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MANITOBA INFORMATION

The Easternmost of the Prairie provinces of Canada, in the central part of the country, bounded on the north by the Nunavut Territory, on the northeast by Hudson Bay, on the east by Ontario, on the south by the states of Minnesota and North Dakota, and on the west by Saskatchewan.
Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation on July 15, 1870, as the fifth province. Manitoba has traditionally been known for its primary economic activities: agriculture, mining, forestry, and fishing. Although Winnipeg is a leading manufacturing center of interior Canada, in the early 1990s the processing of primary products retained a leading role in the provincial economy. The name Manitoba is taken from Lake Manitoba and is a Native American phrase meaning “great spirit's strait.” Manitoba is called the Keystone Province.

Land and Resources
Manitoba, with an area of 649,950 sq km (250,946 sq mi), is the sixth largest province of Canada; slightly less than 1% of the land area is owned by the federal government. The province is roughly rectangular in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 1210 km (about 750 mi) from north to south and about 790 km (about 490 mi) from east to west. Elevations range from sea level along Hudson Bay to 832 m (2729 ft) atop Baldy Mountain in the southwest. Manitoba's shoreline along Hudson Bay is about 920 km (about 570 mi) long.

Physical Geography
All but the southwestern portion of Manitoba lies within the Canadian Shield, a region of ancient volcanic and metamorphic rocks with a heavily glaciated land surface that has numerous lakes and streams. In the northeast and the southwest, sedimentary rocks overlie the shield. The Hudson Bay Lowland is a portion of the Canadian Shield that has a thin cover of sedimentary rock. It is a region of permafrost with soils that are waterlogged and unproductive. The southwest has a sedimentary cover increasing in thickness toward the south and west and a variety of soil types, produced on glacial deposition. Southern Manitoba is dominated by a flat plain. The fertile, heavy clay soils mark the former extent of the huge glacial Lake Agassiz (see AGASSIZ, LAKE), of which Lakes Manitoba, Winnipeg, and Winnipegosis and Cedar Lake are remnants. The Manitoba Escarpment, a bedrock upland formed by the Porcupine, Riding, and Duck mountains, divides this region into the Manitoba Plain on the east and the Saskatchewan Plain, which rises gently to the west. The Manitoba Plain is known for its lakes and forests. The well-drained and relatively fertile soils of the Saskatchewan Plain make it an important grain-growing region.

Rivers and Lakes
All of Manitoba drains into Hudson Bay. The principal rivers are the Winnipeg River and the Red River and its tributary, the Assiniboine River, all of which flow into Lake Winnipeg. The Nelson River flows northeast from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay. The Churchill River also drains the northern part of the province. The Shield section is liberally scattered with large and small lakes, but the province's largest lakes—Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba—are in the south. Lake Winnipeg is the province's largest lake. In all, rivers and lakes cover nearly one-sixth of Manitoba's total area.

Climate
The climate ranges from subarctic in the north to an extreme continental climate in the south. Winters are harsh and summers are moderately warm. The average annual temperature ranges from -15.6° C (4° F) in the north to 1.7° C (35° F) in the south. The recorded temperature in the province has ranged from -52.8° C (-63° F) in 1899 at Norway House in the northeast to 44.4° C (111° F) in 1936at Saint Albans in the south. The average annual precipitation is about 460 mm (about 18 in); precipitation is highest in the southeast. In summer, warm, moist airmasses from the southern U.S. frequently invade southern Manitoba, causing numerous thunderstorms and an occasional tornado. Winter snowfall averages about 1270 mm (about 50 in) but provides less than a quarter of the annual precipitation.

