Winnipeg.html



City of Winnipeg
Downtown Winnipeg as seen looking north
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Heart of the Continent, Gateway to the West, One Great City, Peg City, The Peg, Winterpeg, The 204
Motto: Unum Cum Virtute Multorum (One with the Strength of Many)
Location of Winnipeg in Manitoba
Coordinates: 49°54′N 97°08′W / 49.9, -97.133
Country	Canada
Province	Manitoba
Region	Winnipeg Capital Region
Established,	1738 (Fort Rouge)
Renamed	1822 (Fort Garry)
Incorporated	1873 (City of Winnipeg)
Government
- City Mayor	Sam Katz
- Governing Body	Winnipeg City Council
- MPs	List of MPs Jim Maloway Rod Bruinooge Steven Fletcher Pat Martin Anita Neville Shelly Glover Joy Smith Judy Wasylycia-Leis
- MLAs	List of MLAs Nancy Allan Rob Altemeyer Sharon Blady Erna Braun Marilyn Brick David Chomiak Gary Doer Myrna Driedger Jon Gerrard George Hickes Jennifer Howard Kerri Irvin-Ross Bidhu Jha Bonnie Korzeniowski Kevin Lamoureux Gord Mackintosh Jim Maloway Flor Marcelino Doug Martindale Hugh McFadyen Diane McGifford Christine Melnick Bonnie Mitchelson Theresa Oswald Daryl Reid Jim Rondeau Mohinder Saran Erin Selby Greg Selinger Heather Stefanson Andy Swan
Area
- Land	464.01 km² (179.2 sq mi)
- Urban	448.92 km² (173.3 sq mi)
- Metro	5,302.98 km² (2,047.5 sq mi)
Elevation	238 m (781 ft)
Population (2006 Census12)
- City	633,451 (Ranked 7th)
- Density	1,365/km² (3,535.3/sq mi)
- Urban	641,483 (Ranked 9th)
- Urban Density	1,429/km² (3,701.1/sq mi)
- Metro	694,668 (Ranked 8th)
- Metro Density	131/km² (339.3/sq mi)
Time zone	CST (UTC−6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC−5)
Postal code span	R2C–R3Y
Area code(s)	204
Demonym	Winnipegger
NTS Map	062H14
GNBC Code	GBEIN
Website: City of Winnipeg

Winnipeg (pronounced /ˈwɪnɨpɛg/) is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America,³ at the confluence of the historic Red and Assiniboine Rivers, a point now commonly known as The Forks.⁴ Winnipeg is the core cultural and economic centre for the Winnipeg Capital Region, which has a combined population of 730,305. Winnipeg is the 7th largest municipality in Canada with a total population of 633,451.⁵

The city is located in the prairies of Western Canada, in a native tallgrass prairie/aspen parkland ecosystem, and boasts such cultural attractions as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.⁶ It is home to historic architecture; distinctive neighbourhoods, (like Saint Boniface and the Exchange District); scenic waterways; a Canadian heritage river; and numerous parks, including Assiniboine Park and Kildonan Park.

Winnipeg also lies relatively close to many beautiful Canadian Shield rivers and hundreds of lakes and parks, including Lake Winnipeg (the earth's 11th largest freshwater lake).⁷

Winnipeg has laid claim to the title of World's Longest Skating Rink, along the Red and Assiniboine rivers.⁸

History

Main article: History of Winnipeg

Upper Fort Garry in the early 1870s.

Before Incorporation

Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine River and the Red River, known as The Forks, a historic focal point on canoe river routes travelled by Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years.⁹ The name Winnipeg is a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters"; the general area was populated for thousands of years by First Nations. In prehistory, through oral stories, archaeology, petroglyphs, rock art, and ancient artifacts, it is known that natives would use the area for camps, hunting, fishing, trading, and further north, agriculture. The first farming in Manitoba appeared to be along the Red River, near Lockport, Manitoba, where maize (corn) and other seed crops were planted before contact with Europeans. For thousands of years there have been humans living in this region, and there are many archaeological clues about their ways of life. The rivers provided transportation far and wide and linked many peoples-such as the Assiniboine, Ojibway, Anishinaabe, Mandan, Sioux, Cree, Lakota, and others—for trade and knowledge sharing. Ancient mounds were once made near the waterways, similar to that of the mound builders of the south. Lake Winnipeg was considered to be an inland sea, with important river links to the mountains out west, the Great Lakes to the east, and the Arctic Ocean in the north. The Red River linked ancient northern and southern peoples along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The first maps of some areas were made on birch bark by the Ojibway, which helped fur traders find their way along the rivers and lakes.

