Facts about Winnipeg
To prevent future floods, the Red River Basin Investigation recommended a system of flood control measures, including a multiple diking systems and a floodway to divert the Red River around Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is an important regional centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and government.
On January 5, 1874, Francis Evans Cornish, former mayor of London, Ontario defeated Winnipeg Free Press editor and owner William F. Luxton by a margin of 383 votes to 179.
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.
The summers in Winnipeg are similar to those experienced in cities in the Midwestern United States.
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.
Winnipeg plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, and agriculture.
Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine River and Red River, also known as "The Forks," which was a meeting, trading, and resting area for aboriginal peoples for thousands of years.
Winnipeg has also embarked on an ambitious wayfinding program erecting new signage at strategic downtown locations.
The first elections for city government in Winnipeg were held shortly after the city was incorporated in 1873.
The city’s northerly location is also influential, though Winnipeg is located farther south than London or Amsterdam.
Winnipeg's airport, recently renamed as Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.
In 1869-1870, Winnipeg was the site of the Red River Rebellion, a conflict between the local Mйtis people led by Louis Riel and newcomers from eastern Canada.
The end of World War II brought a new sense of optimism in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is also home to numerous private schools, both religious and secular.
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 for the Hudson Bay Company.
Winnipeg played a large part in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).
In 2006, Winnipeg was ranked by KPMG as one of the lowest cost locations to do business in Canada.
Winnipeg is well known across the prairies for its arts and culture.
Soon after, various levels of government commissioned engineering studies for a major increase in flood protection for the City of Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is situated just west of the longitudinal centre of Canada (also near the geographical centre of North America), and approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the border with the United States.
The name Winnipeg is a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters."
The City of Winnipeg is home to 633,451 residents, representing 55.16% of the total population of Manitoba.
In 1876, the post office officially adopted the name "Winnipeg," three years after the city's incorporation.
Pent-up demand brought a boom in housing development, but the building activity came to a halt in 1950 when city was swamped in the Winnipeg Flood.
The Winnipeg Public Library is a public library network with 20 branches throughout the city, including the Millennium Library.
Winnipeg's growth slowed considerably after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.
Due to its location in the centre of a large land mass and its distance from both mountains and oceans, Winnipeg has an extreme continental climate.
The city is one of Canada's major cultural centers and is home to the world famous Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is North America's second largest Fringe Festival, held every July.
Winnipeg is the site of Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg and the headquarters of 1 Canadian Air Division, as well as home to several reserve units.
Winnipeg's largest employers are either government or government-funded institutions: the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre, the Casinos of Winnipeg, and Manitoba Hydro.
Much of the commercial traffic that crosses in Emerson either originates from or is destined to Winnipeg.
The Royal Canadian Mint located in eastern Winnipeg is where all circulating coinage in Canada is produced.
On September 27, 1997, the original core of the city of Winnipeg, the Exchange District, was declared a National Historic Site by the federal Minister of Canadian Heritage.
The University of Winnipeg received its charter in 1967 but its roots date back more than 130 years.
Winnipeg is also home to the National Microbiology Laboratory, Canada's front line in its response to SARS and one of only 15 Biosafety level 4 microbiology laboratories in the world.
After the railways came to Winnipeg, this area was developed with many fine warehouses, offices and banks.
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 1920s.
Soon after, various levels of government commissioned engineering studies for a major increase in flood protection for the City of Winnipeg.
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 handle the capacity.
Several locally-produced and national television dramas have also been shot in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg City Council embraced the idea of a "Civic Centre" as a replacement for the old city hall.
Immigration exponentially increased during this period, and Winnipeg took on its distinctive multicultural character.
Winnipeg has had a public transit system since the 1880s, starting with horse-drawn streetcars.
Winnipeg experienced a boom during the 1890s and the first two decades of the twentieth century, and the city's population grew from 25,000 in 1891 to more than 200,000 in 1921.
In 2003 and 2004, Canadian Business magazine ranked Winnipeg in the top 10 cities for business.
The Exchange District Historical site is the original site of commerce in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is behind virtually all major metropolitan centres when it comes to adopted standards for road maintenance, grade separations, interchanges, road markings, traffic signals, construction zone traffic safety systems and general signage.
The current city of Winnipeg was created when the City of Winnipeg Act was amended to form Unicity in 1971.
Pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners, and flight engineers all passed through Winnipeg on their way to the various air schools across Western Canada.
Winnipeg is Manitoba's largest city with a population of 633,451 making it the eighth largest Census Metropolitan Area in Canada.
The stock market crash in 1929 only hastened an already steep decline in Winnipeg.
Other festivals include Folklorama, the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Winnipeg Music Festival, the Red River Exhibition, and Le Festival du Voyageur.
Situated at the confluence of the Red and the Assiniboine in what is now downtown Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is unique among North American cities of its size in that it does not have freeways within the urban area.
The National Film Board of Canada and the Winnipeg Film Group have produced numerous award-winning films.
Winnipeg is both the largest city and capital city of the province of Manitoba located in Western Canada.
Only one urban area with over 500,000 people (the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota) is located within 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) of Winnipeg.