HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the
Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
. It is centred on the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
and
Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
rivers. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,607 and a metropolitan population of 834,678, making it Canada's sixth-largest city and eighth-largest metropolitan area. The city is named after the nearby
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...
; the name comes from the Western Cree words for 'muddy water' – . The region was a trading centre for
Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
long before the arrival of Europeans; it is the traditional territory of the
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...
(Ojibway), Ininew (
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
),
Oji-Cree The Anisininew or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree pe ...
,
Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...
, and Dakota, and is the birthplace of the Métis Nation. French traders built the first fort, Fort Rouge, on the site in 1738. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. Being far inland, the city's climate is extremely seasonal (continental) even by Canadian standards, with average January highs of around and average July highs of . Known as the "Gateway to the West", Winnipeg is a railway and transportation hub with a diversified economy. This multicultural city hosts numerous annual festivals, including the , the
Winnipeg Folk Festival The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a nonprofit charitable organization with an annual summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The festival features a variety of artists and music from around t ...
, the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, the
Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is a 12-day Fringe theatre, alternative theatre festival held each year in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Primarily held in venues in Winnipeg's historic Exchange District, it currently ranks as the seco ...
, and
Folklorama Folklorama is an event that runs for two weeks each August in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Visitors to the festival are invited to sample cuisine and celebrate the cultural and ethnic heritage of people from dozens of cultures who have made Winn ...
. Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games in 1967. It is home to several professional sports franchises, including the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...
(Canadian football),
Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...
(ice hockey),
Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...
(ice hockey),
Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...
(
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
),
Winnipeg Sea Bears The Winnipeg Sea Bears are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). They play their home games at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. History On November 9 ...
(basketball), and the
Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...
(baseball).


Etymology

Winnipeg is named after nearby
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...
, north of the city. English explorer
Henry Kelsey Henry Kelsey ( – 1 November 1724) was an English fur trader, explorer, and sailor who played an important role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. He is the first recorded European to have visited the present-day provin ...
may have been the first European to see the lake in 1690. He adopted the
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
and
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
name (also transcribed or ) meaning "murky water" or "muddy water" (modern , ). French-Canadian fur trader La Vérendrye referred to the lake as or when he built the first forts in the area in the 1730s. Local newspaper ''The Nor'-Wester'' included the name on its masthead on 24 February 1866, and the city was incorporated by that name by the
Manitoba Legislature The Manitoba Legislature is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada) and the unicameral assemb ...
in 1873.


History


Early history

Winnipeg lies at the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the
Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
and the
Red River of the North The Red River (), also called the Red River of the North () to differentiate it from the Red River of the South, Red River in the south of the continent, is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confl ...
, a location now known as " the Forks." This point was at the crossroads of
canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
routes travelled by
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
before European contact. Evidence provided by archaeology,
petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s,
rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
, and oral history indicates that native peoples used the area in prehistoric times for camping, harvesting, hunting, tool making, fishing, trading and, farther north, for agriculture. Estimates of the date of first settlement in the area range from 11,500 years ago for a site southwest of the present city to 6,000 years ago at the Forks. In 1805, Canadian colonists observed First Nations peoples engaged in farming activity along the Red River. The practice quickly expanded, driven by the demand by traders for provisions. The rivers provided an extensive transportation network linking northern First Peoples with those to the south along the
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
and
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
rivers. The
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
made some of the first maps on
birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. For all practical purposes, birch bark's main layers are the outer dense layer, white on the outside, and the inner porous layer ( ...
, which helped
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
rs navigate the waterways of the area. Sieur de La Vérendrye built the first fur-trading post on the site in 1738, called Fort Rouge. French trading continued at the site for several decades. The British
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
took over when France ceded the territory following its defeat in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. Many French men who were trappers married First Nations women; their mixed-race children hunted, traded, and lived in the area. Their descendants are known as the
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
. Lord Selkirk was involved with the first permanent settlement (known as the
Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...
), the purchase of land from the Hudson's Bay Company, and a survey of river lots in the early 19th century. The
North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...
built
Fort Gibraltar Fort Gibraltar was founded in 1809 by Alexander Macdonell of Greenfield of the North West Company in present-day Manitoba, Canada. It was located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks i ...
in 1809, and the Hudson's Bay Company built
Fort Douglas Fort Douglas (initially called Camp Douglas) was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. Its purpose was to protect the overland mail route and te ...
in 1812, both in the area of present-day Winnipeg. The two companies competed fiercely over trade. The Métis and Lord Selkirk's settlers fought at the
Battle of Seven Oaks The Battle of Seven Oaks—also known as the Seven Oaks Massacre and the Seven Oaks Incident—was a violent confrontation of the Pemmican War between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (NWC) which occurred on 19 June 18 ...
in 1816. In 1821, the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies merged, ending their long rivalry. Fort Gibraltar was renamed
Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks in what is now central Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fort Garr ...
in 1822 and became the leading post in the region for the Hudson's Bay Company. A flood destroyed the fort in 1826 and it was not rebuilt until 1835. A rebuilt section of the fort, consisting of the front gate and a section of the wall, is near the modern-day corner of Main Street and Broadway in downtown Winnipeg. In 1869–70, present-day Winnipeg was the site of the
Red River Rebellion The Red River Rebellion (), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by Métis leader Louis Riel and his f ...
, a conflict between the local provisional government of Métis, led by
Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...
, and newcomers from eastern Canada. General
Garnet Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley (4 June 183325 March 1913) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential British generals after a series of victories in Canada, West Africa and E ...
was sent to suppress the uprising. The
Manitoba Act The ''Manitoba Act, 1870'' ()Originally entitled (until renamed in 1982) ''An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba.'' is an act of the Parli ...
of 1870 made Manitoba the fifth province of the three-year-old
Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...
.
Treaty 1 ''Treaty 1'' (also known as the "Stone Fort Treaty") is an agreement established on August 3, 1871, between the Crown and the Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree, Canadian based First Nations. The first of a series of treaties called the Numbered Treatie ...
, which encompassed the city and much of the surrounding area, was signed on 3 August 1871 by representatives of the Crown and local Indigenous groups, comprising the Brokenhead Ojibway, Sagkeeng, Long Plain, Peguis, Roseau River Anishinabe, Sandy Bay and Swan Lake communities. On 8 November 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city, with the Selkirk settlement as its nucleus. Métis legislator and interpreter James McKay named the city. Winnipeg's mandate was to govern and provide municipal services to citizens attracted to trade expansion between
Upper Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks in what is now central Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fort Garry ...
/
Lower Fort Garry Lower Fort Garry was built in 1830 by the Hudson's Bay Company on the western bank of the Red River, north of the original Fort Garry (now in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada). Treaty 1 was signed there. A devastating flood destroyed Fort Garry ...
and
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
. Winnipeg developed rapidly after the coming of the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
in 1881. The railway divided the North End, which housed mainly Eastern Europeans, from the richer Anglo-Saxon southern part of the city. It also contributed to a demographic shift beginning shortly after Confederation that saw the francophone population decrease from a majority to a small minority group. This shift resulted in Premier
Thomas Greenway Thomas Greenway (25 March 1838 – 30 October 1908) was a Canadian politician, merchant and farmer. He served as the seventh premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900. A Liberal, his ministry formally ended Manitoba's non-partisan government, al ...
controversially ending legislative bilingualism and removing funding for French Catholic Schools in 1890.