Settlement

The first French officer arrived in the area in 1738. Sieur de la Vérendrye built the first fur trading post on the site (Fort Rouge) for the North West Company, who continued to trade there for several decades before the arrival of the Hudson's Bay Company.¹⁰ Fort Gibraltar was built by the North West Company in 1809, and Fort Douglas was built by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1812. The two companies fought fiercely over trade in the area, and each destroyed some of the other's forts over the course of several battles. In 1821, the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies ended their long rivalry with a merger. Fort Gibraltar, within the site of present-day Winnipeg, was renamed Fort Garry in 1822 and became the leading post in the region for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Fort Garry was destroyed in an 1826 flood and rebuilt in 1835. It remained the residence of the Governor of the company for many years and became a part of the major first colony and settlement in western Canada.

In 1869–70, Winnipeg was the site of the Red River Rebellion, a conflict between the local provisional government of Métis, led by Louis Riel, and the newcomers from eastern Canada; General Garnet Wolseley was sent to put down the rebellion. This rebellion led directly to Manitoba's entry into Canadian Confederation as Canada's fifth province in 1870, and on November 8, 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. The settlement was named by Manitoba and Northwest Territories legislator James McKay.¹¹

Late 1800's & early 20th century

Winnipeg's boom during the 1890s and early 20th century allowed it to take on its distinctive multicultural character. The Manitoba Legislative Building reflects the optimism of the boom years. Built mainly of Tyndall Stone and 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").

Winnipeg faced financial difficulty when the Panama Canal opened in 1914. The canal reduced reliance on Canada's rail system for international trade, and the increase in ship traffic helped Vancouver surpass Winnipeg to become Canada's third-largest city in the 1960s.¹²

Main article: Winnipeg General Strike

Following World War I, owing to a postwar recession, appalling labour conditions, and the presence of radical union organizers and a large influx of returning soldiers, 35,000 Winnipeggers walked off the job in May 1919 in what came to be known as the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. After many arrests, deportations, and incidents of violence, the strike ended on June 21, 1919, when the Riot Act was read and a group of RCMP officers charged a group of strikers. Two strikers were killed and at least thirty others were injured, resulting in the day being known as Bloody Saturday; the lasting effect was a polarized 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 (CCF), which would later become the NDP.

The Winnipeg General Strike, June 21, 1919

The stock market crash of 1929 only hastened an already steep decline in Winnipeg; the Great Depression resulted in massive unemployment, which was worsened by drought and depressed agricultural prices. The Depression ended when World War II started in 1939. In Winnipeg, the old established armouries of Minto, Tuxedo (Fort Osborne), and McGregor were so crowded that the military had to take over other buildings to increase capacity.

The end of World War II brought a new sense of optimism in Winnipeg. Pent-up demand brought a boom in housing development, but building activity came to a halt due to the 1950 Red River Flood, the largest flood to hit Winnipeg since 1861; the flood held waters above flood stage for 51 days. On May 8, 1950, eight dikes collapsed, four of the city's eleven bridges were destroyed, and nearly 100,000 people had to be evacuated, making it Canada's largest evacuation in history. The federal government estimated damages at over $26-million, although the province insisted it was at least double that.¹³

Amalgamation to Present

Prior to 1972, Winnipeg was the largest of thirteen cities and towns in a metropolitan area around the Red and Assiniboine rivers. Unicity was created on July 27, 1971 and took effect with the first elections in 1972. The City of Winnipeg Act incorporated the current city of Winnipeg: the municipalities of Transcona, St. Boniface, St. Vital, West Kildonan, East Kildonan, Tuxedo, Old Kildonan, North Kildonan, Fort Garry, Charleswood, and St. James, were amalgamated with the Old City of Winnipeg.

