- This article is about the Canadian province. Manitoba is also the former stage name of electronic musician Dan Snaith, who now goes by Caribou.
|Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Glorious and free)|
|Other Canadian provinces and territories|
|Lieutenant Governor||John Harvard|
|Premier||Gary Doer (NDP)|
|Area||647,797 km² (8th)|
|- Land||553,556 km²|
|- Water||64,241 km² (14.5%)|
|- Population||1,165,944 (5th)|
|- Density||1.80 /km² (8th)|
|Admittance into Confederation|
|- Date||July 15, 1870|
|- House seats||14|
|- Senate seats||6|
|- ISO 3166–2||CA-MB|
|Postal Code Prefix||R|
Manitoba is one of Canada's provinces and was the fifth province to join Canada (in 1870). Its population as of January 1, 2004 was 1,165,944(Manitobans). It is the easternmost of the three Prairie Provinces.
Table of contents
Manitoba is located in the longitudinal centre of Canada, though 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.
The Manitoba climate is severe, though the southern latitudes 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, renowned by naturalists and sportsmen for its pristine wilderness.
Manitoba lies in the path of the Arctic Trough which funnels cold arctic air south during the winter months. This, in conjunction with the relatively unprotected prairie landscape, makes southern Manitoba a harsh climate in which to live during the icy cold, wind swept months from November through March. This has resulted in the capital of the province being nicknamed "Winterpeg".
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 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. The Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816 saw 20 colonists killed by the Métis, including the governor.
When Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada in 1869 (it would become the Northwest Territories), a lack of attention to Métis concerns would lead their leader Louis Riel to establish a provisional government. 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.
- Manitoba Act
- Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
- Provinces and territories of Canada
- Manitoba cabinet ministers
- Manitoba Hydro
- 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
|Provinces and territories of Canada|