78 Meaningful Facts About Manitoba

Manitoba sits at the longitudinal centre of Canada, a province of prairies, boreal forest, tundra, and countless lakes. This collection of facts about Manitoba covers its location and size, wildlife and landscapes, peoples and culture, notable names and inventions, and the history that shaped it from the Hudson's Bay fur trade to today.

Manitoba Facts At-a-Glance

Area: 647,797 km² (250,116 mi²), 6th largest Canadian province
Population: 1.39 million
Capital: Winnipeg, home to 750,000 people
Nickname: The "keystone province"
Highest point: Baldy Mountain, 832 m (2730 ft)
Lakes: Over 110,000, covering more than 15% of the surface
Joined Canada: 1870, as the 5th province
Name origin: From manitou, "fundamental life force"

Where Manitoba Sits and How Big It Is

1. Manitoba is the easternmost province of Western Canada (which includes BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan).
2. Manitoba is bordered to the west by Alberta, the north by Nunavut, the east by Ontario, and the south by North Dakota and Minnesota. It is also kitty-corner to the Northwest Territories to the northwest.
3. Manitoba is roughly equidistant from the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic ocean. In other words, it is at the longitudinal centre of Canada. Because of this, it is sometimes called the “keystone province”.
4. It also has 645 km (400 mi) of saltwater coastline on Hudson’s Bay.
5. At 647,797 km² (250,116 mi²), Manitoba is the 6^th largest province in Canada, or 8^th largest if the territories are included.
6. Manitoba is larger than Great Britain and Honshu (the main island of Japan) combined.
7. If it were a country, Manitoba would be the 41^st largest in the world (the same thing can be said about neighbouring Saskatchewan).

People, Capital, and Provincial Identity

8. Manitoba is home to 1.39 million people, less than the city of Calgary or Montreal, or less than half the city of Vancouver or Toronto.
9. Manitoba’s capital city, Winnipeg, is home to 750,000 people. More than half the province lives in the capital, the only such city in Canada. It is the 7^th largest city in Canada by population, between Ottawa and Quebec City.
10. People from Manitoba are called Manitobans.
11. Many people consider Manitobans to be the friendliest in all of Canada, and the provincial license plate says “Friendly Manitoba.”
12. The flag of Manitoba features the Union Jack on a red background, plus the provincial shield of arms, which has a bison (the official provincial mammal) below Saint George’s Cross.
13. The name Manitoba is derived from manitou, which means “fundamental life force” in the Cree and Ojibwa languages.

Landscapes, Lakes, and Climate

14. Manitoba’s landscape includes Arctic tundra in the north, boreal forest in the centre, and prairies in the south. About 2/3^rd of the province is part of the Canadian Shield, a rocky landscape that is covered with trees or tundra.
15. There are also sand dunes in Spruce Woods Provincial Park.
16. Manitoba has over 110,000 lakes covering more than 15% of its surface.
17. Manitoba’s shallow Lake Winnipeg is the 6^th largest lake in Canada, 3^rd largest lake that is not shared with the US, and 12^th largest lake in the world. All of Belize or Israel could fit inside the lake.
18. Nearby Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba are the 11^th and 14^th largest lakes in Canada, respectively.
19. Baldy Mountain is Manitoba’s highest point, at 832 m (2730 ft). It is located in Duck Mountain Provincial Park in the southwest.
20. Manitoba is one of the sunniest provinces in Canada, with the clearest year-round skies in the country.
21. The highest temperature ever recorded in Manitoba was 44.4°C (112°F) in 1932, while the lowest was −52.8°C (−63°F) in 1899. That’s a difference of just under 100 degrees Celsius (or 175 degree Fahrenheit).