Modern history (1900–present)

By 1911, Winnipeg was Canada's third-largest city. However, the city faced financial difficulty when the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
opened in 1914. The canal reduced reliance on Canada's rail system for international trade; the increase in shipping traffic helped
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
to surpass Winnipeg in both prosperity and population by the end of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. More than 30,000 workers walked off their jobs in May 1919 in what came to be known as the
Winnipeg general strike The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most famous and influential strikes in Canadian history. For six weeks, May 15 to June 26, more than 30,000 strikers brought economic activity to a standstill in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which at the ...
. The strike was a product of postwar recession, labour conditions, the activity of union organizers and a large influx of returning World War I soldiers seeking work. After many arrests, deportations, and incidents of violence, the strike ended on 21 June 1919 when the
Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled ...
was read. A group of
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
officers charged a group of strikers. Two strikers were killed and at least thirty others were injured on the day that became known as ''Bloody Saturday''; the event polarized the population. One of the leaders of the strike, J. S. Woodsworth, went on to found Canada's first major socialist party, the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...
, which later became the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
. The
Manitoba Legislative Building The Manitoba Legislative Building (), originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, located in central Winnipeg, as well as being the twelfth provincial heritage site of Manitoba.< ...
, constructed mainly of
Tyndall stone Tyndall Stone is a registered trademark name by Gillis Quarries Ltd. Tyndall Stone is a dolomitic limestone that is quarried from the Selkirk Member of the Ordovician Red River Formation in the vicinity of Garson and Tyndall, Manitoba, ...
, opened in 1920; its dome supports a bronze statue finished in gold leaf, titled "Eternal Youth and the Spirit of Enterprise" (commonly known as the " Golden Boy"). The stock market crash of 1929 and the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
resulted in widespread unemployment, worsened by drought and low agricultural prices. The Depression ended after the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1939. In the
Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...
,
The Winnipeg Grenadiers The Winnipeg Grenadiers was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. First formed on 1 April 1908 under General Order No. 20. Initially it was raised with headquarters at Morden, Manitoba, and companies at: A Company at Morden, B Co ...
were among the first Canadians to engage in combat against Japan. Battalion members who survived combat were taken prisoner and endured brutal treatment in
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
camps. In 1942, the Victory Loan Campaign staged a mock Nazi invasion of Winnipeg to promote awareness of the stakes of the war in Europe. When the war ended, pent-up demand generated a boom in housing development, although building activity was checked by the
1950 Red River flood The 1950 Red River flood was a devastating flood that took place along the Red River of the North, Red River in The Dakotas and Manitoba from April 15 to June 12, 1950. Damage was particularly severe in the city of Winnipeg and its environs, wh ...
. The federal government estimated damage at over $26 million, although the province indicated that it was at least double that. The damage caused by the flood led then-Premier
Duff Roblin Dufferin "Duff" Roblin (June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre ...
to advocate for the construction of the
Red River Floodway The Red River Floodway () is an artificial flood control waterway in Western Canada. It is a long channel which, during flood periods, takes part of the Red River's flow around the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba to the east and discharges it back ...
. Before 1972, Winnipeg was the largest of thirteen cities and towns in a metropolitan area around the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. In 1960, the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg was established to co-ordinate service delivery in the metropolitan region. A consolidated metropolitan " unicity" government incorporating Winnipeg and its surrounding municipalities was established on 27 July 1971, taking effect in 1972. The City of Winnipeg Act incorporated the current city. In 2003, the City of Winnipeg Act was repealed and replaced with the City of Winnipeg Charter. Winnipeg experienced a severe economic downturn in advance of the
early 1980s recession The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1982. Long-term effects of the early 1980s recession contributed to the Latin American debt crisis, long-lastin ...
, during which the city incurred closures of prominent businesses, including the ''
Winnipeg Tribune ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890, to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old ' ...
'', as well as the Swift's and
Canada Packers Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a Canadian multinational consumer-packaged meats and food production company. Its head office is in Mississauga, Ontario. History Maple Leaf Foods is the result of the 1991 merger between Canada Packers and Maple ...
meat packing plants. In 1981, Winnipeg was one of the first cities in Canada to sign a tripartite agreement with the provincial and federal governments to redevelop its downtown area, and the three levels of government contributed over $271 million to its development. In 1989, the reclamation and redevelopment of the CNR
rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...
s turned the Forks into Winnipeg's most popular tourist attraction. The city was threatened by the
1997 Red River flood The Red River flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997 along the Red River of the North in Minnesota, North Dakota, and southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826. The flood reached through ...
as well as further floods in
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
and
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
.


Geography

Winnipeg lies at the bottom of the
Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...
, a flood plain with an extremely flat topography. It is on the eastern edge of the
Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
in
Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...
and is known as the "Gateway to the West". Winnipeg is bordered by
tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...
to the west and south and the
aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of ecotone, transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area ...
to the northeast, although most of the native prairie grasses have been removed for agriculture and urbanization. It is relatively close to many large
Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...
lakes and parks, as well as
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...
( the Earth's 11th largest freshwater lake). Winnipeg has North America's largest extant mature urban elm forest. The city has an area of . Winnipeg has four major rivers: the
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
,
Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
, La Salle and
Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
. The city was subject to severe flooding in the past. The Red River reached its greatest flood height in
1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a satirical weekly. * January 17 – The Ballantyne printing business in Edinburgh (Scotland) crashes, ruining noveli ...
. Another large flood in
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
caused millions of dollars in damage and mass evacuations. This flood prompted
Duff Roblin Dufferin "Duff" Roblin (June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre ...
's provincial government to build the
Red River Floodway The Red River Floodway () is an artificial flood control waterway in Western Canada. It is a long channel which, during flood periods, takes part of the Red River's flow around the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba to the east and discharges it back ...
to protect the city. In the 1997 flood, flood control dikes were reinforced and raised using sandbags; Winnipeg suffered limited damage compared to the flood's impact on cities without such structures, such as
Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...
. The generally flat terrain and the poor drainage of the Red River Valley's clay-based soil also results in many
mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
es during wetter years.


