenous people. Fort Edmonton, named for Edmonton, London in England, was established in 1795 along the river’s northern banks. The Canadian Pacific Railway, which arrived in Edmonton in 1885, was a boon for the local economy, bringing new arrivals from Canada, the United States, and Europe to the area. Edmonton was incorporated as a town in 1892, and later as a city in 1904. It became the capital of the newly-formed province of Alberta a year later. Modern-day Edmonton has evolved into a city with a wide range of cultural, sporting and tourist attractions, and is the host of more than two dozen festivals each year. Most of Edmonton's population works in the service and trade industries as well as in the municipal, provincial and federal governments. Victoria, British Columbia Named after the English queen, Victoria is the capital city of the province of British Columbia. Victoria is a gateway to the Pacific Rim, is close to American markets, and has many sea and air links that make it a business hub. With the mildest climate in Canada, Victoria is known for its gardens and has a large retiree population.

Its metropolitan area is the 15th largest in Canada. Before Europeans arrived in western Canada in the 1700s, Victoria was inhabited by indigenous Coastal Salish people and the native Songhees, who still have a large presence in the area. Juan Perez of Spain visited in 1774, and James Cook of England arrived in 1778. Fort Victoria was established by Hudson’s Bay trader James Douglas in 1841, although it was known as Fort Albert until 1843. Douglas became the first governor of British Columbia in 1858. Victoria became the capital of British Columbia when the province joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871. The focus of downtown Victoria is the inner harbor, which features the Parliament Buildings and the historic Fairmont Empress Hotel. Victoria also is home to the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University, as well as several other smaller colleges. Winnipeg, Manitoba Located at the geographical center of Canada, Winnipeg’s name is a Cree word meaning “muddy water.” Indigenous people inhabited Winnipeg well before the first French explorers arrived in 1738.

Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873 and is now the eighth-largest city in Canada. Named for nearby Lake Winnipeg, the city sits at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. It's at the bottom of the Red River Valley, which creates humid conditions during the summer months. The city is nearly equidistant from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and considered the center of Canada's Prairie provinces. The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881 led to increased development in Winnipeg, and although an earlier boom as a heavy manufacturing center has waned, the city remains the center of Canada's grain industry. Winnipeg is still a transportation hub, with extensive rail and air links. It is a multicultural city where more than 100 languages are spoken. It’s also the home of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery, which houses the largest collection of Inuit art in the world. Winnipeg hosts numerous music events and festivals and is the home ice of the NHL's newest expansion team, the Jets.

Fredericton, New Brunswick The capital city of the province of New Brunswick, Fredericton is strategically located on the Saint John River and is within a day's drive of Halifax, Toronto, and New York City. Before Europeans arrived, the Welastekwewiyik (or Maliseet) people inhabited the Fredericton area for centuries. The first Europeans to come to Fredericton were the French, who arrived in the late 1600s. The area was known as St. Anne's Point, and was captured by the British during the French and Indian War in 1759. New Brunswick became its own colony in 1784, with Fredericton becoming the provincial capital a year later. Modern-day Fredericton is a center for research in the agriculture, forestry, and engineering industries. Much of this research stems from the two major colleges in the city: the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, as well as a variety of training colleges and institutes. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Although the origin of its name is somewhat mysterious, St. John's is Canada's oldest settlement, dating back to 1630.

It sits on a deepwater harbor connected by the Narrows, a long inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. The French and English battled over St. John's through the late 17th century and early 18th century, with the final battle of the French and Indian War fought there in 1762. Although it had a colonial government beginning in 1888, St. John's was not formally incorporated as a city until 1921. In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless (radio) signal in St. John's. A major site for fishing, St John's local economy was depressed by the collapse of cod fisheries in the early 1990s but has since rebounded with petrodollars from offshore oil projects. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories The capital city of the Northwest Territories is also its only city. Yellowknife is on the shore of Great Slave Lake, just over 300 miles from the Arctic Circle. It was populated by the aboriginal Tlicho people until Europeans arrived in 1785 or 1786. The first European in Yellowknife was a North West Company fur trader.

