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Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is one of Canada's provinces. It is the fifth Canadian province (created by the government in 1870). Its population as of July 1, 2005 (Statistics Canada) was 1,177,556 (Manitobans). It is the easternmost of the three Prairie Provinces. The name is Ojibwa, meaning "straits of the spirit". Its capital and largest city (containing over one half the provincial population) is Winnipeg. Other important cities and towns include Brandon, Thompson, Dauphin, Swan River, Churchill, The Pas, Selkirk, Portage la Prairie, Flin Flon, Steinbach, Morden, and Winkler.

Geography

Manitoba is located in the longitudinal centre of Canada, although it is considered part of Western Canada. It borders Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east, Nunavut to the north, and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. The province has a coast with Hudson Bay, and contains the very large Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba (its namesake), and Winnipegosis. Important watercourses include the Red River, Assiniboine River, Nelson River, Winnipeg River, Hayes River and Churchill River. It is generally flat and low-lying though there are some hilly areas in the province. Baldy Mountain is the highest point at 831m (2,727 feet) and the Hudson Bay coast the lowest at sea level. Other upland areas include Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills, and the Canadian Shield regions to the east. The climate in Manitoba is typical of its mid continent location and northerly latitude. In general, temperatures and precipitation decrease from south to north. Summers are generally warm to hot and winters very cold. Both spring and autumn are contracted seasons. As Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water (all of Manitoba's lakes freeze during the winter months), and because of its generally flat landscape, it is exposed to numerous weather systems throughout the year including prolonged cold spells in the winter months when arctic high pressure air masses settle over the province. This has resulted in the capital of the province being nicknamed "Winterpeg". In the summer months the climate is often influenced by low pressure air masses originating in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in hot and humid conditions and frequent thunderstorms. Only the southern parts of the province support extensive agriculture. The northern reaches of the province range through coniferous forests, muskeg, and up to tundra in the far north. There is approximately 24,000 square miles of untouched boreal forest on the eastern side of Lake Winnipeg. This area is renowned by naturalists and sportsmen for its pristine wilderness. tundra.]]

History

Manitoba was settled by members of the Ojibwa and Assiniboine tribes. The first European to reach present-day Manitoba was Sir Thomas Button, who visited the Nelson River in 1612. Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de la Vérendrye, visited the Red River Valley in the 1730s as part of opening the area for French exploration and exploitation. An important French-Canadian population (Franco-Manitobains) still lives in Manitoba, especially in the Saint-Boniface district of Winnipeg. The territory was won by Britain in 1763 as part of the French and Indian War, and became part of Rupert's Land, the immense monopoly territory of the Hudson's Bay Company. Hudson's Bay Company The founding of the first agricultural community in 1811 by Lord Selkirk, near modern Winnipeg, resulted in conflict between the white colonists and the Métis who lived near there. Twenty colonists, including the governor, were killed by the Métis in the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. When Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories, a lack of attention to Métis concerns led their leader Louis Riel to establish a provisional government, The Red River Rebellion. Negotiations between this government and the Canadian government resulted in the creation of the province of Manitoba and its entry into Confederation in 1870. Originally the province was only 1/18 of its current size and square in shape - it was known as the "postage stamp province." It grew progressively, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories until it attained its current size by reaching 60°N in 1912.

Demographics

Ethnic origin :Note: the percentages do not necesarily add up to 100% as multiple responses are allowed.
- 22.8% Canadian
- 22.0% English
- 18.1% German
- 17.7% Scottish
- 14.2% Ukrainian
- 13.0% Irish
- 12.6% French
- 9.9% North American Indian
- 6.6% Polish
- 5.1% Métis Ethnic origins with less than 3% of the responses are not listed. [http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26h.htm Source] Manitoba is home to the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland.[http://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/budget05/advantage/culture.html] There are about 26,000 people with Icelandic ancestry living in Manitoba.[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?Lang=E&T=501&GV=1&GID=46] About 35% of the Icelandic-Canadian population lives in Manitoba.[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?Lang=E&T=501&GV=1&GID=0] Religious groups
- 43.0% Protestant
- 29.3% Roman Catholic
- 4.0% Christian not included elsewhere
- 1.4% Christian Orthodox
- 1.1% Jewish
- 18.6% No religious affiliation Religions that make up less than 1% are not listed. [http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30b.htm Source]

Famous Manitobans


- Randy Bachman, musician, (The Guess Who) & Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO)
- Ashleigh Banfield, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044752/ TV actress], TV host
- Cordell Barker, Oscar nominated animator The Cat Came Back
- Brenda Barrie, novelist and poet
- Burton Cummings, musician, (The Guess Who)
- Len Cariou, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0137230/ actor]
- Bill Cody, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168565/ actor]
- Richard Condie, Oscar nominated animator The Big Snit
- Dionisio, Ma-Anne, lead role of Kim in Miss Saigon in Toronto and in Sydney, Australia
- Deanna Durbin, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002052/ actress]
- Marcel Dzama, [http://www.richardhellergallery.com/dynamic/artist_bio.asp?ArtistID=3 artist]
- Brendan Fehr, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0270451/ actor], star of the television series Roswell
- Ken Finkleman, director, writer and actor
- Terry Fox, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1745181/ cancer activist] and national hero
- Aaron Funk, musician
- Joanna Gleason, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322306/ actress]
- Monty Hall, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355937/ TV celebrity], television game show host
- Bob Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace
- Doug Henning, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377392/ magician]
- Terry Jacks, singer
- Chantal Kreviazuk, musician & [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0471092/ actress]
- Mimi Kuzyk, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0476906/ tv actress]
- Kyle McCulloch, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567143/ actor], writer for South Park
- Todd MacCulloch, basketball player
- Gisele MacKenzie, singer
- Mary MacLane, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533695/ writer]
- Guy Maddin, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534665/ director]
- Joan Mitchell, painter, first wife of Alan Greenspan
- Bob Nolan, musician
- Anna Paquin, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/ actress]
- Fred Penner, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0672094/ children's entertainer], musician
- Frank Pickersgill, SOE agent in World War II executed by the Nazis
- Douglas Rain, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706937/ actor]
- Brad Roberts, musician, [http://www.crashtestdummies.com/ Crash Test Dummies]
- Gabrielle Roy, author
- Ray St. Germain, musician
- John K. Samson, singer-songwriter (The Weakerthans)
- Terry Sawchuk, NHL goalie
- Remy Shand, musician
- Al Simmons, musician, children's entertainer
- Alexander Steen, NHL
- David Steinberg, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825731/ actor, comedian]
- Sir William Stephenson (aka Intrepid), spy, man on whom the character of James Bond is based
- Nia Vardalos, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0889522/ actress and writer]
- Catherine Wreford, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1671908/ stage actress], wife of Jeff Goldblum
- Maiko Watson, musician, founding member of girl-group Sugar Jones, wife of Remy Shand