Climate

Winnipeg's location in the Canadian Prairies gives it a warm-summer
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfb''), with warm, humid summers, and long, severely cold winters. Summers have a July mean average of . Winters are the coldest time of year, with the January mean average around and total winter precipitation (December through February) averaging . Temperatures occasionally drop below . On average, there are 317.8 days per year with measurable sunshine, with July seeing the most. With 2,353 hours of sunshine per year, Winnipeg is the second-sunniest city in Canada. Total annual precipitation (both rain and snow) is just over . Thunderstorms are very common during summer and sometimes severe enough to produce tornadoes. Low
wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...
values are a common occurrence in the local climate. The wind chill has gone down as low as , and on average twelve days of the year reach a wind chill below . The highest temperature ever recorded in Winnipeg was during the
1936 North American heat wave The 1936 North American heat wave was one of the most severe heat waves in the modern history of North America. It took place in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and caused more than 5,000 deaths. Many state and cit ...
. The temperature reached on 11 July 1936 while the highest minimum temperature, recorded on the following day, 12 July 1936, was . The apparent heat can be even more extreme due to bursts of humidity, and on 25 July 2007 a
humidex The humidex (short for humidity index) is an index number used by Canadian meteorologists to describe how hot the weather feels to the average person, by combining the effect of heat and humidity. The term ''humidex'' was coined in 1965. The humid ...
reading of was measured. The frost-free season is comparatively long for a location with such severe winters. The last spring frost is on average around 23 May, while the first fall frost is on 22 September.


Cityscape

There are officially 236 neighbourhoods in Winnipeg.
Downtown Winnipeg Downtown Winnipeg is an area of Winnipeg located near the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. It is the oldest urban area in Winnipeg, and is home to the city's commercial core, city hall, the ...
, the city's financial heart and economic core, is centred on the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street and covers about . More than 72,000 people work downtown, and over 40,000 students attend classes at its universities and colleges. Downtown Winnipeg's
Exchange District The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises twenty city blocks and approximately 150 heritage buildin ...
is named after the area's original grain exchange, which operated from 1880 to 1913. The 30-block district received
National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
status in 1997; it includes North America's most extensive collection of early 20th-century
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
and cut stone architecture,
Stephen Juba Stephen Juba (July 1, 1914 – May 2, 1993) was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1953 to 1959, and served as the 37th Mayor of Winnipeg from 1957 to 1977. He was the first Ukrainian Cana ...
Park, and Old Market Square. Other major downtown areas are the Forks,
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, Broadway-Assiniboine and
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
. Many of Downtown Winnipeg's major buildings are linked with the
Winnipeg Walkway The Winnipeg Walkway System, also known as the Winnipeg Skywalk, is a network of pedestrian skyways and Pedestrian tunnels, tunnels connecting a significant portion of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The City of Winnipeg described the Walkway as a s ...
. Residential neighbourhoods surround the downtown in all directions; expansion is greatest to the south and west, although several areas remain underdeveloped. The city's largest park,
Assiniboine Park Assiniboine Park (formerly known as City Park) is a park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, located along the Assiniboine River. The Winnipeg Public Parks Board was formed in 1893, and purchased the initial land for the park in 1904. Although in use ...
, houses the
Assiniboine Park Zoo Assiniboine Park Zoo is a List of zoos in Canada, zoo facility located in the west end of Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established in 1904, Assiniboine Park Zoo is managed by the Assiniboine Park Conservancy. It holds accredita ...
and the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden. Other large city parks include
Kildonan Park Kildonan Park is a park in the West Kildonan area of northern Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established in 1909 as a park, it features the Peguis Pavilion, Rainbow Stage, the Witch's Hut, an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool, duck pond, and ...
and
St. Vital Park St. Vital Park is a park in southern Winnipeg, Manitoba, located on a bend of the Red River. In winter months, a skating pond is situated near the pathways which cover the area. St. Vital Park is also a popular area chosen to have events such a ...
. The city's major commercial areas are
Polo Park Polo Park (corporately styled as CF Polo Park) is a shopping centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack near the junction of Portage Avenue and St. James Street. Its grounds also includes a Scotiaba ...
, Kildonan Crossing, South St. Vital, Garden City (West Kildonan), Pembina Strip, Kenaston Smart Centre,
Osborne Village Osborne Village is a neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The area is bordered by the Assiniboine River on the north and west, Harkness Station on the east, and the Osborne Underpass on the south. History Osborne Village derives its name from Os ...
, and the Corydon strip. The main cultural and nightlife areas are the Exchange District, the Forks, Osborne Village and Corydon Village (both in Fort Rouge), Sargent and Ellice Avenues (West End) and Old St. Boniface.
Osborne Village Osborne Village is a neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The area is bordered by the Assiniboine River on the north and west, Harkness Station on the east, and the Osborne Underpass on the south. History Osborne Village derives its name from Os ...
is Winnipeg's most densely populated neighbourhood and one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in Western Canada.


Demographics

In the
2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Winnipeg had a population of 749,607 living in 300,431 of its 315,465 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 705,244. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As of the 2021 census, 16.6 percent of residents were 14 years old or younger, 66.4 percent were between 15 and 64 years old, and 17.0 percent were 65 or over. The average age of a Winnipegger was 40.3. At the
census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...
(CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Winnipeg CMA had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Winnipeg represents 54.9% of the population of the province of Manitoba, the highest population concentration in one city of any province in Canada. Apart from the city of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg CMA includes the rural municipalities of Springfield, St. Clements, Taché, East St. Paul, Macdonald, Ritchot, West St. Paul,
Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
, the Brokenhead 4 reserve, Rosser and St. François Xavier.
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
's estimate of the Winnipeg CMA population as of 1 July 2020 is 850,056, making it the 7th largest CMA in Canada. Winnipeg has a significant and increasing
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
population, with both the highest percentage of Indigenous peoples (12.4%) for any major Canadian city, and the highest total number of Indigenous peoples (90,995) for any single non-reserve municipality. The Indigenous population grew by 22% between 2001 and 2006, compared to an increase of 3% for the city as a whole; this population tends to be younger and less wealthy than non-Indigenous residents. Winnipeg also has the highest Métis population in both percentage (6.5%) and numbers (47,915); the growth rate for this population between 2001 and 2006 was 30%. The 2021 census reported that
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
comprise 201,040 persons or 27.3% of the total population of Winnipeg. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were the Philippines (62,100 persons or 30.9%), India (27,605 persons or 13.7%), and China (8,900 persons or 4.4%). The city receives over 10,000 net international immigrants per year. Winnipeg has the greatest percentage of Filipino residents (11.3%) of any major Canadian city, although
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
has more Filipinos by total population. As of 2021, 34% of residents were of a
visible minority In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada ...
. More than a hundred languages are spoken in Winnipeg, of which the most common is English: 65 percent of Winnipeggers speak English as their native language (of Canada's official languages, English and French, 95 percent learned English first), and 2.8 percent have a first language of French. Other languages spoken as a
mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...
in Winnipeg include Tagalog (6.0%), Punjabi (4.1%), and
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
(1.5%). Several Indigenous languages are also spoken, such as
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
(0.2%) and
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
(0.1%). The 2021 Census reported the religious make-up of Winnipeg as: 50.4%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, including 24.0%
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, 4.0%
United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...
, and 2.7%
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
; 4.4%
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
; 3.3%
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
; 2.0%
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
; 1.5%
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
; 0.9%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
; 0.4% traditional (aboriginal) spirituality; 0.7% other; and 36.4% no religious affiliation.