A few other Europeans ventured into the Northwest Territories, but it was not until 1898 when gold was discovered nearby, that the population saw a sharp uptick. Gold and government administration were the mainstays of Yellowknife's economy until the late 1990s and early 2000s when the fall of gold prices led to the closure of the two main gold companies. The creation of the new territory of Nunavut in 1999 meant about a third of Yellowknife's government employees transferred to the new territory. The discovery of diamonds in the Northwest Territories in 1991 stimulated the economy again and diamond mining, cutting, polishing and selling became major activities for Yellowknife residents. While winters in Yellowknife are cold and dark, its proximity to the Arctic Circle means summer days are long and sunny. Halifax, Nova Scotia The largest urban area in the Atlantic provinces, Halifax has one of world's largest natural harbors and is an important seaport. Incorporated as a city in 1841, Halifax has been inhabited by humans since the Ice Age, with Mikmaq people living in the area for some 13,000 years prior to European exploration.

The British established settlements in Halifax beginning in 1746 and pushed out the Mikmaq and Acadians living there. The local economy was boosted by the Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as Halifax supplied timber to the British Royal Navy. Halifax was the site of one of the worst explosions in Canada's history in 1917 when a munitions ship collided with another ship in the harbor. Some 2,000 people were killed and 9,000 were wounded in the blast, which leveled part of the city. Modern-day Halifax is home to the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, and several universities, including Saint Mary’s and the University of King’s College. Iqaluit, Nunavut Formerly known as Frobisher Bay, Iqaluit is the capital, largest community and only city in Canada’s newest territory. Iqaluit, which means "many fish" in the Inuit language, sits at the northeast head of Frobisher Bay on southern Baffin Island.

The Inuit who inhabited the region for centuries continue to have a significant presence in Iqaluit, despite the arrival of English explorers in 1561. Iqaluit was the site of a major airbase built at the start of World War II, which played an even larger role during the Cold War as a communications center. Toronto, Ontario The largest city in Canada, and the fourth-largest city in North America, Toronto is a cultural, entertainment, business and financial hub, and is the seat of the Ontario provincial government. The city has close to 3 million people, and the metro area has more than 5 million residents. Aboriginal people have been in the area that is now Toronto for thousands of years, and until the arrival of Europeans in the 1600s, the area was a hub for the Iroquois and Wendat-Huron confederacies of native Canadians. First explored by European fur traders, like many resource-rich and strategic areas in Canada, Toronto was the site of several battles between the French and British. During the Revolutionary War in the American colonies, many British settlers fled to Toronto.

In 1793, the town of York was established; it was captured by Americans in the War of 1812. The area was renamed Toronto and incorporated as a city in 1834. Like much of the U.S., Toronto was hard-hit by the Depression in the 1930s, but its economy rebounded during World War II, as immigrants came to the area. Toronto's population grew exponentially after the war, and several of its suburbs saw rapid expansion. Modern-day Toronto is a highly diverse metro area, with the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Centre and the Museum of Inuit Art among its cultural offerings. It's also home to several professional sports teams, including the Maple Leafs (hockey), the Blue Jays (baseball) and the Raptors (basketball). Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island The capital city of Canada's smallest province, Charlottetown holds a place in Canadian history as the site of the first three Canadian conferences on Confederation, which led to the creation of Canada in 1867 (even though Prince Edward Island did not join the Confederation until 1873).

Like many regions of Canada, aboriginal people inhabited Charlottetown and Prince Edward Island for some 10,000 years before Europeans arrived. French fur traders came to the area in 1720, but by 1758, the British were largely in control of the region. During the 19th century, after Prince Edward Island was designated as a separate province from Nova Scotia, shipbuilding became a major industry in Charlottetown. In the present day, Charlottetown's biggest industry is tourism, with its historic architecture and scenic Charlottetown Harbour attracting visitors from all over the world. It's also home to Prince Edward Island University. Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City, the capital of the province of Quebec, is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. It was occupied by aboriginal people for thousands of years before Europeans arrived in 1535. Permanent French settlement was not established in Quebec until 1608 when Samuel de Champlain set up a trading post there. It was captured by the British in 1759. Its location along the St.

