MANITOBA

-Manitoba is one of the three prairie provinces in Canada.
-It is located in the centre of Canada.
-Ontario is to the east and Saskatchewan to the west.
-Nunavut and Hudson Bay are north and the United States is south.
-"Manitoba" may come from the Cree words "manitou bou" meaning "strait of the Great Spirit".
-The name may also come from the Assiniboine words "mini" and "tobow" meaning "Lake of the Prairie".
-About 60 percent of the people live in the capital city of Winnipeg and its suburbs.
-The second largest city is Brandon.
-flower-Prairie Crocus , tree-White Spruce, bird-Great Gray Owl
-motto-"Glorious and Free"

THE PEOPLE

-Manitoba is the home of over a million people.(1.2 million October 2008)
-Winnipeg is the largest city. About 653,000 people live there. (2007)
-Manitoba is home to many Métis and native peoples.
-The native people include Assiniboine and Saulteaux; Northern, Woodland, and Swampy Cree; Chipewyan; and Inuit.
-Ethnic backgrounds include British, German, Ukrainian, French, native people, Dutch, and Poles.

CLIMATE

-In the winter there are often blizzards with strong winds and extreme cold temperatures.
-Polar air masses bring very cold air from the Arctic Ocean.
-Winnipeg is the coldest major city in Canada.

HISTORY

-The first people to live in Manitoba were the Assiniboine, Cree, Saulteaux, Chipewyan, Ojibwa.
-They followed herds of bison and caribou.
-Early explorers arrived through Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba.
-Hudson's Bay Company (created in 1670) set up fur trading posts along the rivers.
-The early settlers were the British and French.
-The first British settlement was Red River.
-Louis Riel (1844-1885) was an influential Métis leader.
-Riel and his people were concerned about the settlers taking over their land.
-Manitoba became Canada's fifth province in 1870.
-Red River Cart trails were the first roads.
-The railway brought thousands of settlers from eastern Canada and from all over the world.
-Many settlers came from Ukraine and Iceland.

LAND and WATER

-Manitoba is known as the land of 100,000 lakes.
-Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba are three large lakes.
-Lake Winnipeg is the third largest lake in Canada.
-The Churchill River, Nelson River and Hayes River flow into Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba.
-The Assiniboine, Souris, Winnipeg, and Red Rivers in southern Manitoba drain into Lake Winnipeg.
-Forests of pine, hemlock and birch cover northern Manitoba.
-The prairie region is in the southern part of the province.

RESOURCES/INDUSTRIES

-Manitoba lies in the area of Canada known as the Canadian Shield.
-Minerals and metals are found in the Canadian Shield. (nickel, gold, copper, zinc, cobalt, gypsum)
-Manitoba is a world leader in the production of nickel.
-The large lakes are home to many species of fresh water fish. (whitefish, pike, walleye, pickerel, trout, and bass)
-Thirty-seven percent of Manitoba is covered with forest.
-Hydroelectric power is a very important industry.
-Manitoba sells hydroelectric power to other provinces and to the US.
-There are different types of farming in southern Manitoba:
One-third of the farmland is used for growing wheat.
Mills make wheat into flour.
The wheat is sold to other countries.
Farmers also grow canola, sunflowers, oats, rye, flax, buckwheat and field peas.
These crops are made into cereal and oil products.
Dairy farms produce milk, cheese, yogurt and cream.
There are also livestock farms.
-Industries include manufacturing (farm equipment, buses, clothing, furniture), food processing, aerospace and transportation.

PLACES and PEOPLE

-The Royal Canadian Mint ( where coins are made ) is in Winnipeg.
-The Viking at Gimli is a giant statue honoring the ancestors of the Icelandic people.
-Churchill in northern Manitoba is "the polar bear capital of the world". Polar bears make their dens near the town.
-Wapusk National Park (Wapusk is a Cree word meaning "white bear") located in Northern Manitoba protects one of the world's largest known polar bear denning areas
-Many festivals are held in Manitoba, including the Ukrainian Festival (Dauphin) and Icelandic Festival (Gimli).

-Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983) and Margaret Laurence (1926-1987) - novelists
-Nellie McClung (1873-1951) - fought for the rights of women
-Jackson Beardy (1944-1984) - Cree artist
-Louis Riel (1844–85) - Founding Father of Manitoba and leader of the Métis rebellions of 1870 and 1885
-The Guess Who - a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg
-Fred Penner (1946 - ) - musician, children's entertainer




BACK to GET THE FACTS ABOUT ........

link to the Government of Manitoba website

link - The Canadian Encyclopedia - MANITOBA


updated March 2009
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/