Map

image:manmap.PNG

See also


- Manitoba Act
- Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
- Provinces and territories of Canada
- Manitoba cabinet ministers
- Manitoba Hydro
- Manitoba Telecom Services
- List of cities in Canada
- List of Manitoba general elections
- List of Manitoba lieutenant-governors
- List of Manitoba premiers
- List of Manitoba regions
- List of communities in Manitoba
- List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
- Louis Riel
- Republic of Manitoba (1867-68)
- Dominion Land Survey
- Red River Flood, 1997
- Same-sex marriage in Manitoba
- list of rural municipalities in Manitoba
- List of Manitoba School Divisions and Districts
- First Nations in Southern Manitoba
- First Nations in the Northern Region of Manitoba

External links


- [http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/docs/manitoba/index.htm The Manitoba School Question]
- [http://www.mhs.mb.ca The Manitoba Historical Society] Category:Manitoba zh-min-nan:Manitoba ko:매니토바 주 ja:マニトバ州 simple:Manitoba

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with claims extending to the North Pole. The northern-most country on the mainland of North America, Canada has land borders only with the United States. Governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation of ten provinces with three territories. Initially constituted in 1867, the country's constitution was patriated in 1982 from the United Kingdom. Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle Jean. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Paul Martin; his minority government recently lost a vote of non-confidence in the Canadian House of Commons and asked for the dissolution of the Parliament by the Governor General, who then issued a Royal proclamation authorising the issue of election writs, and stating a federal election will take place on 2006 January 23. Canada's official languages are English and French. As of 2005, its official population estimate is approximately 32.4 million [http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm].

Overview

The capital city is Ottawa, Ontario, the seat of Canada's Parliament. The Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Loyal Opposition, and the Speaker of the House of Commons have official residences in the National Capital Region.National Capital Region, Ontario.]] Originally a union of British colonies with significant French influence and entitled as a "dominion", Canada is a founding member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La Francophonie. Canada defines itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English is the official (and majority) language in most provinces of Canada.
- French is the official language of Quebec, an official language of New Brunswick, and is spoken in various areas throughout the country.
- Several Aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories; Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut and has official status there. Canada is a technologically advanced and industrialized nation. It is a net exporter of energy because of its large fossil fuel deposits, nuclear energy generation, and hydroelectric power capacity. Its diversified economy relies heavily on an abundance of natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States, with which it has had a long and complex relationship. Canada has ten provinces and three territories: Canada's major cities that are not capital cities include Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.

Canada's name

The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, which means "village" or "settlement". In 1535, locals used the word to tell Jacques Cartier the way to Stadacona, site of present-day Quebec City. Cartier used Canada to refer not only to Stadacona, but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona; by 1547, maps began referring to this and the surrounding area as Canada.

History

Aboriginal tradition holds that the First Peoples have inhabited parts of what is now called Canada since the dawn of time. Archaeological records show that these lands have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Several Viking expeditions occurred circa AD 1000, with evidence of settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. British claims to North America date from 1497, when John Cabot reached what he called Newfoundland, though it is unclear whether Cabot landed in current Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Maine. French claims date from explorations by Jacques Cartier (from 1534) and Samuel de Champlain (from 1603). Neither Cabot's nor Cartier's explorations left any permanent settlers behind. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1604, French settlers were the first Europeans to settle permanently in what is now Canada. After an unsuccessful winter in St. Croix Island (today in Maine), they settled Port-Royal in what is now the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, but moved to found Quebec City in 1608. The current Acadians are descendants of settlers who came later in the same century and re-founded Port-Royal. New France was generally the name given to the French colonies of Canada and Acadia (and later Louisiana).Louisiana, depicts British General Wolfe's final moments during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.]] British settlements were established along the Atlantic seaboard and around Hudson Bay. As these colonies expanded, a struggle for control of North America took place between 1689 and 1763 (see French and Indian Wars), exacerbated by wars in Europe between France and Great Britain. France progressively lost territory to Great Britain, surrendering peninsular Nova Scotia in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the remainder of New France including what was left of Acadia in the Treaty of Paris (1763). During and after the American Revolution approximately 70,000 [http://www.uelac.org/whatis.html] Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies. Of these, roughly 50,000 United Empire Loyalists [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0850061.html] settled in the British North American colonies which then consisted of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Province of Quebec, and Prince Edward Island (created 1769). To accommodate the Loyalists, Britain created the colony of New Brunswick in 1784 from part of Nova Scotia, and divided Quebec into Lower Canada and Upper Canada under the Constitutional Act of 1791. The War of 1812 began when the U.S. attacked British forces in Canada in an attempt to end British influence in North America (and particularly, the British seizures of American merchant ships in the Atlantic). In April 1813, U.S. forces burned York (now Toronto). The British/Canadians retaliated with the burning of Washington (DC) in a surprise attack in August 1814, but were subsequently turned back at Plattsburgh, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. It was only after the French and Napoleonic wars ended in Europe that large-scale immigration to Canada resumed. The Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada, with the Act of Union (1840) in an attempt to assimilate the French Canadians. Once the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel north as its border with western British North America, the British government created the colonies of British Columbia in 1848 and Vancouver Island in 1849. By the late 1850s, politicians in the Province of Canada had launched a series of western exploratory expeditions with the intention of assuming control of Rupert's Land (administered by the Hudson's Bay Company) and the Arctic. In 1864 and 1866, British North American politicians, in what became known as the Great Coalition, held three conferences to create a federal union. Spearheaded by John A. Macdonald, on July 1, 1867, three colonies—Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were granted a constitution, the British North America Act, by the United Kingdom, creating the Dominion of Canada. The term "Canadian Confederation" refers to this 1867 unification of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East or Lower Canada), and Ontario (formerly Canada West or Upper Canada). The remaining British colonies and territories soon joined Confederation. By 1880 Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949. (It should be noted that, although part of Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan did not gain Provincial status until 1905.) Newfoundland and Labrador In 1919, Canada became a member of the League of Nations and, in the Imperial Conference of 1926, Canada assumed full control of its own through the Balfour Declaration. In 1927, Canada appointed its first ambassador to a foreign country, the United States. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster gave the Balfour Declaration constitutional force, confirming that no act of the UK's parliament would thereafter extend to Canada without its consent. Canadian citizenship was first distinguished from British in 1947; judicial appeals to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ended in 1949. The power to amend Canada's constitution remained with the British parliament, although subject to the Statute of Westminster, until it was finally "patriated" to Canadian control by the Canada Act 1982. The Quebec sovereignty movement has led to two referendums held in 1980 and 1995, with votes of 59.6% and 50.6% respectively against its proposals for sovereignty-association. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unilateral secession by a province to be unconstitutional.