Parks, Heritage Sites, and Wildlife

22. Manitoba has two national parks: Riding Mountain National Park on the Manitoba Escarpment in the southwest, and Wapusk National Park in polar bear area near Churchill on Hudson’s Bay.
23. Manitoba has one UNESCO World Heritage Site: Pimachiowin Aki, a forest and wetlands region that is the ancestral homeland of the Anishinaabeg indigenous people who today inhabit the Great Lakes region of Canada and the USA. It was designated in 2018 and is shared with Ontario.
24. There are 92 provincial parks in Manitoba, more than Saskatchewan (39) or Ontario (45), but less than Alberta (400+) or British Columbia (around 1000).
25. Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson’s Bay, is considered the best place in all of Canada to see polar bears and is often called the “Polar bear capital of the world.” The bears congregate on the shores there when Hudson’s Bay begins to freeze over.
26. The Port of Churchill is the closest Canadian port to Europe, nautically speaking, and is the only major Canadian port not connected to the rest of Canada by road, although there is a railway line going there.
27. In spring, 10s of 1000s of garter snakes mate in balls of up to 100 males around 1 female at Narcisse, Manitoba. [Learn more: 40 Fascinating Facts About Snakes: Slithering Wonders]
28. There is thought to be a Loch Ness Monster-like creature in Lake Manitoba called the Manipogo. It has a provincial park named after it.

Recommended Read: 40 Fascinating Facts About Snakes: Slithering Wonders

Fossils and the Ancient Sea

29. At the time of the dinosaurs, much of Manitoba was covered by a shallow saltwater sea.
30. The world’s largest mosasaur, a swimming reptile from the Cretaceous period, was found in Manitoba. Named Bruce the Mosasaur, it is on display in the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden in the province’s far south. The mosasaur is also the province’s official fossil.

First Nations, Métis, and the Fur Trade Era

31. After glaciers covering Manitoba began to retreat at the end of the last ice age (around 12,000 years ago), First Nations people moved into the area, beginning in Manitoba’s southwest.
32. Manitoba is home to Cree, Ojibway, Ojibway-Cree, Dakota, and Dene First Nations. Manitoba’s land is mainly covered by Treaties 1 through 5.
33. 18% of Manitobans are indigenous or Métis, more than any other province (but not as much as any of the territories).
34. In 1611, Henry Hudson sailed into Hudson’s Bay. After his ship got stuck in the ice over winter, his crew mutinied and abandoned him.
35. In 1668 to 1669, the British trading ship Nonsuch sailed into Hudson’s Bay, leading to the formation of Hudsons’ Bay Company. A replica of the ship is today on display in the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg.
36. In 1670, the area of Manitoba became part of Rupert’s Land, a vast region of Canada owned by Hudson’s Bay Company.
37. In 1684, Hudson’s Bay Company built its original fort, York Factory, on the coast of Manitoba. The Prince of Wales Fort near Churchill followed in 1717.
38. In the 1730s, French explorers reached the Red River Valley in southern Manitoba and traded with indigenous people in southern Manitoba.
39. Hudsons’ Bay Company and the French Northwest Company competed in Manitoba until the two merged in 1870.
40. In 1812, the British Lord Selkirk developed an agricultural community in the Red River Valley, but came into conflict with the local Métis people.

Louis Riel and the Making of the Province

41. When Canada purchased Rupert’s Land (including Manitoba) in 1870, it was added to the Northwest Territories.
42. Métis leader Louis Riel was unsatisfied with the lack of inclusion of the Métis people, so he led the Red River Rebellion. This led to the Manitoba Act, and Manitoba became the  5^th province of Canada in 1870, with Winnipeg as its capital.
43. The name Assiniboia was almost chosen before Manitoba. Louis Riel preferred the latter.
44. A key figure in Manitoba history was the Métis leader Louis Riel, who was born in Quebec and whose actions helped to create the province of Manitoba. A footbridge in Winnipeg called Esplanade Riel is named after him.
45. After the rebellion, Louis Riel fled to the US, and later returned to Saskatchewan, where he started another rebellion and was executed in 1874. Many Métis also fled from Manitoba to Saskatchewan.
46. At the time it became a province, Manitoba was tiny (160 km² / 62 mi²). It was so small that it was called the “Postage Stamp Province.” After a few small expansions, it was expanded to its current boundaries in 1912.
47. In 1876, the District of Keetawin was created around Hudson’s Bay, covering a larger area of modern Manitoba.
48. In the late 1800s, many land treaties were signed with the indigenous people in Manitoba.