Lawrence River made Quebec City a major trade hub well into the 20th century. Modern-day Quebec City remains a hub for French-Canadian culture, rivaled only by Montreal, the other large Francophone city in Canada. Regina, Saskatchewan Founded in 1882, Regina is only about 100 miles north of the U.S. border. The area's first inhabitants were the Plains Cree and the Plains Ojibwa. The grassy, flat plain was home to herds of buffalo that were hunted to near-extinction by European fur traders. Regina was incorporated as a city in 1903, and when Saskatchewan became a province in 1905, Regina was named its capital. It has seen slow but steady growth since World War II, and it remains a major center of agriculture in Canada. It is home to the University of Regina and the Saskatchewan Polytechnic College. Whitehorse, Yukon Territory The capital city of the Yukon Territory of Canada is home to more than 70 percent of the Yukon's population.

Whitehorse is within the shared traditional territory of the Ta'an Kwach'an Council (TKC) and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation (KDFN) and has a thriving cultural community. Its diversity includes French immersion programs and French schools, and it also has a sizable Filipino community. Whitehorse is just off the Alaska Highway on the Yukon River, about 65 miles north of the British Columbia border. The Yukon River flows right through Whitehorse, and there are broad valleys and big lakes around the city. It's also bordered by three large mountains: Grey Mountain on the east, Haeckel Hill on the northwest and Golden Horn Mountain on the south. The Yukon has been inhabited for several thousand years by aboriginal people. In the modern era, the Tutchone, Inland Tlingit and Tagish people, descendants of the Yukon First Nation people, still live in and around the Whitehorse area. The Yukon River near Whitehorse became a rest stop of sorts for gold prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s. Whitehorse is still a stop for most trucks bound for Alaska on the Alaska Highway.

Around 250,000 travelers drive through Whitehorse every year, and several airlines fly out of the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International airport. Discover Canada Discover Canada The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship Canada’s Regions Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship - Canada's Regions Duration: 14 minutes, 23 seconds. Read by Geraint Wyn Davies . Download this chapter: MP3 You can also download all of Discover Canada as a single file. The audio may take a moment to load. In order to maximize the functionality of this page, please turn on Javascript . is now a tourist attraction and winter skateway [ See larger version ] Canada is the second largest country on earth—10 million square kilometres. Three oceans line Canada’s frontiers: the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Along the southern edge of Canada lies the Canada-United States boundary. Both Canada and the U.S.A. are committed to a safe, secure and efficient frontier The Regions of Canada Canada includes many different geographical areas and five distinct regions.

The Atlantic Provinces The Northern Territories The National Capital Ottawa, located on the Ottawa River, was chosen as the capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria, the great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. Today it is Canada’s fourth largest metropolitan area. The National Capital Region, 4,700 square kilometres surrounding Ottawa, preserves and enhances the area’s built heritage and natural environment. Provinces and Territories Canada has ten provinces and three territories. Each province and territory has its own capital city. You should know the capital of your province or territory as well as that of Canada. Population Canada has a population of about 34 million people. While the majority live in cities, Canadians also live in small towns, rural areas and everywhere in between. Peggy’s Cove harbour, Nova Scotia Ottawa: The Capital of Canada The Atlantic provinces Atlantic Canada’s coasts and natural resources, including fishing, farming, forestry and mining, have made these provinces an important part of Canada’s history and development. The Atlantic Ocean brings cool winters and cool humid summers. Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly point in North America and has its own time zone.