Geography

unconstitutionalCanada occupies the northern portion (precisely 41%) of North America. It is bordered to the south by the contiguous United States and to the northwest by Alaska. The length of these borders are 6,416 km (3,987 mi) and 2,477 km (1,539 mi), respectively. Off the southern coast of Newfoundland lies Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas community of France. The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west (hence the country's motto). To the north lies the Arctic Ocean; Greenland is to the northeast. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141° W longitude ([http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1927/1]); this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5° N – just 834 kilometres (518 mi) from the North Pole. Also, the magnetic North Pole lies within Canadian boundaries (although is moving towards Siberia). Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area, after Russia. Much of Canada lies in Arctic regions, however, and thus Canada has only the fourth-most arable land area behind Russia, China, and the U.S. The population density of 3.5 people per square kilometre (9.0/mi²) is among the lowest in the world: Canada has more land area than the U.S., but only one-ninth of its population. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Axis in the east. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers—over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada. The Canadian Shield encircles the immense Hudson Bay, extending from Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories at its westernmost point, to the Atlantic coast in Labrador in the east. Newfoundland, North America's easternmost island if Greenland is excluded, is at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. The Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from the southern coasts of Quebec. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, which experiences the world's largest tidal variations. Prince Edward Island is Canada's smallest province. Prince Edward Island; at 5 959 m (19,551 ft), Canada's highest point and second highest in North America.]]West of Ontario, the broad, flat Canadian Prairies spread toward the Rocky Mountains, which separate them from British Columbia. Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the world's largest islands. Some specific geographical features of note include the world's largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island, which divides Georgian Bay and Lake Huron and the world's longest freshwater beach, Wasaga Beach, on the Georgian Bay shoreline. Thanks to past glacial activity in the Canadian Shield, Canada boasts a considerable reserve of fresh water and more lakes than any other nation, roughly two million in all, the overwhelming majority of which are relatively small.

Climate

Canada has a reputation for cold temperatures in the winter months. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie Provinces. Temperatures can reach lows of -50°C (-58°F) in the far North however, such low temperatures are not the norm; the record coldest temperature in North America was -63°C (-81°F), at Snag, Yukon, in 1947. Coastal British Columbia is an exception: it enjoys a temperate climate with much milder winters than the rest of the country however, rainy winters are common. Summers in Canada range from mild (low 20s Celsius [70°F]) on the east and west coasts, to hot (mid 20s to low 30s Celsius [75-90°F]) in Central Canada, the Prairies and the intermontane regions of British Columbia. The highest recorded temperature in Canada was 45°C (113°F) at both Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937. For a more complete description of weather norms around Canada, go to www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html

Politics

1937] Canada's head of state is the monarch, currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and commonly referred to as the Queen of Canada. However, the day-to-day duties of head of state are exercised by the Governor General, who is generally a retired politician, military leader, or other notable Canadian; the current Governor General is Michaëlle Jean. All government authority is derived from the monarch, and executive power is wielded by the Prime Minister of Canada and the cabinet. The Governor General is formally appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and is a non-partisan figure who fulfils many ceremonial and symbolic roles including providing Royal Assent to bills, reading the Speech from the Throne, officially welcoming dignitaries of foreign countries, presenting honours such as the Order of Canada, signing state documents, formally opening and ending sessions of Parliament, and dissolving Parliament for an election. The Governor General is also the titular Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. The position of Governor General also beholds considerable reserve powers, but these have been rarely used. The last to do so was Jeanne Sauvé, who ignored the National Capital Commission and closed the grounds of Rideau Hall in the late 1980s; the most famous use of the Governor General's extraordinary powers was during the King-Byng Affair in 1926. Canada's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists of [http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html written text] and unwritten traditions and conventions (see Westminster system). The federal government and the governments of nine provinces agreed to the patriation of the constitution, with procedures for amending it, at a meeting of First Ministers in November 1981. The Quebec government did not agree to the changes, and Quebec nationalists refer to that night as the Night of the Long Knives. The patriation of the Constitution included the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms for Canadians that, generally, cannot be overridden by legislation of any level of government in Canada. It contains, however, a "notwithstanding clause", which allows the federal parliament and the provincial legislatures the power to override other sections of the Charter temporarily, for a period of five years. notwithstanding clause]]The position of Prime Minister, Canada's head of government, in practice belongs to the leader of the political party who can command a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are formally appointed by the Governor General; however, the Prime Minister effectively chooses the cabinet and the Governor General, by convention, has to appoint the Prime Minister's desired choices. The Cabinet is drawn, by convention, from members of the prime minister's party in both legislative houses, though mostly from the Commons. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of Canada and become ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister exercises a great deal of individual political power, especially in terms of the appointment of other officials within the government and civil service. The legislative branch of government has two houses: the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate. Each member in the Commons is elected by simple plurality in one electoral district or "riding"; general elections are called by the Governor General when the prime minister so advises, and must occur every five years or less. Members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, are chosen by the prime minister and formally appointed by the Governor General, and serve until age 75. electoral district]]Canada has four main political parties today. The traditionally centrist / left-of-centre Liberal Party of Canada formed the government in Canada for most of the 20th century, and is the party of the current Prime Minister Paul Martin. The only other party to have formed a government is the now-defunct, right-of-centre Progressive Conservative (PC) Party and its predecessor, the Conservative Party, which was the dominant political party in the 19th century. The PC Party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form a new rightist Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. The New Democratic Party (NDP) is the major party furthest to the political left. The Bloc Québécois promotes Quebec independence from Canada and currently holds a majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons. There are many smaller parties and, while none have current representation in Parliament, the list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial. Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter; its nine members are directly appointed by Cabinet. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are selected and appointed by the federal government, after consultation with non-governmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels. Judicial posts at the lower provincial and territorial levels are filled by their respective governments (see Court system of Canada for more detail). Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in most provinces policing is contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP is one of few police forces in the world to perform three different levels of enforcement: municipal, provincial, and federal.