Immediately following the 1979 energy crisis, Winnipeg experienced a severe economic downturn in advance of the early 1980s recession. Throughout the recession, the city incurred closures of prominent businesses such as the Winnipeg Tribune and the Swift's and Canada Packers meat packing plants.¹⁴ In 1981, Winnipeg was one of the first cities in Canada to sign a tripartite agreement to redevelop its downtown area.¹⁵ The three levels of government—federal, provincial and municipal—have contributed over $271-million to the development needs of downtown Winnipeg over the past 20 years. The funding was instrumental in attracting Portage Place mall, which comprises the headquarters of Investors Group, the offices of Air Canada, and several apartment complexes. In 1989, the reclamation and redevelopment of the CNR rail yards at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers turned The Forks into Winnipeg's most popular tourist attraction.¹⁶

In 1996 Winnipeg's National Hockey League team (the Winnipeg Jets) left for Phoenix, Arizona.

The 1997 Red River Flood, (Flood of the Century) devastated communities along the Red River, from Fargo, North Dakota to Winnipeg. The floodway was pushed to its limits in 1997, which led to the Red River Floodway Expansion, set to be completed in late 2010 at a final cost of more than $665,000,000 CAD.

Winnipeg panorama

Geography

Main article: Geography and climate of Winnipeg

Satellite view of Winnipeg

Winnipeg is situated on the plains of south-central Manitoba, in the Canadian Prairies of Western Canada; near the geographical centre of North America; approximately 100 km (62 mi) north of the border with the United States; and 70 km (43 mi) south of Lake Winnipeg. It is situated in the extremely flat, rich agricultural land of the Red River of the North. The highest point near the city would be north east in Birds Hill Provincial Park, which was a island in the ancient glacial lake bed of Lake Agassiz. The city is extremely isolated, the closest city with a metro over 1 million, (Minneapolis), is approximately 700 km (430 miles) southeast, and the closest city with a metro around 200,000 (Fargo) is approximately 358 km (222 miles) south. The city's four major river include the Assiniboine, the Seine, the Red and the La Salle Rivers; (all of which eventually flow into the Red River).

According to the Census geographic units of Canada, the city has a total area of 464.01 km² (179.2 sq mi), making it by far the largest city in the Red River Valley.

Neighbourhoods

See also: List of Winnipeg neighbourhoods and List of Winnipeg's 10 tallest buildings

Winnipeg has many distinctive neighbourhoods.

Downtown Winnipeg includes the Exchange District, The Waterfront District, The Forks, Central Park, Broadway-Assiniboine, and Chinatown. It is roughly three square kilometres and comparable to the downtowns of much larger North American cities such as Philadelphia (metro pop. 6.2 million) and San Francisco (7.0 million). Some trendy areas near the downtown core include The French Quarter (St. Boniface), Osborne Village, and Little Italy.

Other major neighbourhoods include River Heights, Charleswood, Crescentwood, Fort Garry, Fort Rouge, Grant Park , North Kildonan, West Kildonan, East Kildonan, Elmwood, The Maples, The North End, Polo Park, St. James, St. Norbert, St. Vital, Transcona, Tuxedo, Wildwood, and Wolseley.¹⁷

Climate

Due to its location on the Great Plains (Canadian Prairies), and its distance from both mountains and oceans, Winnipeg has an extreme humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 3a,¹⁹ in that there are great differences between summer and winter temperatures. Summers are warm and often humid, Spring and autumn are highly variable seasons, and its winters are long and sometimes dangerously cold. Because of the openness of the landscape; Winnipeg lies exposed to numerous weather systems throughout the year; including cold arctic high pressure systems from the northwest during the winter season; and hot, humid weather drawn northward from the Gulf of Mexico during the summer season. The city has acquired the nickname 'Winterpeg' because of the long cold snowy winters. Only once since record keeping has the city failed to witness a 'white Christmas'. From December through February the maximum daily temperature exceeds 0 °C (32 °F), on average, for only 10 days and the minimum daily temperature falls below -20 °C (-4 °F) on 49 days. Winnipeg is also ranked fourth amoung Canada with 49 wind chill days at -30 °C (-22 °F) or less.²⁰