In addition to its natural beauty, the province has a unique heritage linked to the sea. The oldest colony of the British Empire and a strategic prize in Canada’s early history, the province has long been known for its fisheries, coastal fishing villages and distinct culture. Today off-shore oil and gas extraction contributes a substantial part of the economy. Labrador also has immense hydro-electric resources. Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island ( P.E.I. ) is the smallest province, known for its beaches, red soil and agriculture, especially potatoes. P.E.I. is the birthplace of Confederation, connected to mainland Canada by one of the longest continuous multispan bridges in the world, the Confederation Bridge. Anne of Green Gables, set in P.E.I. by Lucy Maud Montgomery, is a much-loved story about the adventures of a little red-headed orphan girl. Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is the most populous Atlantic Province, with a rich history as the gateway to Canada. Known for the world’s highest tides in the Bay of Fundy , the province’s identity is linked to shipbuilding, fisheries and shipping.

As Canada’s largest east coast port, deep-water and ice-free, the capital, Halifax, has played an important role in Atlantic trade and defence and is home to Canada’s largest naval base. Nova Scotia has a long history of coal mining, forestry and agriculture. Today there is also off-shore oil and gas exploration. The province’s Celtic and Gaelic traditions sustain a vibrant culture. Nova Scotia is home to over 700 annual festivals, including the spectacular military tattoo in Halifax. New Brunswick Situated in the Appalachian Range, the province was founded by the United Empire Loyalists and has the second largest river system on North America’s Atlantic coastline, the St. John River system. Forestry, agriculture, fisheries, mining, food processing and tourism are the principal industries. Saint John is the largest city, port and manufacturing centre; Moncton is the principal Francophone Acadian centre; and Fredericton, the historic capital. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, and about one-third of the population lives and works in French. The province’s pioneer Loyalist and French cultural heritage and history come alive in street festivals and traditional music.

Central Canada More than half the people in Canada live in cities and towns near the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River in southern Quebec and Ontario, known as Central Canada and the industrial and manufacturing heartland. Southern Ontario and Quebec have cold winters and warm humid summers. Together, Ontario and Quebec produce more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods. Quebec Nearly eight million people live in Quebec, the vast majority along or near the St. Lawrence River. More than three-quarters speak French as their first language. The resources of the Canadian Shield have helped Quebec to develop important industries, including forestry, energy and mining. Quebec is Canada’s main producer of pulp and paper. The province’s huge supply of fresh water has made it Canada’s largest producer of hydro-electricity. Quebecers are leaders in cutting-edge industries such as pharmaceuticals and aeronautics. Quebec films, music, literary works and food have international stature, especially in La Francophonie, an association of French-speaking nations. Montreal, Canada’s second largest city and the second largest mainly French-speaking city in the world after Paris, is famous for its cultural diversity.

Ontario At more than 12 million, the people of Ontario make up more than one-third of Canadians. The large and culturally diverse population, natural resources and strategic location contribute to a vital economy. Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the country’s main financial centre. Many people work in the service or manufacturing industries, which produce a large percentage of Canada’s exports. The Niagara region is known for its vineyards, wines and fruit crops. Ontario farmers raise dairy and beef cattle, poultry, and vegetable and grain crops. Founded by United Empire Loyalists, Ontario also has the largest Frenchspeaking population outside of Quebec, with a proud history of preserving their language and culture. There are five Great Lakes located between Ontario and the United States: Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan (in the U.S.A. ) and Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. The Prairie Provinces Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are the Prairie Provinces, rich in energy resources and some of the most fertile farmland in the world. The region is mostly dry, with cold winters and hot summers. Manitoba Manitoba’s economy is based on agriculture, mining and hydro-electric power generation.

The province’s most populous city is Winnipeg, whose Exchange District includes the most famous street intersection in Canada, Portage and Main. Winnipeg’s French Quarter, St. Boniface, has Western Canada’s largest Francophone community at 45,000. Manitoba is also an important centre of Ukrainian culture, with 14% reporting Ukrainian origins, and the largest Aboriginal population of any province, at over 15%. Saskatchewan Saskatchewan, once known as the “breadbasket of the world” and the “wheat province,” has 40% of the arable land in Canada and is the country’s largest producer of grains and oilseeds. It also boasts the world’s richest deposits of uranium and potash, used in fertilizer, and produces oil and natural gas. Regina, the capital, is home to the training academy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Saskatoon, the largest city, is the headquarters of the mining industry and an important educational, research and technology centre. Alberta Alberta is the most populous Prairie province. The province, and the world-famous Lake Louise in the Rocky Mountains, were both named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria.