Foreign relations

Canada has a close relationship with the United States, sharing the world's longest undefended border, co-operating on some military campaigns and exercises, and being each other's largest trading partners. Canada also shares a history and long relationship with the United Kingdom as its "mother country". United Kingdom.]] In the last century, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to reach out to the rest of the world and promoting itself as a "middle power" able to work with large and small nations alike. This was clearly demonstrated during the Suez Crisis when Lester B. Pearson mollified the tension by introducing the idea of peacekeeping and the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. In 1957, Pearson was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In that spirit, Canada developed and has tried to maintain a leading role in UN peacekeeping efforts. Canada has cumulatively contributed more troops to peacekeeping operations worldwide than all other nations combined and currently serves in over 40 different peacekeeping missions, most recently in Afghanistan. Canada has contributed in some way to all UN peacekeeping missions. Canada is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Organization of American States (OAS), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization, the G8, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Military

Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationA founding member of the NATO alliance, Canada currently employs about 62,000 regular and 26,000 reserve military personnel.[http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/about/family_e.asp] The unified Canadian Forces (CF) are comprised of army, navy, and air force branches. Major CF equipment deployed includes 2,400 armoured fighting vehicles, 34 combat vessels, and 140 combat aircraft. Defence is an exclusive federal jurisdiction: defence spending in fiscal year 2004-5 was approximately $14 billion.[http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/dgsp/pubs/rep-pub/ddm/rpp/rpp05-06/sec3c_e.asp] However, in the 2005 federal budget, the Liberal government allocated an additional $12.8 billion over five years to the armed forces, and committed to increasing troop levels by an additional 8,000 regular and reserve personnel over the same period.[http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget05/speech/speeche.htm] Canadian forces have served in various wars including World War I, World War II, the Korean War and recently, in Afghanistan. Since Lester B. Pearson proposed the first UN peacekeeping force in 1956, the Canadian Forces have served in 42 peacekeeping missions — more than any other country. Canada was also the prime destination of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. These factors – along with its comparatively low level of military spending, other positions such as nuclear non-proliferation, and an international treaty banning personnel land mine usage – have led to Canada sometimes being referred to as a pacifist country. Battles significantly contributing to Canada's development and self-identity include the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Second Battle of Ypres, the Third Battle of Ypres, and Juno Beach. Currently, CF personnel are involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Smaller missions are also taking place in Haiti and Kosovo. Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has participated in two relief operations in the last year. The two-hundred member relief crew helped in Southeast Asia after the December 2004 tsunami, and DART was also deployed in response to the devastating earthquake that struck the Kashmir region in South Asia in October 2005. Moreover, CF (and RCMP) personnel recently assisted in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada is composed of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. The federal government can initiate national policies that the provinces can opt out of, but this rarely happens in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. All provinces have unicameral, elected legislatures headed by a Premier selected in the same way as the Prime Minister of Canada. Each province also has a Lieutenant-Governor representing the Queen, analogous to the Governor General of Canada, appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, though with increasing levels of consultation with provincial governments in recent years. Lieutenant-Governor.]] Most provinces have provincial counterparts to the three national federal parties. However, some provincial parties are not formally linked to the federal parties that share the same name. Some provinces have regional political parties, such as the Saskatchewan Party. The provincial political climate of Quebec is quite different: the main split is between separatism, represented by the Parti Québécois, and federalism, represented by the Parti Libéral du Québec. The three territories have fewer political powers than provinces, having been created by acts of the national Parliament rather than having their status enshrined in the Constitution. There is no lieutenant-governor to represent and fulfil the functions of the Queen, but each has a politically neutral Commissioner appointed by the federal government to act as its senior representative. Only Yukon's legislature follows the same political system as the provincial legislatures. The other two territories use a consensus government system in which each member runs as an independent and the premier is elected by and from the members. There is also interest within Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas UK territory in the Caribbean, for the latter to enter into Confederation.

Economy

Caribbean, depicting (from top to bottom) Wilfred Laurier, John A. Macdonald, Queen Elizabeth II, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Robert Borden.]]As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. In the last century, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Canada has vast deposits of natural gas on the east coast and in the west, and a plethora of other natural resources contributing to self-sufficiency in energy. The 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the U.S. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8. Two long-term concerns loom. One is the continuing political differences over the Constitution between Quebec and the rest of Canada, periodically raising the possibility of Quebec independence. As the economy becomes stronger, notably in Quebec, fears of separation have generally waned. Another concern is the "Brain Drain", the emigration of professionals to the U.S. in search of higher pay, lower taxes, and high-tech opportunities. (However, a [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1124920225033&call_pageid=971358637177&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes recent Toronto Star article] claims that the "Brain Drain" of doctors has abated, as more are returning to Canada due to high insurance rates in the U.S. and a more efficient medicare system in Canada.) Simultaneously, a larger, under-recognised "Brain Gain" is occurring, as educated immigrants (particularly from developing countries, a controversy in and of itself) continue to enter Canada [http://www.statcan.ca/english/indepth/81-003/feature/eqhi2000006003s1a01.htm].