Its summers can be humid, annually temperatures average 45, 11 and 2 days with humidex (combined temperature & humidity index) above 30 °C (86 °F), 35 °C (95 °F) and 40 °C (104 °F) respectively.²¹ However the city only averages 13 days a year where temperatures actually reaches 30 °C or above.²² The Red River Valley has a fairly long frost-free season, consisting of between 120 and 140 days²³. Winnipeg usually has 27 days with thunderstorms per year.²¹ Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, late heat waves as well as Indian summers are a regular feature of the climate. A typical year will see an extreme range of temperatures from -35°C (-31°F) to 35°C (95°F), though both colder and warmer temperatures have been recorded.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Winnipeg was −47.8 °C (−54.0 °F), on December 24, 1879.²⁴ The highest temperature recorded in Winnipeg was 42.2 °C (108 °F) on July 11, 1936. The coldest wind chill reading ever recorded was −57.1 °C (−70.8 °F), on February 1, 1996.¹⁸ The highest humidex reading recorded in Winnipeg was 48 °C (118 °F) on July 25, 2007, although just 64 km (40 mi) southwest of the city, in the town of Carman, Manitoba broke Canada's all time humidex record, with a high of 53 °C (127 °F), July 25, 2007.²⁵

Winnipeg is a sunny city with an average of 317 sunny days per year.²⁶ and all seasons are characterized by an abundance of sunshine. Winnipeg has Canada's second-clearest skies year-round and is the second sunniest city in Canada in the spring and winter.²⁶

Destructive weather events such as tornadoes, major floods, extreme heat waves, droughts, severe hail, blizzards, freezing rain, extreme wind chills, fog, and sleet; have all occurred within or near the Winnipeg area. Like Chicago, Winnipeg is also known as a windy city. The average annual wind speed is 16.9 km/h (10.5 mph), predominantly from the south.²⁷ The city has experienced wind gusts of up to 129 km/h (80 mph). Tornadoes are not uncommon in the area, particularly in the spring and summer months; a rare F5 tornado (strongest ever recorded in Canada) hit Elie, just 40 km (25 miles) west of Winnipeg.

Economy

Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg

See also: List of corporations based in Winnipeg and List of hospitals in Manitoba

Winnipeg is an important regional centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and government. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Winnipeg had the third-fastest growing economy among Canada's major cities in 2007, with a real GDP growth at 3.7%.²⁸

Approximately 375,000 people are employed in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Some of Winnipeg's largest employers are either government or government-funded institutions, including: the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre, the Casinos of Winnipeg, and Manitoba Hydro. Approximately 54,000 people (14% of the work force) are employed in the public sector. Large private sector employers include: Manitoba Telecom Services, Canwest, Palliser Furniture, Great-West Life Assurance, Motor Coach Industries, Convergys Corporation, New Flyer Industries, Boeing Canada Technology, Bristol Aerospace, Nygård International, Canad Inns and Investors Group.

A number of large privately held family-owned companies operate out of Winnipeg. The most famous of these is James Richardson & Sons. The Richardson Building at Portage and Main was the first skyscraper to grace that corner. Other private companies include Ben Moss Jewellers, Frantic Films and Paterson Grain.

The Royal Canadian Mint located in eastern Winnipeg (on Route 20 (Lagimodière Blvd)) is where all circulating coinage in Canada is produced. The plant, established in 1975, also produces coins for many other countries in the world.

Winnipeg is home to several government research labs. The National Microbiology Laboratory is Canada's front line in its response to infectious diseases and one of only a handful of Biosafety level 4 microbiology laboratories in the world. The National Research Council also has the Institute for Biodiagnostics laboratory located in the downtown area.