Economy

Winnipeg is an economic base and regional centre. It has a diversified economy, with major employment in the health care and social assistance (14%), retail (11%), manufacturing (8%), and public administration (8%) sectors. There were approximately 450,500 jobs in the city as of 2019. Some of Winnipeg's largest employers are government and government-funded institutions, including the Province of Manitoba, the University of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg,
Manitoba Hydro The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board (), operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas public utility, utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba ...
, and
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation The Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation (MBLL; ) is a Crown corporation of the Manitoba government responsible for providing legalized gambling ("gaming"), distributing and selling liquor, and for sourcing and distributing non-medical can ...
. Major private-sector employers include Canad Corporation of Manitoba,
Canada Life Assurance Company The Canada Life Assurance Company (French language, French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipe ...
,
StandardAero StandardAero, Inc. is an American Aircraft maintenance, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company is not related to Standard Aircraft Corporation, which was formed in 1916 and ceased operations in 1 ...
, and
SkipTheDishes Skip, previously SkipTheDishes, is a Canadian online food delivery service headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba and a division of Dutch-based Just Eat Takeaway.com. Users can order food from restaurants online using its iOS or Android app or ...
. According to the
Conference Board of Canada The Conference Board of Canada is an independent, non-profit applied-research organization based in Canada. It aims to help Canada's leaders make informed, evidence-based decisions using non-partisan and non-ideological analysis. The organiza ...
, Winnipeg was projected to experience a real GDP growth of 1.9 percent in 2019. Gross Domestic Product was $43.3 billion in 2018. The city had an unemployment rate of 5.3% in 2019, compared to a national rate of 5.7%. Household income per capita was $47,824, compared to $49,744 nationally. The
Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...
, established in 1976, produces all circulating coinage in Canada. The facility, located in southeastern Winnipeg, also produces coins for many other countries. In 2012, Winnipeg was ranked by
KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...
as the least expensive location to do business in western Canada. Like many prairie cities, Winnipeg has a relatively low cost of living. The average house price in Winnipeg was $301,518 as of 2018. As of May 2014, the
Consumer Price Index A consumer price index (CPI) is a statistical estimate of the level of prices of goods and services bought for consumption purposes by households. It is calculated as the weighted average price of a market basket of Goods, consumer goods and ...
was 125.8 relative to 2002 prices, reflecting consumer costs at the Canadian average.