Demographics

The 2001 national census recorded 30,007,094 people, and as of October 2005 the population has been estimated by Statistics Canada as 32.3 million people[http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm], an increase of some 2.3 million people by both immigration and natural growth. About three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150 km of the U.S. border, and a similar proportion live in urban areas. In the 2001 census, 39.42% of respondents reported their ethnic origins as "Canadian", most of whom are believed to be of British, Irish, and French heritage of earlier immigrants. In addition, 20.17% identified their origin as English, 15.75% as French, 14.03% as Scottish, and 12.90% as Irish. Numerous other groups were also reported. Ethnic origins reported by more than 1 million people included: German (9.25%), Italian (4.29%), Chinese (3.69%), Ukrainian (3.61%) and North American Indian (3.38%). Close to four million people reported they were members of a visible minority, amounting to 13.44% of the total population. (Note that Aboriginal peoples are not considered visible minorities). Also, the 2001 census reported that Canada had 5,448,480 immigrants. [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Immigration/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=0&View=1&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts] According to the last census[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm], 72% of Canadians identified as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group – 43% of Canadians. One-sixth of Canadians declared no religious affiliation, and the remaining 12% were affiliated with religions other than Christianity.

Language

Catholics]] Canada's two official languages are English and French. On July 7, 1969, under the Official Languages Act, French was made commensurate to English throughout the federal government. This started a process that led to Canada redefining itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions.
- Any defendant in a criminal case has the right to a trial in either English or French.
- The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French.
- Official language minority groups in most provinces and territories have the right to be educated in their language, in their own schools, with their own elected school boards, where they exist in sufficient numbers.
- While multiculturalism is official policy, to become a citizen one must be able to speak either English or French.
- More than 98% of Canadians speak English or French or both. While the nation remains officially bilingual, the majority of Canadians are fluent only in English. The official language of Quebec is French, as defined by the province's Charter of the French Language, which was introduced by the Parti Quebecois in 1976. However, the charter also provides certain rights for speakers of English and aboriginal languages. Quebec provides most government services in both French and English. French is mostly spoken in Quebec with pockets in New Brunswick, eastern and northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba. In the 2001 census, 6,864,615 people listed French as a first language, of whom 85% lived in Quebec. 17,694,835 people listed English as a first language. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, a status specifically guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some provincial governments, notably Manitoba and Ontario, offer many services to their French minority populations. Aboriginal languages are co-official in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Non-official languages are also important in Canada, with 5,470,820 people listing a non-official language as a first language. (The above three statistics include those who listed more than one first language.) Among the most important non-official first language groups are Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), Italian (469,485), German (438,080), and Punjabi (271,220).

Aboriginal peoples

The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of aboriginal peoples in Canada: the Indians (now often called First Nations), Inuit, and Métis. The aboriginal population is growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the population in Canada. According to the Canada 2001 Census, people identified themselves as aboriginal numbered 976,305 people (or 3.3% of Canada's population) of whom about 62% are First Nations, 30% are Métis, and 5% are Inuit. Also, ethnic origin figures from the Census show that 1.3 million Canadians stated that they were partially of fully of aboriginal ancestry, including about one million people claiming full or partial First Nation ancestry, 307,000 Métis ancestry and 56,000 Inuit ancestry.

Culture

Canada 2001 Census originated from Canada when residents began playing hurley on ice.]] Due to its colonial past, Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by British and French cultures and traditions. In more modern times, Canadian culture is now greatly influenced by American culture, due to the proximity and the migration of people, ideas, and capital. Amidst this, Canadian culture has developed unique characteristics. In many respects, a more robust and distinct Canadian culture has developed in recent years, partially because of the civic nationalism that pervaded Canada in the years prior to and following the Canadian Centennial in 1967, and also due to a focus by the federal government on programs to support culture and the arts. There were and are many distinct First Nations across Canada, each with its own culture, language and history. Their culture was transmitted largely through oral means and stories were passed down through the elders to the younger generations. Various tribes created unique styles of artifacts such as woven baskets, painted pictures, and carved sculptures of animals. Much of this artistic legacy remains celebrated in Canada to this day. The emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is the inukshuk, a stack of rocks in human form that is a part of Inuit culture. [http://www.vancouver2010.com/Emblem/home.htm] From as early the 1500s, European explorers, traders, and fishermen from England, Ireland and France helped form the basis of Canadian culture. During their colonization of Canada, settlers created a folklore about the land around them. The tales of Paul Bunyan are a product of French-Canadian folklore and the style of jigs from Newfoundland found their origins in Ireland. Canada and the United Kingdom share a common history and continue to work together through many organizations such as the Commonwealth, G-8, and NATO. The two countries share the same head of state, and have among the oldest parliamentary democracies in the world. They still share many of the same customs, values, and traditions, which have been reinforced by working side by side in two world wars and over half a century of expanding peace and prosperity. The United Kingdom is Canada’s third largest trading partner and is the second largest source of tourists visiting Canada. The Canadian and U.S. governments share a variety of close working partnerships in trade, economic, legal, security, and military matters. These are occasionally strained by domestic politics; for instance, the ongoing softwood lumber dispute and the war in Iraq. This has led to successive drives by Canadian leaders to diversify trade with other countries; examples include Diefenbaker's efforts to increase trade with the U.K., Trudeau's efforts with Europe, and current efforts with China and India. As well, the decision to switch to the metric system in 1970 (though, like the U.K., both the metric and Imperial systems are in common usage) has similar roots. As Canada and the U.S. grew closer after World War 2 (the U.S. became Canada's largest trading partner in the late-1940s), many Canadians started to develop complex feelings and concerns regarding what makes Canada "distinct" within North America. The large American cultural presence in Canada has prompted some fears of a "cultural takeover" that have led to the establishment of laws and institutions to protect Canadian culture, including the CBC, the National Film Board of Canada, and the CRTC. Many American movies, authors, TV shows, and musicians are equally popular in Canada (and vice versa), many have been successful worldwide. Most cultural products of these types are now increasingly marketed toward a unified "North American" market, and not specifically a Canadian or American one. Though debatable, Canada has increasingly distinguished itself politically in recent years by being more fiscally conservative on issues such as balanced budgets, tax cuts, and reductions in government, while also being more socially liberal: the Canadian government currently supports universal health care, same-sex marriage, and decriminalization of marijuana. All of these issues are of varying contention amongst Canadians. Many Canadian citizens see Canadian culture as based on the policy of multiculturalism.