In 2003 and 2004, Canadian Business magazine ranked Winnipeg in the top 10 cities for business. In 2006, Winnipeg was ranked by KPMG as one of the lowest cost locations to do business in Canada.²⁹ As with much of Western Canada, in 2007, Winnipeg experienced both a building and real estate boom. In May 2007, the Winnipeg Real Estate Board reported the best month in its 104-year history in terms of sales and volume.³⁰

Demographics

According to the 2006 Census, there were 633,451 people residing in Winnipeg itself and a total of 694,668 inhabitants in the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area on 16 May 2006, and 711,455 in the Winnipeg Capital Region making it Manitoba’s largest city and the eighth largest CMA in Canada.^{2 34} Of the city population, 48.3% were male and 51.7% were female. 24.3% were 19 years old or younger, people aged by 20 and 39 years accounted for 27.4%, and those between 40 and 64 made up 34.0% of the population. The average age of a Winnipegger in May 2006 was 38.7, compared to an average of 39.5 for Canada as a whole.³⁵

Between the censuses of 2001 and 2006, Winnipeg's population increased by 2.2%, compared to the average of 2.6% for Manitoba and 5.4% for Canada. The population density of the city of Winnipeg averaged 1,365.2 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 3.5 for Manitoba.

Of Winnipeg’s total population, 61,217 citizens live in the city’s Census Metropolitan Area,³⁶ which apart from Winnipeg includes the Rural municipalities of East St. Paul, Headingley, Ritchot, Rosser, Springfield, St. Clements, St. François Xavier, Taché and West St. Paul, and the Aboriginal community of Brokenhead.

Ethnicity

Ethnic diversity is an important part of Winnipeg's culture. Most Winnipeggers are of European or Canadian descent. Visible minorities make up 16.3% of Winnipeg's population. Winnipeg is home to 38,155 people of Filipino descent, or roughly 6% of the total population, the highest concentration of persons of Filipino origin in Canada, and the second largest Filipino population in Canada after Toronto.³¹³⁷

Language

More than 20 languages are spoken in Winnipeg; the most common is English, in which 99.0% of Winnipeggers are fluent. In terms of Canada's official languages, 88.0% of Winnipeggers speak only English, and 0.1% speak only French. 11% speak both English and French, while 0.9% speak neither English nor French. Other languages spoken in Winnipeg include German (spoken by 4.1% of the population), Tagalog (3.4%), Ukrainian (3.1%), Spanish, Chinese and Polish (all three spoken by 1.7% of the population), as well as Aboriginal languages including Ojibway (0.6%), Cree (0.5%), Inuktitut and Mi'kmaq (both less than 0.1%). Other languages spoken in Winnipeg include Portuguese, Italian, Icelandic, Punjabi, Vietnamese, Urdu, Hindi, Russian, Dutch, Non-verbal languages, Arabic, Serbian, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Creole, Danish, and Gaelic languages (all of which are spoken by roughly 1% or less of the population).³⁸

Religion

The 2001 census states that 21.7% of Winnipeggers do not follow a religion.³⁹, while 72.9% of Winnipeggers belong to a Christian denomination, 35.1% of which are Protestant, 32.6% are Roman Catholic, and 5.2% are other Christian denominations. 5.6% of the population follows a religion other than Christianity—followers of Judaism make up 2.1% of the population, followers of Buddhism and Sikhism make up 0.9% of the population each, and Muslims make up 0.8% of the population. Hindus account for 0.6% of the population, while followers of other religions make up less than 0.5% of the population.