Culture

Winnipeg was named the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2010 by Canadian Heritage. As of 2021, there are 26
National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
in Winnipeg. One of these, the Forks, attracts four million visitors a year. It is home to the
City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
television studio,
Manitoba Theatre for Young People Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) is a theatre for children and young adults in The Forks area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. , MTYP's annual attendance regularly exceeds 100,000. Within the theatre complex are two performance venues: a ...
, the
Winnipeg International Children's Festival The Winnipeg International Children's Festival, also known as Kidsfest, is a children's festival held annually at The Forks National Historic Park. The festival is run by "Winnipeg International Children's Festival", which is a charitable, non-pr ...
, and the
Manitoba Children's Museum The Manitoba Children's Museum is a non-profit, charitable children's museum located at The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History The museum was founded in 1983. It opened its first exhibit in a warehouse on 21 June ...
. It also features a skate plaza, a bowl complex, which features a mural of Winnipeg skateboarding pioneer Jai Pereira, the
Esplanade Riel Esplanade Riel is a pedestrian bridge located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was named in honour of Louis Riel. It is a side-spar cable-stayed bridge which spans the Red River connecting downtown Winnipeg and The Forks historic area with St. Bon ...
bridge, a river walkway, Shaw Park, and the
Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...
. The
Winnipeg Public Library The Winnipeg Public Library () is a public library system in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Branches provide programming for children, teens, and adults. The Library also contains an Outreach Department which works with the community, as well as people who ...
is a public library network with 20 branches throughout the city, including the main Millennium Library.
Winnipeg the Bear Winnipeg (1914 – 12 May 1934), or Winnie, was the name given to a female American black bear, black bear that lived at London Zoo from 1915 until her death in 1934. Rescued by cavalry veterinarian Harry Colebourn, Winnie is best-remembered for ...
, which would become the inspiration for part of the name of
Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...
, was purchased in Ontario by Lieutenant Harry Colebourn of
the Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in 1912 that first ...
. He named the bear after the regiment's hometown of Winnipeg.
A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...
later wrote a series of books featuring the fictional Winnie-the-Pooh. The series' illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard created the only known oil painting of Winnipeg's adopted fictional bear, which is displayed in Assiniboine Park. The city has developed many distinct dishes and cooking styles, notably in the areas of
confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...
and hot-smoked fish. Both the First Nations and more recent Eastern Canadian, European, and Asian immigrants have helped shape Winnipeg's dining scene, giving birth to dishes such as the desserts
schmoo torte Schmoo torte is a Canadian dessert. Although it is relatively popular and well-known nationwide, it is most famous in Western Canada, especially Manitoba. It is a torte with layered whipped cream, brown sugar, and nuts, commonly made using ange ...
and wafer pie. The
Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...
is Western Canada's oldest public art gallery, founded in 1912. It is the sixth-largest in the country and includes the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. Since the late 1970s Winnipeg has also had an active artist run centre culture. Winnipeg's three largest performing arts venues, the
Centennial Concert Hall Centennial Concert Hall is a 2,305-seat performing arts centre located at 555 Main Street in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, as part of the Manitoba Centennial Centre. The concert hall opened on March 25, 1968. It is the performing home o ...
,
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by Jo ...
and the
Pantages Playhouse Theatre The Pantages Playhouse Theatre () is a former vaudeville theatre in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The two-storey building features a decorative façade with a lit Marquee (sign), marquee across the front, as well as classical decorative el ...
, are downtown. The Royal Manitoba is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre, with over 250 performances yearly. The Pantages Playhouse Theatre opened as a vaudeville house in 1913. Other city theatres include the
Burton Cummings Theatre The Burton Cummings Theatre is a theatre located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Built by local impresario Corliss Powers Walker, it was originally known as the Walker Theatre. The building was renamed after singer-songwriter and Winnipeg native B ...
(a National Historic Site of Canada built in 1906) and
Prairie Theatre Exchange Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) is a professional theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located on the third floor of Portage Place mall in downtown Winnipeg. By the end of the 2016–17 season, PTE had presented 340 plays on its thrust s ...
. Le Cercle Molière, based in St Boniface, is Canada's oldest theatre company, founded in 1925.
Rainbow Stage Rainbow Stage is a not-for-profit musical theatre company and outdoor theatre operator, located in Kildonan Park in north Winnipeg, Manitoba. The covered amphitheatre seats up to 2,600 people and operates from May to September. History As urb ...
is a musical theatre production company based in
Kildonan Park Kildonan Park is a park in the West Kildonan area of northern Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established in 1909 as a park, it features the Peguis Pavilion, Rainbow Stage, the Witch's Hut, an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool, duck pond, and ...
that produces professional, live Broadway musical shows and is Canada's longest-surviving outdoor theatre. The
Manitoba Theatre for Young People Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) is a theatre for children and young adults in The Forks area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. , MTYP's annual attendance regularly exceeds 100,000. Within the theatre complex are two performance venues: a ...
at the Forks is one of only two Theatres for Young Audiences in Canada with a permanent residence and the only Theatre for Young Audiences that offers a full season of plays for teenagers. The
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre Winnipeg Jewish Theatre is a theatre based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was founded in 1987 and is the only professional theatre in Canada dedicated to Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nati ...
is the only professional theatre in Canada dedicated to Jewish themes.
Shakespeare in the Ruins Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This conce ...
(SIR) presents adaptations of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
plays. Winnipeg has hosted numerous
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
productions: '' Shall We Dance?'' (2004), '' Capote'' (2005), ''
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' is a 2007 American epic revisionist Western film written and directed by Andrew Dominik. Based on Ron Hansen's 1983 novel of the same name, the film dramatizes the relationship be ...
'' (2007), and ''
A Dog's Purpose A Dog's Purpose may refer to: * ''A Dog's Purpose'' (novel), a 2010 novel by W. Bruce Cameron * ''A Dog's Purpose'' (film), a 2017 American adventure drama film, based on the novel {{disambiguation ...
'' (2017), among others were filmed in the city. The
Winnipeg Film Group The Winnipeg Film Group (WFG) is an artist-run film education, production, distribution, and exhibition centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, committed to promoting the art of Canadian cinema, especially independent cinema. While specializing in sho ...
has produced numerous award-winning films. There are several TV and film production companies in Winnipeg: the most prominent are
Farpoint Films Farpoint Films is a television and film production company founded in 2000 by John Barnard and Kyle Bornais and based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They have produced more than 500 hours of national and international award winning television ...
,
Frantic Films Frantic Films Corporation is a Canadian branded content and live action production company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Frantic Films is known for producing live action reality shows, documentaries and for its work in feature film visual effects. ...
,
Buffalo Gal Pictures Buffalo Gal Pictures is an independent TV and film production company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The company has produced 20 feature films, 10 television dramas, 8 documentaries, and over 50 hours of television series. In 2004, it premi ...
, and
Les Productions Rivard Les Productions Rivard is an independent film and television production company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was founded in 1995 by Louis Paquin and Charles Lavack. Together, their goal was to produce television and film productions in F ...
. Guy Maddin's ''
My Winnipeg ''My Winnipeg'' is a 2007 Canadian film directed and written by Guy Maddin with dialogue by George Toles. Described by Maddin as a "docu-fantasia", that melds "personal history, civic tragedy, and mystical hypothesizing", the film is a surrealist ...
'', an independent film released in 2008, is a comedic rumination on the city's history. The
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...
is the largest and oldest professional musical ensemble in Winnipeg. The
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Meas ...
runs a series of chamber orchestral concerts each year.
Manitoba Opera Manitoba Opera is a full-time professional opera company in Winnipeg, Manitoba, based at the Centennial Concert Hall. Founded in 1969, Manitoba Opera is one of several Western Canada, western Canadian opera companies that flourished under the so- ...
is Manitoba's only full-time professional opera company. Among the most notable musical acts associated with Winnipeg are
Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy Bachman, Randy, Robbie Bachman, Robbie, and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner (musician), Fred Turner, in 19 ...
,
The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...
,
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
,
The Weakerthans The Weakerthans are a Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive. History The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he l ...
, the
Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anchored by Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice, the other band members have fluctuated over the years. Its most prominent line-up consist ...
, Propagandhi,
Bif Naked Beth Nicole Torbert (born June 15, 1971) is a Canadian singer best known by her stage name Bif Naked. Between 1996 and 2016, she was among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada. She charted #1 on Billboard Canada for the single Spacema ...
, and The Watchmen among many others. Winnipeg also has a significant place in Canadian jazz history, being the location of Canada's first jazz concert in 1914 at the
Pantages Playhouse Theatre The Pantages Playhouse Theatre () is a former vaudeville theatre in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The two-storey building features a decorative façade with a lit Marquee (sign), marquee across the front, as well as classical decorative el ...
. The
Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...
(RWB) is Canada's oldest
ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe that performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-rou ...
and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. It was the first organization to be granted a royal title by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and has included notable dancers such as Evelyn Hart and
Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...
. The RWB also runs a full-time classical dance school. The
Manitoba Museum The Manitoba Museum, previously the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, is a human and natural history museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as the province's largest, Not-for-Profit, not-for-profit centre for Heritage centre, heritage and science e ...
, the city's largest museum, depicts the history of the city and province. The full-size replica of the ship ''Nonsuch'' is the museum's showcase piece. The
Manitoba Children's Museum The Manitoba Children's Museum is a non-profit, charitable children's museum located at The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History The museum was founded in 1983. It opened its first exhibit in a warehouse on 21 June ...
is a nonprofit
children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...
at the Forks that features twelve permanent galleries. The
Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...
is the only Canadian
national museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...
for human rights and the only national museum west of Ottawa. The federal government contributed $100 million towards the estimated $311 million project. Construction of the museum began on 1 April 2008, and the museum opened to the public 27 September 2014. The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, near Winnipeg's James Richardson International Airport, features military jets, commercial aircraft, Canada's first helicopter, the "flying saucer" Avrocar, flight simulators, and a
Black Brant The brant or brent goose (''Branta bernicla'') is a small goose of the genus ''Branta''. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra. The Brent oilfield was named after t ...
rocket built in Manitoba by Bristol Aerospace. The
Winnipeg Railway Museum The Winnipeg Railway Museum was a railway museum located on tracks 1 and 2 within the Via Rail-operated Union Station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Volunteers from the Midwestern Rail Association Inc., a non-profit organization founded in 1975, ...
at Via Rail Station has a variety of locomotives, notably the '' Countess of Dufferin'', the first
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
in Western Canada.


Festivals

Festival du Voyageur The Festival du Voyageur is an annual 10-day winter festival that takes place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The event is held each February in Winnipeg's French quarter, Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, Saint-Boniface, and is western Canada's largest ...
, Western Canada's largest winter festival, celebrates the early French explorers of the Red River Valley.
Folklorama Folklorama is an event that runs for two weeks each August in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Visitors to the festival are invited to sample cuisine and celebrate the cultural and ethnic heritage of people from dozens of cultures who have made Winn ...
is the largest and longest-running cultural celebration festival in the world. The Jazz Winnipeg Festival and the
Winnipeg Folk Festival The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a nonprofit charitable organization with an annual summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The festival features a variety of artists and music from around t ...
both celebrate Winnipeg's music community. The Winnipeg Music Festival offers a competition venue for amateur musicians. The
Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is a 12-day Fringe theatre, alternative theatre festival held each year in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Primarily held in venues in Winnipeg's historic Exchange District, it currently ranks as the seco ...
is the second-largest
alternative theatre Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fr ...
festival in North America. The
Winnipeg International Writers Festival The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a Winnipeg, Manitoba based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events reg ...
(also called THIN AIR) brings writers to Winnipeg for workshops and readings. The
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community in the city is served by Pride Winnipeg, an annual
gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
festival and parade, and Reel Pride, a
film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...
of LGBT-themed films.