Plants and Animals
Forest covers more than three-fifths of the total land area of Manitoba; 43 percent of the forest is of commercial value. Extending across the province in a great sweep from the southeastern corner to the northwest is the boreal forest, which is dominated by pine and other softwoods. To the southwest this forest grades into the aspen parkland, a zone that contains aspen, poplar, and oak interspersed with grassland. In the northeast, the Hudson Bay Lowlands support only a stunted tree growth, with many areas of muskeg (swamp) and moss vegetation, and form part of northern Canada's barren lands.
Large mammals found in the forested regions include moose, caribou, and elk. Smaller mammals, also well represented, include beaver, lynx, mink, and marten. The aspen parkland provides an excellent habitat for various species of deer, coyote, muskrat, and rabbit, and its areas of hummocky moraine with many ponds provide nesting grounds for vast numbers of migratory waterfowl. The many lakes and streams afford good sport and commercial fishing. Fish include bass, trout, pike, whitefish (such as goldeye), and arctic char.

Population
According to the 1996 census, Manitoba had 1,096,125 inhabitants. The overall population density in 1999 was 1.7 people per sq km (4.4 per sq mi); the distribution of population was very uneven, with the majority concentrated in the southern fifth of the province. English was the lone mother tongue of about 73 percent of the people; about 4 percent had French as their lone mother tongue. More than 72,000 Native Americans lived in the province, about two-thirds in reserves. Métis (persons of mixed Native American and white ancestry) Numbered more than 33,000. The United Church of Canada was the largest religious group in the province. About 72 percent of all Manitobans lived in areas defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural areas. Winnipeg, the capital, is by far the province's largest city; more than half of Manitoba's almost 1.1 million people live in and around Winnipeg, making it Canada's fourth largest city. Other important cities include Brandon, Thompson, and Portage la Prairie.

Cultural Institutions
Most cultural institutions are concentrated in Winnipeg. Major museums include the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, with important natural history collections; the Winnipeg Art Gallery; the University of Manitoba's Museums of Zoology and Mineralogy; and the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia; all of these are in Winnipeg. French and Ukrainian groups have museums emphasizing their heritage. Major libraries include the University of Manitoba Library and the Winnipeg Public Library. Winnipeg supports a symphony orchestra, an opera company, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Historical Sites
Manitoba has a number of historical sites. Fort Prince of Wales National Historic Park, near Churchill, includes the remains of a British fort. Lower Fort Garry, near Winnipeg, was built by the Hudson's Bay Company and is now also part of a national historic park. Fort La Reine Pioneer Museum and Village, near Portage la Prairie offers depictions of Canadian life in the 19th century. Several historic buildings are found in Winnipeg, such as the Ross House, the first post office of western Canada, dating from 1854. The Mennonite Village Museum, which is located near Steinbach, includes a replica of a late 19th-century Mennonite community.

Sports and Recreation
Hunting and fishing are extremely popular on Manitoba's numerous lakes and streams, which attract many visitors to the province. Other popular summer activities include camping and boating. The province also has several ski areas. The most popular spectator sport, here as elsewhere in Canada, is ice hockey. The Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League and the Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League both play in Winnipeg.

Fishing
Although Manitoba is an inland province, lakes and streams cover one-sixth of its total area and are important fisheries. Commercial fishing is concentrated on Lake Winnipeg and centered on the town of Gimli. Major species are whitefish, pickerel, perch, sauger, bass, and pike.

Tourism
Tourism is a significant aspect of the Manitoba economy. Each year more than 2.5 million visitors contribute at least Can. $350 million to the province. Riding Mountain National Park is a popular destination. Nearly 150 provincial recreation areas, including parks, campgrounds, and numerous wayside and special purpose facilities, cover about 2.3 percent of the province's total area. Fine sandy beaches on the shores of Lake Winnipeg and the numerous lakes of the Whiteshell reserve in the southeast attract visitors.

Transportation
Winnipeg is the hub of the provincial transportation network and the main gateway city for road, rail, and air traffic between eastern and western Canada. Both transcontinental rail networks meet in Winnipeg, and all eastern-western highway traffic funnels through Winnipeg on the Trans-Canada Highway. The province has about 84,925 km (about 52,770 mi) of roads and highways, along with some 2875 km (about 1785 mi) of mainline railroad track. Churchill, in northeastern Manitoba, is the only maritime port in the Prairie provinces, but because of ice its use is confined to three summer months, and total activity is low. Winnipeg International Airport ranks among the ten busiest airports in Canada in terms of numbers of passengers.

