Manitoba

This article is about the Canadian province. Manitoba is also the former stage name of electronic musician Dan Snaith, who now uses the name Caribou.

Manitoba
Country	Canada
Confederation	July 15, 1870 (5th)
Government
• Lieutenant Governor	John Harvard
• Premier	Gary Doer
Federal representation	Parliament of Canada
House seats	14 of 338 (4.1%)
Senate seats	6 of 105 (5.7%)
Population
• Total	1,342,153
Canadian postal abbr.	MB
Postal code prefix	R
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Manitoba is one of Canada's provinces. It was the fifth Canadian province (created by the givernment in 1870). Its population as of April 1, 2005 (Statistics Canada) was 1,176,132(Manitobans). It is the easternmost of the three Prairie Provinces.

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, Melita, 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, 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, and the Pembina Hills.

The climate in Manitoba is typical of its mid continent location and northerly latitude. In general, temperatures and precipitaion 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.

Ten largest municipalities
by population

Municipality	2001	1996
Winnipeg	619,544	618,477
Brandon	39,716	39,175
Thompson	13,256	14,385
Portage la Prairie	12,976	13,077
Springfield	12,602	12,162
Hanover	10,789	9,833
St. Andrews	10,695	10,144
Selkirk	9,752	9,881
Steinbach	9,227	8,478
St. Clements	9,115	8,516

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.

Map

File:Manmap.PNG

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

Canada

External links

• The Manitoba School Question
• The Manitoba Historical Society