Sports

Winnipeg has been home to several professional
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
teams. The
Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...
of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) have called the city home since 2011. The original
Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...
, the city's former NHL team, left for
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, after the 1995–96 season due to mounting financial troubles, despite a campaign effort to "Save the Jets." The Jets play at
Canada Life Centre Canada Life Centre (formerly Bell MTS Place) is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The arena stand ...
, which is ranked the world's 19th-busiest arena among non-sporting touring events, 13th-busiest among facilities in North America, and 3rd-busiest in Canada as of 2009. Past hockey teams based in Winnipeg include the Winnipeg Maroons,
Winnipeg Warriors The Winnipeg Warriors were a junior ice hockey team that played in the Western Hockey League. They were founded as an expansion team in 1980, but suffered from attendance problems competing with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League and ...
, three-time Stanley Cup Champion
Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were an amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorias won the ...
and the
Winnipeg Falcons The Winnipeg Falcons were a senior men's amateur ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Winnipeg Falcons won the 1920 Allan Cup. That team went on to represent Canada in the Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics, 1920 Olympic games h ...
, who were the gold medalists representing Canada at the
1920 Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...
in Antwerp, Belgium. Another professional ice hockey team in Winnipeg is the
Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...
, the American Hockey League primary affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets that the same group owns. On the international stage, Winnipeg has hosted national and world hockey championships on a number of occasions, most notably the 1999 World Junior Hockey Championship and 2007 Women's World Hockey Championship. The city is also home to the Manitoba Herd
National Ringette League The National Ringette League (NRL) ''()'' is the premier league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18 and up. The NRL is not a women's variant of a more well-known men's leag ...
team. The
Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...
play in the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
. They are twelve-time
Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...
champions, their last championship in 2021. From 1953 to 2012, the Blue Bombers called
Canad Inns Stadium Winnipeg Stadium (also known as Canad Inns Stadium) was a Multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The stadium was located at the corner of St. James Street (Winnipeg), St. James Street and Maroons Road ...
home; they have since moved to
Princess Auto Stadium Princess Auto Stadium (formerly IG Field) is an outdoor stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The stadium, which opened in 2013, is located on the University of Manitoba campus next to University Stadium (Winnipeg), University Stadium. The stadium is h ...
, which opened in 2013. The $200 million facility is also the home to U Sports' University of Manitoba Bisons and the
Winnipeg Rifles The Winnipeg Rifles is a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Rifles are members of the Canadian Junior Football League and play their home games in Maple Grove Park. History Junior football in Winnipeg dates back to the 192 ...
of the
Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional footbal ...
. Winnipeg is the only city with two women's football teams in the
Western Women's Canadian Football League The Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL) is a full-contact women's Canadian football league which began play in the spring of 2011. The league plays an annual season in the spring and summer, and with seven teams it is the largest w ...
: the Manitoba Fearless and the Winnipeg Wolfpack. The University of Manitoba Bisons and the University of Winnipeg Wesmen represent the city in university-level sports. In soccer, it is represented by both
Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...
in the new
Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...
and
FC Manitoba FC Manitoba is a Canadian soccer team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club was founded in 2010 as WSA Winnipeg. In 2020, the club was acquired by a new ownership group and re-organized and branded as FC Manitoba. The team played in USL League Tw ...
in the
USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
. Winnipeg has been home to several professional baseball teams, most recently the
Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...
since 1994. The Goldeyes play at Shaw Park, which was completed in 1999. The team had led the Northern League for ten straight years in average attendance through 2010, with more than 300,000 annual fan visits, until the league collapsed and merged into the
American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...
. Winnipeg was the first Canadian city to host the
Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
, and the second city to host the event twice, in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
and again in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
. The
Pan Am Pool The Pan Am Pool is an indoor swimming facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada built for the 1967 Pan American Games. It is located in Rockwood, Winnipeg, southwest Winnipeg and consists of three pools: two are used for competitive swimming and on ...
, built for the 1967 Pan Am Games, hosts aquatic events, including
diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...
, speed swimming,
synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming), also known as artistic swimming, is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by World A ...
and
water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
. Other notable sporting events hosted by Winnipeg include the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
(co-hosted with Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Moncton) the 2017 Canada Summer Games and the 2023 World Police and Fire Games.


Local media

Winnipeg has two daily newspapers: the ''
Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...
'' and the ''
Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by The Klein Group circa 2024.Following its acquisition of Sun Media, opinion plus an emphasis on local news stories, and ex ...
''. There are also several ethnic weekly newspapers. Radio broadcasting in Winnipeg began in 1922; by 1923, government-owned CKY held a monopoly position that lasted until after the Second World War. Winnipeg is home to 33 AM and FM radio stations, two of which are
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
stations.
CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...
and
CBC Radio 2 CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...
broadcast local and national programming in the city. NCI is devoted to Indigenous programming. Television broadcasting in Winnipeg started in 1954. The federal government refused to license any private broadcaster until the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...
had created a national network. In May 1954,
CBWT CBWT-DT (channel 6) is a CBC Television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has common ownership with Ici Radio-Canada Télé station CBWFT-DT (channel 3). The two stations share studios on Portage Avenue and Young Street in Downtown Winni ...
went on the air broadcasting four hours daily. There are now five English-language stations and one French-language station based in Winnipeg. Additionally, some American network affiliates are available over-the-air.


Law and government

Since 1992, the city of Winnipeg has been represented by 15 city councillors and a mayor, both elected every four years. The present mayor,
Scott Gillingham Scott Gillingham is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the 44th mayor of Winnipeg, being elected on October 26, 2022. Before being elected as mayor, he was the city councillor for St. James-Assiniboia, St. James from 2014 to 2022. He ...
, was first elected to office in 2022. The city is a single-tier municipality, governed by a mayor-council system. The structure of the municipal government is set by the provincial legislature in the City of Winnipeg Charter Act, which replaced the old City of Winnipeg Act in 2003.The City of Winnipeg Charter Act
. S.M. 2002, c. 39. Bill 39, 3rd Session, 37th Legislature. Manitoba Laws.
The mayor is elected by direct popular vote to serve as the
chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the city. At Council meetings, the mayor has one of 16 votes. The city governance functions off the "strong-mayor" model, which allows for a "two-tiered system" or voting block between the councillors who are on or not on the Executive Policy Committee. The City Council is a
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
legislative body, representing geographical wards throughout the city. In provincial politics, Winnipeg is represented by 32 of the 57 provincial
Members of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...
(MLAs) in the
43rd Manitoba Legislature The 43rd Manitoba Legislature was created following a general election in 2023. Members of the 43rd Legislative Assembly *Members in bold are in the Cabinet of Manitoba. Notes References Terms of the Manitoba Legislature 2023 estab ...
. As of 2023, Winnipeg districts are represented by 28 members of the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
(NDP), three by the Progressive Conservative Party, and one by the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. In federal politics, as of 2025, Winnipeg is represented by eight Members of Parliament: five Liberals, two
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
and one
New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...
. There are six Senators representing Manitoba in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
.