Culture

Main article: Winnipeg arts and culture

See also: List of Winnipeg musicians, List of TV and films shot in Winnipeg, List of tallest buildings in Winnipeg, List of Winnipeggers, and Winnie-the-Pooh

The Golden Boy statue

Winnipeg is well known across the prairies for its arts and culture.⁴⁰

Since 1999, Winnipeg has achieved acclaim for being the "Slurpee Capital of the World".⁴¹

Winnipeg is the only Canadian city to ever host the Pan American Games, and the second city in the world to host the event twice, once in 1967 and once in 1999.⁴²

Winnipeg is well known for its murals.⁴³ Many buildings in the downtown area and extending into some suburban areas have murals painted on the sides of buildings.⁴⁴ Although some are advertisements for shops and other businesses, many are historical paintings, school art projects, or downtown beautification projects. Murals can also be found on several of the downtown traffic light switch posts and fire hydrants.

Winnipeg also has a thriving film community, beginning as early as 1897 with the films of James Freer to the production of local independent films of today, such as those by Guy Maddin. It has also supported a number of Hollywood productions, including Shall We Dance? (2004), the Oscar nominated film Capote (2005), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006), The Horsemen (2008) and X2 (2003) had parts filmed in the province. Several locally-produced and national television dramas have also been shot in Winnipeg. The National Film Board of Canada and the Winnipeg Film Group have produced numerous award-winning films.

Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg, an independent film released in 2008, is a poetic and comedic rumination on the city's history. It features archival footage and contemporary imagery blended seamlessly into an extended autobiographical goodbye letter.

There are several TV and film production companies in Winnipeg. Some of the prominent ones are Frantic Films, Buffalo Gal Pictures, Les Productions Rivard and Eagle Vision.

Winnipeg Bear, (also known as Winnie-the-Pooh) was purchased in Ontario, by Lieutenant Harry Colebourn of The Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment en route to his embarkation point for the front lines of World War I. He named the bear after the regiment's home town of Winnipeg.

An Ernest H. Shepard painting of "Winnie the Pooh" is the only known oil painting of Winnipeg’s famous bear cub. It was purchased at an auction for $285,000 in London, England, in 2000. The painting is displayed in Assiniboine Park.

Winnipeg is also associated with various music acts. Among the most notable are Neil Young, The Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Streetheart, Harlequin, Chantal Kreviazuk, Bif Naked, Comeback Kid, The Waking Eyes, Econoline Crush, Brent Fitz, Jet Set Satellite, the New Meanies, Propagandhi, The Weakerthans, The Perpetrators, Crash Test Dummies, Christine Fellows, The Wailin' Jennys and The Duhks.

Winnipeg is the subject of the song "One Great City!" by The Weakerthans. The song makes allusion to the slow growth and lost industry in the town.⁴⁵ The title of the song is the slogan on signs welcoming visitors to Winnipeg. The city is also mentioned in Neil Young's "Don't Be Denied". Aaron Funk, a Winnipeg-based Breakcore artist better known as Venetian Snares, released a concept album in 2005 based on his hatred of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg is mentioned in the song "Anywhere Under the Moon" by Canadian folk duo Dala, on their 2007 album Who Do You Think You Are, as well as in Danny Michel's song "Into the Flame".

The Winnipeg Public Library is a public library network with 20 branches throughout the city, including the Millennium Library, located downtown.

Cuisine

Winnipeg has a broad selection of restaurants and specialty food stores. Many ethnic cuisines are well represented, including those of the local Ukrainian, Jewish, Mennonite, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Greek, Thai, French, Vietnamese, and Filipino populations.

Regional dishes include Winnipeg goldeye, a kind of smoked fish, fresh pickerel fillets and pickerel cheeks, and an East European style of light rye bread called Winnipeg rye. Also associated with Winnipeg are nips (hamburgers) from Salisbury House restaurant, Jeanne's cake, Russian mints from Morden's Chocolate, Old Dutch potato chips, and beer from Half Pints and Fort Garry breweries.

Local media

Main article: Media in Winnipeg

Winnipeg has two daily newspapers, six English television stations, one French television station, 24 AM and FM radio stations and a variety of regional and nationally based magazines that call the city home.

Festivals

The city is home to several large festivals. The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is North America's second largest Fringe Festival, held every July. The Winnipeg International Writers Festival (THIN AIR) rivals similar festivals in Calgary and Vancouver. Other festivals include Folklorama, the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Winnipeg Music Festival, the Red River Exhibition, and Festival du Voyageur.