Sports

multiculturalism.]] Notable sports which are enjoyed throughout Canada include ice hockey, curling, lacrosse, basketball and the home-grown Canadian Football League. Although CFL teams compete in a variant of American football, traditional football (soccer) is hardly an unknown in Canada, and in 1986 the Canucks qualified for their only appearance at the World Cup in Mexico. In addition, as the vast majority of Canadians live in very close proximity to the United States, Canadians can also watch sporting events from the professional leagues in that country, such as NASCAR and the National Football League. The National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the National Lacrosse League and Major League Baseball are comprised of teams from both Canada and the United States. Major League Baseball As of the 1994 National Sports of Canada Act, Canada officially has two national sports. Ice hockey is the national winter sport and lacrosse is the national summer sport.

National symbols

Major League Baseball The use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates back to the early 18th century, and is depicted on its current and previous flags, the penny, an

1870

1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar).

Events

January - April


- January 1 - Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are done.
- January 2 - Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
- January 6 - The inauguration of the Musikverein (Vienna).
- January 10 - John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil
- January 15 - A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly).
- January 26 - American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union
- January 27 - First college sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is formed at DePauw University
- February - Vrain Denis-Lucas in sentenced for two years in prison for multiple forgery in Paris
- February 2 - It is revealed that the famed Cardiff Giant was just carved gypsum and not the petrified remains of a human.
- February 3 - The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed
- February 10 - Anaheim, California is incorporated.
- February 10 - The YWCA is founded (New York City)
- February 12 - Women gain the right to vote in Utah Territory.
- February 23 - Military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
- February 25 - Hiram Rhoades Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress
- February 26 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway is opened.
- February 28 - The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire.
- March 2 - Francisco Solano López' last troops cornered by Triple Alliance troops at Cerro Cora. López refuses to surrender and is killed. Fighting ends in Paraguay - the War of the Triple Alliance is over
- March 30 - Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.
- April 11 - Irish peer Lord Muncaster and his entourage kidnapped in Greece
- April 22 - Vladimir Lenin is born

May - August


- May 12 - The Canadian province of Manitoba is created in response to Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion
- May 14 - First rugby match to be played in New Zealand, between the Nelson Football Club and Nelson College.
- May 24 - The Port Adelaide Football Club play their first match of Australian rules football at Buck's Flat, Glanville, South Australia.
- June 22 - U.S. Congress created the Department of Justice.
- June 26 - Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States
- July 13 - The Emser Depesche serves as a reason for a war between Prussia and France
- July 15 - Reconstruction: Georgia becomes the last former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union, and the CSA is dissoluted.
- July 19 - Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.

September - December


- September 2 - Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan - Prussian forces defeat the French armies and take emperor Napoleon III and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner at Sedan.
- September 4 - Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared. Empress Eugenie flees to England with her children.
- September 6 - Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming, votes in the morning, becoming the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807.
- September 20 - With Bersaglieri soldiers entering Rome at Porta Pia, the unification of Italy is completed. End of the temporal power of Papacy.
- October 2 – Referendum in Rome supports joining the Italy with 133681 against 1500. Decision is made official October 6. Rome becomes the capital of unified Italy
- October 8 - Leon Michel Gambetta escapes the besieged Paris in a hot-air balloon
- November 1 - In the United States, the newly-created Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast: "High winds at Chicago and Milwaukee... and along the Lakes".
- November 16 - Spanish Cortes proclaims Amadeo de Saboya as king Amadeus I of Spain.
- December – Assassination of Juan Prim, Prime minister of Spain

Unknown date


- Franco-Prussian War
- Term "economics" first used, by Alfred Marshall
- In England, the Forfeiture Act was passed, abolishing the punishment of hanging, drawing and quartering.

Births


- January 2 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor, graphic artist, and poet (d. 1938)
- January 8 - Miguel Primo de Rivera, dictator of Spain (d. 1930)
- February 7 - Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (d. 1937)
- March 5 - Frank Norris, American writer (d. 1902)
- March 17 - Horace Donisthorpe, English entomologist (d. 1951)
- March 20 - Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
- April 22 - Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary, first leader of the Soviet Union (d. 1924)
- April 30 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)
- May 19 - Albert Fish, American serial killer (d. 1936)
- June 13 - Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1961)
- July 3 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
- July 12 - Louis II of Monaco (d. 1949)
- July 29 - George Dixon, Canadian boxer (d. 1909)
- August 11 - Tom Richardson English cricketer (d. 1912)
- August 31 - Maria Montessori, Italian educator (d. 1952)
- September 26 - King Christian X of Denmark (d. 1947)
- September 30 - Jean Baptiste Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
- October 10 - Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
- November 21 - Sigfrid Edström, Swedish sports official (d. 1964)
- November 27 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Prime Minister and President of Finland (d. 1956)
- December 5 - Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer (d. 1949)
- December 12 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil pioneer (d. 1912)
- December 18 - Saki, English writer (d. 1918)