Crime

From 2007 to 2011, Winnipeg was the "murder capital" of Canada, with the highest per-capita rate of
homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
s; as of 2022, with a homicide rate of 7.2 per 100,000, it is in second place, behind
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...
(13.7 per 100,000). In 2019, Winnipeg had the 13th-highest violent crime index in Canada, and the highest robbery rate. Winnipeg was the "violent crime capital" of Canada in 2020 according to the Statistics Canada police-reported violent crime severity index. Despite high overall violent crime rates, crime in Winnipeg is mostly concentrated in the inner city, which makes up only 19% of the population but was the site of 86.4% of the city's shootings, 66.5% of the robberies, 63.3% of the homicides and 59.5% of the sexual assaults in 2012. From the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, Winnipeg had a significant auto-theft problem, with the rate peaking at 2,165.0 per 100,000 residents in 2006 compared to 487 auto-thefts per 100,000 residents for Canada as a whole. To combat auto theft,
Manitoba Public Insurance Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (MPI; ) is the non-profit organization, non-profit Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation which administers public auto insurance, motor vehicle registration, and driver's license, driver licensing in ...
established financial incentives for motor vehicle owners to install ignition
immobilizer An immobiliser or immobilizer is an electronic security device fitted to a motor vehicle that prevents the engine from being started unless the correct key (transponder or smart key) is present. This prevents the vehicle from being " hot wir ...
s in their vehicles, and now requires owners of high-risk vehicles to install immobilizers. These initiatives resulted in an 80% decrease in auto thefts between 2006 and 2011. As of 2018, the
Winnipeg Police Service The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and Alderman, aldermen. Those appointed decided to h ...
had 1,914 police officers, which is one officer per 551 city residents, and cost taxpayers $290,564,015. In November 2013, the national police union reviewed the Winnipeg Police Force and found high average response times for several categories of calls. In 2017, the city started to deal with an increasingly large
methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...
problem, fuelling violent crime.


Education

Winnipeg has seven
school division {{Use mdy dates, date=July 2023 A school division is a geographic division over which a school board has jurisdiction. Canada In Canada the term is used for the area controlled by a school board and is used interchangeably with school district, i ...
s:
Winnipeg School Division The Winnipeg School Division is a school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With 78 schools, it is the largest of six public school divisions in Winnipeg, as well as the largest and oldest school division in Manitoba. Its schools collectively tea ...
,
St. James-Assiniboia School Division St. James-Assiniboia School Division (SJASD) is a school division in the St. James-Assiniboia, Winnipeg, St. James-Assiniboia area of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Schools There are 26 schools in the division: 15 elementary school, elementary, six middl ...
,
Pembina Trails School Division Pembina Trails School Division is a school division serving the southwest communities of Winnipeg, Manitoba, with 36 schools. The Pembina Trails Teachers' Association represents approximately 1,200 professional staff employed by the Pembina Trai ...
, Seven Oaks School Division, Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine,
River East Transcona School Division River East Transcona School Division (RETSD) is a school division located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As the second largest school division in the province, it is composed of parts of what used to be two separate divisions that merged in 2002: the urb ...
, and
Louis Riel School Division The Louis Riel School Division (LRSD; , DSL-R) is a school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, offering English language, English-language and French immersion, French-immersion education to its students. It was broadly formed in 1998 with the volun ...
. Winnipeg also has several religious and secular private schools. The
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...
is the largest university in Manitoba. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada's first university. In a typical year, the university has 26,500 undergraduate students and 3,800 graduate students.
Université de Saint-Boniface The Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) is a French-language public university located in the St. Boniface neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. An affiliated institution of the University of Manitoba, the university offers general and sp ...
is the city's
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
university. The
University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...
received its charter in 1967. Until 2007, it was an
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
institution that offered some joint graduate studies programs; it now offers independent
graduate programs Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
. The
Canadian Mennonite University Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is a private Mennonite university located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is affiliated with Mennonite Church Canada and the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba. It has an enrolment of 1,607 students. The ...
is a private
Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
undergraduate university established in 1999. Winnipeg also has three independent colleges:
Red River College Polytechnic Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) is a List of colleges in Canada, college located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the province's largest institute of applied learning and applied research, with over 200 degree, diploma, and cer ...
, Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, and
Booth University College Booth University College (Booth UC or BUC), incorporated as the Salvation Army William and Catherine Booth University College, is a private, Christian liberal arts university college located in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is affilia ...
. Red River College offers diploma, certificate, and apprenticeship programs and, starting in 2009, began offering some degree programs. Booth University College is a private Christian
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
university college established in 1982. It offers mostly arts and
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
training.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Winnipeg has had public transit since 1882, starting with
horse-drawn streetcars A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, which developed ou ...
. They were replaced by electric trolley cars. The trolley cars ran from 1892 to 1955, supplemented by motor
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es after 1918, and electric
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es from 1938 to 1970.
Winnipeg Transit Winnipeg Transit is the public transit agency, and the bus-service provider, of the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Established years ago, it is owned by the city government and currently employs nearly 1,600 people—including approximately 1, ...
now runs diesel buses on its routes. Winnipeg is a railway hub and is served by
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...
at
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
for passenger rail, and
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
,
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
,
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Manitoba Burlington Northern Santa Fe Manitoba (BNSF Manitoba) is a Canadian subsidiary rail transport, railroad of the BNSF Railway, which operates in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Equipment BNSF Manitoba uses a single EMD GP locomotive. The company uses a single c ...
, and the
Central Manitoba Railway The Central Manitoba Railway is a Canadian shortline railway operating in the province of Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is ...
for
freight rail Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...
. It is the only major city between Vancouver and
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...
with direct US connections by rail (freight). Winnipeg is the largest and best-connected city in Manitoba and has highways leading in all directions from the city. To the south, Winnipeg is connected to the United States via Provincial Trunk Highway 75 (PTH 75) (a continuation of
I-29 I29 may refer to: * Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota ...
and
US 75 U.S. Route 75 is a north–south U.S. Highway that runs in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is located at the Canadian border near Noyes, Minnesota, at a now-closed border crossing. From this point, the highway ...
, known as Pembina Highway or Route 42 within Winnipeg). The highway runs to Emerson, Manitoba, and is the busiest
Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
crossing on the Prairies. The four-lane
Perimeter Highway Provincial Trunk Highway 100 (PTH 100) and Provincial Trunk Highway 101 (PTH 101), collectively known as the Perimeter Highway, form a beltway around the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Perimeter Highway is approximatel ...
, built in 1969, serves as a
Ring Road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...
, with
at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections ar ...
s and a few
interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...
s. It allows travellers on the
Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
to bypass the city. The
Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
runs east to west through the city (city route), or circles around the city on the Perimeter Highway (beltway). Some of the city's major arterial roads include Route 80 (Waverley St.), Route 155 (McGillivray Blvd), Route 165 (Bishop Grandin Blvd.), Route 17 (Chief Peguis Trail), and Route 90 (Brookside Blvd., Oak Point Hwy., King Edward St., Century St., Kenaston Blvd.). The
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is an international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh busiest airport in Canada ...
completed a $585 million redevelopment in October 2011. The development brought a new terminal, a four-level parking facility, and other infrastructure improvements.
Winnipeg Bus Terminal The Winnipeg Bus Terminal was an intercity bus Bus station, station, located beside the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Winnipeg International Airport. History Union Bus Depot The Union Bus Depot was constructed ...
, at Winnipeg International Airport, was previously served by
Greyhound Canada Greyhound Canada Transportation ULC (Greyhound Canada) was an intercity coach service that began as a local British Columbia bus line in the early 1920s, expanded across most of Canada, and became a subsidiary of the American Greyhound Lines in ...
. Approximately of land to the north and west of the airport has been designated as an
inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...
,
CentrePort Canada CentrePort Canada is a tri-modal dry port and Foreign Trade Zone located partly in northwest Winnipeg, Manitoba (CentrePort South) and partly in the Rural Municipality of Rosser (CentrePort North), and situated adjacent to the Winnipeg James Armst ...
, and is Canada's first
Foreign Trade Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...
. It is a private sector initiative to develop the infrastructure for Manitoba's trucking, air, rail and sea industries. In 2009, construction began on a $212 million four-lane freeway to connect CentrePort with the Perimeter Highway. Named CentrePort Canada Way, it opened in November 2013. Several taxi companies serve Winnipeg, the largest being Unicity, Duffy's Taxi and Spring Taxi. Ride-sharing was legalized in March 2018 and services including Uber operate in Winnipeg. Cycling is popular in Winnipeg, and there are many bicycle trails and lanes around the city. Winnipeg holds an annual
Bike-to-Work Day Bike to Work Day is an annual event that promotes the bicycle as an option for commuting to work (bicycle commuting). It is held in the Spring in a variety of locations including the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Bike Week is the week ...
and Cyclovia, and bicycle commuters may be seen year-round, even in the winter. Active living infrastructure in Winnipeg includes
bike lanes Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...
and sharrows.