Alberta has five national parks, including Banff National Park, established in 1885. The rugged Badlands house some of the world’s richest deposits of prehistoric fossils and dinosaur finds. Alberta is the largest producer of oil and gas, and the oil sands in the north are being developed as a major energy source. Alberta is also renowned for agriculture, especially for the vast cattle ranches that make Canada one of the world’s major beef producers. The West Coast British Columbia is known for its majestic mountains and as Canada’s Pacific gateway. The Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest and busiest, handles billions of dollars in goods traded around the world. Warm airstreams from the Pacific Ocean give the B.C. coast a temperate climate. British Columbia British Columbia ( B.C. ), on the Pacific coast, is Canada’s western most province, with a population of four million. The Port of Vancouver is our gateway to the Asia-Pacific. About one-half of all the goods produced in B.C. are forestry products, including lumber, newsprint, and pulp and paper products—the most valuable forestry industry in Canada. B.C. is also known for mining, fishing, and the fruit orchards and wine industry of the Okanagan Valley.

B.C. has the most extensive park system in Canada, with approximately 600 provincial parks. The province’s large Asian communities have made Chinese and Punjabi the most spoken languages in the cities after English. The capital, Victoria, is a tourist centre and headquarters of the navy’s Pacific fleet. The Northern Territories The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon contain one-third of Canada’s land mass but have a population of only 100,000. There are gold, lead, copper, diamond and zinc mines. Oil and gas deposits are being developed. The North is often referred to as the “Land of the Midnight Sun” because at the height of summer, daylight can last up to 24 hours. In winter, the sun disappears and darkness sets in for three months. The Northern territories have long cold winters and short cool summers. Much of the North is made up of tundra, the vast rocky Arctic plain. Because of the cold Arctic climate, there are no trees on the tundra and the soil is permanently frozen. Some continue to earn a living by hunting, fishing and trapping. Inuit art is sold throughout Canada and around the world.

Yukon Thousands of miners came to the Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s, as celebrated in the poetry of Robert W. Service. Mining remains a significant part of the economy. The White Pass and Yukon Railway opened from Skagway in neighbouring Alaska to the territorial capital, Whitehorse in 1900 and provides a spectacular tourist excursion across precipitous passes and bridges. Yukon holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada (-63°C). Mount Logan, located in the Yukon, is the highest mountain in Canada. It is named in honour of Sir William Logan, a world-famous geologist, born in Montreal in 1798 to Scottish immigrant parents. Logan founded and directed the Geological Survey of Canada from 1842 to 1869 and is considered one of Canada’s greatest scientists [ See larger version ] Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories ( N.W.T. ) were originally made up in 1870 from Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory.

The capital, Yellowknife (population 20,000), is called the “diamond capital of North America.” More than half the population is Aboriginal (Dene, Inuit and Métis). The Mackenzie River, at 4,200 kilometres, is the second-longest river system in North America after the Mississippi and drains an area of 1.8 million square kilometres. Nunavut Nunavut, meaning “our land” in Inuktitut, was established in 1999 from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories, including all of the former District of Keewatin. The capital is Iqaluit, formerly Frobisher Bay, named after the English explorer Martin Frobisher, who penetrated the uncharted Arctic for Queen Elizabeth I in 1576. The 19-member Legislative Assembly chooses a premier and ministers by consensus. The population is about 85% Inuit, and Inuktitut is an official language and the first language in schools.

(From left to right) An Inuit boy in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, uses a pellet gun to hunt for birds The caribou (reindeer) is popular game for hunters and a symbol of Canada’s North

Question: What is the capital city of the Canadian province of Manitoba?
Answer: WINNIPEG