Deaths


- January 29 - Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)
- February 7 - Sylvain Salnave a Hatian president
- February 19 - Nathaniel de Rothschild, French wine grower (b. 1812)
- March 28 - George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
- May 6 - Sir James Young Simpson, Scottish physician and researcher (b. 1811)
- June 9 - Charles Dickens, British novelist (b. 1812)
- July 20 - Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt, French writer and publisher (b. 1822)
- September 12 - Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author and explorer (b. 1836)
- September 23 - Prosper Mérimée, French writer (b. 1803)
- October 12 - Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (b. 1807)
- November 24 - Comte de Lautreamont, French poet and writer (b. 1846)
- November 28 - Frédéric Bazille, French painter (b. 1841)
- December 5 - Alexandre Dumas, père, French author (b. 1802)
- December 27 - General Prim, Spanish dictator (b. 1814) Category:1870 ko:1870년 ms:1870 simple:1870 th:พ.ศ. 2413

Prairie provinces

and mountains as well as the prairies proper).]] The Canadian prairies is a vast area of flat sedimentary land that stretches from Ontario and the Canadian Shield to the Canadian Rockies covering much of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta — the Prairie Provinces. The prairies are one of the world's most important farming areas with two of the most important commodities being wheat grown in the southern prairies and beef cattle raised in Alberta. Three grassland types occur in prairie Canada: tallgrass Prairie, mixed prairie and fescue prairie. Each has a unique geographic distribution and characteristic mix of plant species. All but a fraction of one percent of the Tallgrass Prairie has been converted to cropland. What remains occurs on the 6,000 square kilometre plain centred in the Red River Valley in Manitoba. Mixed Prairie is more common and is part of the dry interior plains that extend from Canada south to Texas. More than half of the remaining native grassland in prairie Canada is mixed prairie. Though widespread in southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta, due to extensive cattle grazing, it is estimated that only 24 percent of the original Mixed Prairie grassland remains. Fescue prairie occurs in the moister regions, occupying the northern extent of the prairies in central and southwestern Alberta and west central Saskatchewan (see [http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/prgrass/df03s56.en.html map]). The southern prairies are semi-arid and are highly prone to frequent and severe droughts. One region known as Palliser's Triangle is so arid that farming has never been successful there without government help. The zones around the cities of Regina and immediately east of Calgary are also very dry. In an average year, southern Saskatchewan receives between 300 mm (12 in) and 510 mm (20 in) of precipitation, with the majority falling between April and June. Frost from October to March limits the growing season. The eastern section of the prairies, in Manitoba, is well watered with several large lakes, most notably Lake Winnipeg, and several large rivers. The area also gets reasonable amounts of precipitation. The middle sections of Alberta and Saskatchewan are also wetter than the south and have better farmland, despite having a shorter growing season. The areas around Edmonton and Saskatoon are especially notable as good crop land. However, Edmonton and Saskatoon both lie far enough north that they are surrounded by aspen parkland rather than fescue prairie. Further north, the area becomes too cold for most agriculture and is dominated by boreal forest. The Peace Region in northwestern Alberta is an exception, however. It lies north of the 55th Parallel and is warm and dry enough to support extensive farming. In fact, agriculture plays a major economic role in the Peace Region.

External link


- [http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/prgrass/df03s02.en.html Grasslands of the Canadian Prairies] Category:Geography of Canada Category:Regions of Canada Category:Prairies

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg (, CST) is a Canadian city and the provincial capital of the province of Manitoba. Located in Western Canada, Winnipeg plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and education. It is known as the Gateway to the West. The city is located near the geographic centre of North America. It lies in a flood plain at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers and started around the point now commonly known as The Forks. It is protected from flooding by the Red River Floodway. Winnipeg is the province's largest city with a population of 619,544 people (2001 Canadian Census). The Winnipeg Metropolitan Area (which includes Winnipeg and the surrounding municipalities including Selkirk, East and West St.Paul, Headingley, Cartier, MacDonald, and Springfield) has a population of 702,400 (Statistics Canada 2004 estimate). The climate in Winnipeg is very extreme; overall, it is one of the coldest large cities in the world, with temperatures averaging below freezing from mid-November through much of March (and most nights below −18 °C (0 °F) in mid-winter), although from May to September temperatures often reach 30 °C (86 °F) and sometimes exceed 35 °C (95 °F). The city receives more precipitation in the forms of both rain and snow than other Prairie cities, but the weather is characterized year-round by an abundance of sunshine.

History

September In 1738, the Sieur de la Vérendrye built the first post on the site, Fort Rouge, but it was later abandoned. Other posts were built in the Red River region, which was fiercely contested by the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. Fort Gibraltar, a post of the North West Company on the site of present-day Winnipeg, was renamed Fort Garry in 1822 and became the leading post in the region. In 1835, Fort Garry was rebuilt after the devastating flood of 1826 and although it played a small role in the actual trading of furs, it housed the residence of the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company for many years. In 1869-1870, Winnipeg was the site of the Red River Rebellion, a conflict between the local Métis people led by Louis Riel and newcomers from eastern Canada. This rebellion led directly to the entry of Manitoba into Confederation as Canada's fifth province in 1870. On November 8, 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. In 1876 the post office officially adopted the name "Winnipeg", three years after the city's incorporation. The name Winnipeg is a transcription of the western Cree word wīnipēk (ᐑᓂᐯᐠ), meaning "muddy waters" from wīni (ᐑᓂ) - dirty, or soiled - and nipiy (ᓂᐱᐩ) - water. It is the Cree name of Lake Winnipeg, some sixty kilometres to the north (about forty miles). Winnipeg experienced an economic boom during the 1890s through 1920s. The population rose from about 25,000 in 1891 to more than 200,000 by 1921. The Manitoba [http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/homepage.html Provincial Legislature Building] reflects the optimism of these boom years. Built of Tyndall Stone in 1920, it is topped by the "Golden Boy", a 5.25 metres tall (17.2 feet) from his toes to the tip of his torch, sculpture sheathed in 23.5 karat (98%) gold. The Golden Boy carries a sheaf of golden grain in his left arm, while his right hand holds high a torch. The Golden Boy's torch was illuminated in December 31, 1966, as part of Manitoba's Centennial Celebration. The lamp was removed in 2002 in the course of a refurbishment of the famous statue, when it was discovered the cable supplying power to the lamp also contributed to the erosion of its internal frame. The statue is now lit at night by floodlights. The current city of Winnipeg was created by the Unicity Act of 1971. The municipalities of St. James-Assiniboia, St. Boniface, Transcona, St. Vital, West Kildonan, East Kildonan, Tuxedo, Old Kildonan, North Kildonan, Fort Garry, and Charleswood were amalgamated with the Old City of Winnipeg. Small portions of the city have since seceded, but the vast majority of the populated area of the city remains within one single municipality. In order to prevent urban sprawl, the city restricted development to inside an urban limit line and in most cases left several kilometres of open space between the municipal boundary and suburban developments. Surrounding municipalities have a combined population of fewer than 100,000.