Medical centres and hospitals

Winnipeg has multiple major hospitals: Health Sciences Centre (including
HSC Winnipeg Children's Hospital HSC Winnipeg Children's Hospital, formerly known as the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg, is a children's hospital that forms part of the Health Sciences Centre integrated health care facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The hospital serves patients f ...
), Concordia Hospital,
Deer Lodge Centre Deer Lodge Centre is a health centre specializing in geriatric care and treatment of Veterans in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The health centre began as a convalescent hospital for returning World War I World War I or the First World War (2 ...
, Grace Hospital, Saint Boniface General Hospital, Seven Oaks General Hospital, Victoria General Hospital. The
National Microbiology Laboratory The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is part of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, health emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic ...
in Winnipeg is one of only a handful of biosafety level 4 microbiology laboratories in the world. The NML houses laboratories of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease collocated in the same facility. Research facilities are also operated through hospitals and private biotechnology companies in the city.


Utilities

Water and sewage services are provided by the city. The city draws its water via an aqueduct from Shoal Lake, treating and fluoridating it at the Deacon Reservoir just outside the city prior to pumping it into the Winnipeg system. The city's system has over of underground water mains, which are subject to breakage due to corrosion and pressure from extreme dry, wet, or cold soil conditions.
Electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
are provided by
Manitoba Hydro The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board (), operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas public utility, utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba ...
, a provincial
crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...
headquartered in the city; it uses primarily
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power. The primary telecommunications carrier is
Bell MTS Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba. Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manit ...
, although other corporations offer telephone, cellular, television and internet services. Winnipeg contracts out several services to private companies, including garbage and recycling collection, street plowing and snow removal. This practice represents a significant budget expenditure. The services have faced numerous complaints from residents about missed service.


Military

Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, co-located at the
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
, is home to many flight operations support divisions and several training schools. It is also the headquarters of
1 Canadian Air Division 1 Canadian Air Division (1 Cdn Air Div) () is the operational-level command and control formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Prior to 2006 the official abbreviation for the division was 1 CAD. It is commanded by an air force major-ge ...
and the Canadian
North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a Combined operations, combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air ...
(NORAD) Region, as well as the home base of 17 Wing of the
Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
. The Wing comprises three squadrons and six schools; it also provides support to the Central Flying School. Excluding the three levels of government, 17 Wing is the fourth largest employer in the city. The Wing supports 113 units, stretching from
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...
to the
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
border, and from the 49th parallel to the high
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
. 17 Wing also acts as a deployed operating base for
CF-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...
fighter-bombers assigned to the Canadian NORAD Region. There are two squadrons based in the city. The 402 "City of Winnipeg" Squadron flies the Canadian-designed and produced de Havilland CT-142 Dash 8 navigation trainer. The 435 "Chinthe" Transport and Rescue Squadron flies the Lockheed CC-130 Hercules in airlift
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
roles. In addition, 435 Squadron is the only
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
squadron equipped and trained to conduct tactical air-to-air refuelling of
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...
. There are several units of the Canadian Army Primary Reserve based in Winnipeg. These include
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles The Royal Winnipeg Rifles (R Wpg Rif) are a Primary Reserve one-battalion infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Nicknamed the "Little Black Devils", they are based at Minto Armoury in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles are part of 3rd ...
,
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group and is headquartered at the Minto Armoury in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is ...
, 38 Service Battalion, 38 Combat Engineer Regiment, 38 Signal Regiment, and
The Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in 1912 that first ...
. HMCS Chippawa is a Royal Canadian Navy reserve division in Winnipeg. For many years, Winnipeg was the home of the Second Battalion of
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...
. Initially, the battalion was based at the Fort Osborne Barracks, now the location of the Rady Jewish Community Centre. They eventually moved to the Kapyong Barracks between River Heights and
Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...
. Since 2004, the battalion has operated out of
CFB Shilo Canadian Forces Base Shilo (CFB Shilo; ) is an operations and training base of the Canadian Armed Forces, located east of Brandon, Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba and adjacent to Sprucewoods. During the 1990s, Canadian Forces base, Canadian Forces ...
near Brandon.


See also

*
List of people from Winnipeg This list of people from Winnipeg includes WP:PEOPLE, notable people who were born, raised, or who achieved fame in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Artists *KC Adams, K. C. Adams, contemporary artist *Joyce Anderson (artist), Joyce Anderson, pain ...
*
Municipal waste management in Winnipeg Statistical data shows that waste management in Winnipeg during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Generation The statistical data show that with the increase in the GDP per capita of Winnipeg, waste generation decreased due to the increased effectivenes ...
*
Winnipeg (automobile) The Winnipeg was a Canadian automobile manufactured in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the early 1920s. The backers of the car were brothers Frank and Dave Ogletree, EL Herbert and Louis Arsenault. A factory was purchased, and a pilot model was built for p ...


References


Notes


Further reading

* * *


External links

* * * {{Authority control, suppress=P982 Cities in Manitoba District of Keewatin Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Populated places established in 1738