History
The first European to see Manitoba, probably in 1612, was the English navigator Sir Thomas Button, who explored the Nelson River. In 1682 a trading post was established at Port Nelson, along the shore of Hudson Bay, by the Hudson's Bay Company. The French subsequently explored and established trading posts in the territory but surrendered title and posts to the British in 1763, at the close of the French and Indian War. The first permanent settlement was made in 1812, when a colony was founded for evicted Scottish peasants by Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of Selkirk, in the Assiniboia district, deeded to him by the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1870 the Dominion of Canada bought the territorial rights of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Northwest from the British government. When territorial status was subsequently considered, the Native American and the French-Native American people (called métis), fearing the loss of their lands and limitations on their virtual autonomy, rebelled under the leadership of Louis David Riel. Because of the rebellion, Manitoba entered the Dominion, under the terms of the Manitoba Act of 1870, as a tiny province; its boundaries were enlarged in 1881 and 1912. Since it was assumed that the population would be both French and English, the province was required to maintain a dual system of separate Roman Catholic and Protestant denominational schools.
The population grew slowly from about 25,000 in 1871 to 153,000 in 1891. Initially, settlement was delayed by a lack of railroad connections, although the Canadian Pacific Railway reached into Manitoba by 1882. Of the newcomers to the province, many came from Ontario, few from Québec. Eventually this led to an assault on the dualism found in the Manitoba Act, and in 1890 the provincial legislature abolished the official use of French and instituted a nondenominational public school system. The latter move sparked the lengthy Manitoba schools controversy, which contributed to the national decline of the Conservative party in the 1890s. The dispute was not resolved until the so-called Compromise of 1897 allowed limited religious instruction after school and some bilingual teaching.
A surge of immigration begun at this time brought Manitoba's population up to 461,000 by 1911. Virtually all the agricultural land was settled. With wheat the leading crop, Manitoba became the granary of Canada. Many of the new-comers were from the United States, but the promise of Homestead lands and greater opportunity also attracted immigrants from eastern Europe. Winnipeg emerged as the commercial and industrial capital of the Prairie provinces. Rapid growth and inflation during World War I produced an explosive mix of class and ethnic tensions in the city, which erupted over the Winnipeg general strike on 1919, the most serious labor dispute in Canada's history. The authorities, fearing Communist infiltration among the strikers, responded with repression. The strike was broken, but Winnipeg politics remained polarized for at least a generation.
In 1920 the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM) joined with other agrarian groups to sponsor the western Progressive party, which planned to challenge railways, banks, and eastern Canada. The UFM secured control of the provincial government in the general election of 1922, installing as premier John Bracken. Bracken led Progressive and coalition governments from 1922 until 1943. Members of his administration proved to be very conservative, acting more as prudent managers than as party spokespersons. The stability of provincial politics reflected the slow growth of the economy and population. Industry surpassed agriculture as a source of wealth by the late 1920s. After 1943 coalition governments continued until Bracken's successors, Stuart Sinclair Garson and Douglas Lloyd Campbell. Party government did not really return until Dufferin Roblin became prime minister as a Progressive Conservative in 1958/ He won three more elections before resigning in 1968. His successor, Walter C. Weir, was defeated in 1969 by the New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Edward Richard Schreyer. The party formed the first social democratic government in the province's history and established its position as the principal rival to the Progressive Conservatives. Sterling Lyon, ad Conservative, became premier in 1977, but the NDP came back in the 1981 elections, led by Howard Pauley. In 1990 the Conservatives secured a majority, with Gary Filmon as premier, and stayed in power until 2000 when the NDP party - led by Garry Doer took over.