Growth, Floods, and Winnipeg's Modern Milestones

49. In the early 1900s, Winnipeg was the 3^rd largest city in Canada, until Vancouver surpassed it in the 1920s.
50. Manitoba’s growth dropped in 1914 after the opening of the Panama Canal, which slowed Trans-Continental trade in Canada.
51. In 1916, women gained the right to vote in Manitoba (along with Alberta and Saskatchewan), the first in Canada.
52. Much of Winnipeg had to be evacuated during the 1950 Red River Flood. Another flood on the river in 1997, nicknamed the Flood of the Century, caused enormous damage in Manitoba and the US, but Winnipeg was saved by floodways.
53. Glen Murray, elected mayor of Winnipeg in 1998, was the first openly gay mayor in North America.
54. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights opened in The Forks in Winnipeg in 2008.
55. In 2020, the flagship Hudson’s Bay Company store in downtown Winnipeg closed down.
56. Also in 2020 and 2021, Manitoba began transporting COVID patients in a special airplane with a single-person containment cell inside. When the province became overwhelmed with patients, they had to send some to neighboring provinces.
57. Construction of Naawi-Oodena in Winnipeg, which will become Canada’s largest urban indigenous reserve, began in 2022.

Economy, Politics, and Settlement

58. Manitoba’s economy is based on natural resources such as agriculture, oil, mining, and forestry. It is the nation’s largest producer of sunflower seeds and dried beans. Tourism, especially to Churchill, is also a big contributor.
59. The last Canadian penny (1 cent coin) was printed at the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg in 2012.
60. Rural Manitoba is politically conservative, while Winnipeg is liberal. With the population being roughly 50-50, the province can go either way politically.
61. The town of Gimli on Lake Winnipeg has the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland. Once called New Iceland, it was settled by fishermen from Iceland in the 1870s. Today it is home to the New Iceland Heritage Museum.

Arts, Music, and Famous Manitobans

62. Manitoba was the birthplace of the Red River Jig, a traditional First National and Métis dance with fiddle music, combining indigenous and European elements.
63. Le Cercle Molière is the oldest French language theatre in Canada, dating to 1925.
64. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is the oldest in Canada and longest continually running in North America, dating to 1939.
65. Famous bands or musicians from Manitoba include The Guess Who (a precursor to Bachman-Turner Overdrive), Burton Cummings, Tom Cochrane, Crash Test Dummies, The Watchmen, The Weakerthans, William Prince, and Comeback Kid.
66. Neil Young was born in Toronto but grew up in Manitoba.
67. Artists Bertram Brooker and Kal Barteski, cartoonist Lynn Johnston, novelist Margaret Laurence, speed skater Cindy Klassen, curler Jennifer Jones, and First Nations former senator Murray Sinclair are also Manitobans.
68. No Canadian prime minister has ever been born in Manitoba.
69. Manitoban soldier William Stephenson is thought by many to be the inspiration for James Bond.
70. The films Capote, The Stone Angel, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford were shot in Manitoba.

Inventions, Companies, and Local Quirks

71. Things invented in Manitoba include canola oil, garbage bags, spongee (a simpler version of hockey), the Shocknife (a knife that doesn’t stab but produces an electrical shock for police training), Boler (an iconic Canadian trailer), paint rollers, and murderball (wheelchair rugby).
72. The famous companies A&W, SkipTheDishes, Old Dutch, Hudson’s Bay Company, and Ben Moss Jewelers started in Manitoba.
73. People in Manitoba drink more 7-Eleven Slurpees than anywhere else. Winnipeg has even been called the Slurpee Capital of the World.
74. Winnipeg, Manitoba was the first city in North America to have a central emergency phone line. At first it was 999, but later changed to 911 like in the US.
75. In northern Manitoba, there is a whole festival devoted to trapping, dog racing, and other Arctic activities. It is has been running for 75 years.

Hockey and Football

76. Manitoba was home to the Winnipeg Jets NHL (hockey) team, which in 1996 moved to Phoenix, Arizona and are now called the Arizona Coyotes. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011 and took on the name Winnipeg Jets.
77. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers CFL (football) team have been in more Grey Cup finals than any other CFL team and have won it 12 times.
78. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the Grey Cup in 2019 and 2021.

Suggested Read: 25 Fun Facts About Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice