Trivia

• 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