City life

Attractions

The Exchange District

• The Royal Canadian Mint located in eastern Winnipeg (on Route 20 (Lagimodière Blvd)) is where all circulating coinage in Canada is produced. The plant, established in 1975, also produces coins for many other countries in the world.

• Winnipeg is the future home of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The start of construction is contingent on continued efforts to raise money in 2008. It will be the first Canadian national museum outside of the National Capital Region. The museum will be located at The Forks.

• FortWhyte Alive nature centre, located in the south west section of the city is a very popular attraction.

• The Manitoba Electrical Museum is completely free of charge and has six themes and a lower level.

• Pan Am Pool was home to the Pan American Games and is located in the southern section of the city.

• The Manitoba Museum (formerly Museum of Man and Nature) is the largest museum in the province. It has nine galleries and includes a planetarium as well as a replica of the Nonsuch. It is one of the only attractions to receive the Michelin Guide's highest rating as an attraction in Winnipeg.⁴⁶

• The Winnipeg Railway Museum, located on tracks 1 and 2 in the Via Rail Station is home to The Countess of Dufferin, the first locomotive on the Canadian Prairies.

• The city is home to the Western Canada Aviation Museum, the second largest aviation museum in Canada. The museum is housed in a Trans-Canada Air Lines hangar and contains the most complete Vickers Viscount in the world along with the last remaining Fokker Universal.

• The Costume Museum of Canada now resides in Winnipeg's Exchange District. After 23 years in outlying Dugald, the museum has recently relocated to the capital city with hopes to attract even more visitors. It is home to approximately 35,000 articles of clothing and represents about 400 years of fashion history in Canada.

• The Fort Garry Hotel is one of Canada's National Historic Sites as well as haunted.

• The Winnipeg Firefighters Historical Society Museum housed in a former fire station contains memorabilia dating back to the beginning of the Winnipeg Fire Brigade in 1882, including fully operational fire apparatus such as a 1927 American LaFrance and a 1958 Mack truck.

• Winnipeg has laid claim to the title of World's Longest Skating Rink, along the Red and Assiniboine rivers⁸ beating out the nation's capital Ottawa with its Rideau Canal.

• The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet and the longest continually operating ballet company in North America.⁴⁷ It is the first Canadian company to tour Russia and Czechoslovakia and the first western company to tour Cuba.⁴⁸ It is the only ballet company in Canada to receive a Royal charter in 1953 from Queen Elizabeth II.⁴⁹

• The Manitoba Theatre Centre is Canada's first regional theatre.⁵⁰ It was founded in 1957 and has produced just fewer than 500 plays featuring actors such as Len Cariou, Gordon Pinsent, Keanu Reeves and William Hurt.

• Winnipeg is home to several of Canada's national historic sites including; The Forks, the Red River Floodway, the Fort Garry Hotel, Confederation Building, the Exchange District, Fort Douglas and Lower Fort Garry (20 mi (32 km) from the original Fort Garry).

• The MTS Centre is now the 19th busiest arena in the world. Also the arena now sits 11th among facilities in North America, its highest ranking ever, and it remains in the 3rd spot in Canada, after the Bell Centre in Montreal (fourth overall) and the Air Canada Centre in Toronto (third overall).

• The Red River Ex is an annual fair located near Assiniboia Downs horse race track

The Forks

The Forks, where the Red River and Assiniboine River meet, is Winnipeg's number one tourist attraction and brings locals and visitors alike to its shops, river walkways and festivals.⁵¹ It is home to the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Winnipeg International Children's Festival, a 30 000 square foot skate plaza, and an 8,500-square-foot (790 m²) 'bowl complex', and the Esplanade Riel bridge. It is the future home of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. In January 2008, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized The Forks as the home of the longest skating rink in the world.

The Esplanade Riel; a side-spar bridge, is built exclusively for pedestrians. Winnipeg-based Salisbury House owns a restaurant in the spar's base.

Parks

Some of Winnipeg's large urban parks include Assiniboine Park,