Geography and Climate

Winnipeg lies at the bottom of the valley of the Red River and has an extremely flat topography. There are no substantial hills in the city or in its vicinity. Downtown Winnipeg is centred at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street about one kilometre (0.6 mile) from The Forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. From this intersection, known as the windiest in Canada, all roads radiate outwards. The city uses the grid system for streets although there are several different grids in place which correspond to old Red River Lots and the meandering courses of the rivers. This creates some very irregular intersections. As a result many visitors find it difficult to get around in Winnipeg. There is no absolute numbering system in place but usually street addresses become higher the farther one moves away from either river. For example west of the Red River street addresses will increase as one heads west, but east of the river they will increase as one heads east. In general avenues run east and west and streets north and south. Unlike many cities in North America, all streets are named, not numbered. Of interest, many of the main thoroughfares in Winnipeg are extremely wide due to the spring soil conditions and the historical use of the Red River Cart which created wide ruts in the (then) muddy roads. Portage Avenue has four lanes of traffic in each direction plus a central boulevard for much of its run through Winnipeg. Downtown Winnipeg is the financial heart of the city, and covers an area of about one square mile (2.5 km²) which is quite large for a city this size. Although downtown Winnipeg once housed what was for a time one of the world's most successful department stores, the Eaton's store on Portage Avenue, it is no longer the retail or commercial centre of the city. The Eaton's store was torn down and replaced by an arena, the MTS Centre in November, 2004. Surrounding the downtown area are various residential neighbourhoods. Urban development spreads in all directions from downtown but is greatest to the south and west, and has tended to follow (and has been determined by) the course of the two major rivers. The urbanized area in Winnipeg is about 25 km (15 mi) from east to west and 20 km (12 mi) from north to south, although there is still much land available for development within the City Limits. Areas include Downtown/Exchange District, The Forks, Fort Rouge/Crescentwood, River Heights, Tuxedo, Charleswood, St. James/Assiniboia, The West End, Weston, Wolseley, The North End, Elmwood, East, West, and North Kildonan, St Boniface, St Vital, Fort Garry, St Norbert, and Transcona. Winnipeg is known for its urban forest particularly its beautiful elm trees. The two major parks in the city, Assiniboine Park and Kildonan Park, are both located in the suburbs. The major commercial areas are Polo Park (West End and St. James) Kildonan Crossing (Transcona), South St. Vital, and Garden City (West Kildonan). The main cultural and nightlife areas are the Exchange District, The Forks, Osborne Village and Corydon Avenue (both in Fort Rouge), Sargent and Ellice Avenues (West End) and Old St. Boniface. Because of its extremely flat topography and substantial snowfall, Winnipeg is subject to severe flooding. The Red River reached its greatest flood height in 1826, and this event still remains the highest flood stage of the last two hundred years. Another large flood occurred in 1950, which caused millions of dollars in damages and thousands of evacuations. This flood prompted Duff Roblin's government to build the Red River Floodway (sometimes colloquially refered to as Duff's Ditch), a 49 kilometre (30 mile) long diversion channel that protects the city of Winnipeg from flooding. Other related water diversion projects farther away from Winnipeg include the Portage Diversion (also known as the Assiniboine River Floodway) and the Shellmouth Dam. The flood-control system prevented flooding in 1974 and 1979 when water levels neared record levels. However, in the 1997 flood, flooding threatened the city's relatively unprotected southwest corner. Flood control dikes were reinforced and raised using sandbags and the threat was averted. Winnipeg suffered very limited damage compared to cities without flood control structures, such as Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. The generally flat terrain and the poor drainage of the Red River Valley's clay-based soil result in generally poor drainage in the city, which leads in wet years to a seasonal explosion of insects, especially mosquitos. Winnipeg has gained a reputation as the mosquito capital of North America, resulting in the limitation of much outdoor activity during the hot and humid summer months. The fear of West Nile Virus has further exacerbated the problem. In the summer of 2005, mosquito trap counts in some parts of the city went into the thousands, causing immediate city-wide fogging with the chemical malathion. The use of chemicals to combat Winnipeg's insect problem is an extremely controversial issue in the city as many feel that the use of chemicals, and particularly malathion, is unnecessarily dangerous to human and animal health. Winnipeg lies in an unprotected arctic trough which channels cold arctic air south, directly across the Canadian Shield and Canadian Prairie. This results in bone-chilling temperatures as early as the end of October and bitter cold and winds during December, January and February, and cold weather and snow often extending into April. The extremity of its climate in the winter months has caused the (somewhat derisive) nickname of "Winterpeg". Summers are typically warm with average temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) and much sunshine is received throughout the year. Spring and fall tend to be rather contracted seasons, each averaging little over six weeks. Average maximum temperatures for each month are as follows (source Environment Canada): January −13 °C (9 °F), February −9 °C (16 °F), March −1 °C (30 °F), April 10 °C (50 °F), May 19 °C (67 °F), June 23 °C (74 °F), July 26 °C (79 °F), August 25 °C (77 °F), September 19 °C (67 °F), October 11 °C (52 °F), November 0 °C (32 °F), December −10 °C (14 °F). The city receives an annual average of about 510 mm (20 inches) of precipitation including 115 cm (45 inches) of snow. There is generally snow cover from mid-November to the end of March, though this varies depending on the year—heavy snowfalls in late October and in April are not uncommon. Winnipeg is virtually assured of having a White Christmas as there i