Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality in the Winnipeg Capital Region, which is home to more than sixty percent of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, in south central Canada, near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers (a point now commonly known as The Forks). It lies near to the Canadian Shield and hundreds of lakes including Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba.
The name "Winnipeg" comes from the Cree words meaning muddy water, referring to dark water of the rivers and lakes in the region. The Winnipeg area was a trading centre for Aboriginal peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans. The first fort was built near the Forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers in 1738 by French traders. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Winnipeg was one of the fastest growing cities in North America and established itself as a transportation and manufacturing centre. It also became a centre for education: the University of Manitoba, founded during this period, is today the largest university in Manitoba.
Winnipeg is the 7th largest municipality in Canada, with a population of 633,451 in the Canada 2006 Census.[1] The city's census metropolitan area, consisting of the city of Winnipeg, the rural municipalities of Springfield, St. Clements, Taché, East St. Paul, Macdonald, Ritchot, West St. Paul, Headingley, Rosser and St. François Xavier and the First Nations reserve of Brokenhead 4, is Canada's 8th largest metropolitan area, with 694,668 inhabitants.
Winnipeg has a diversified economy, with sectors in finance, manufacturing, food and beverage production, culture, retail and tourism. It is known for its urban forest and parks, and Downtown Winnipeg is centred on the famous Portage and Main intersection. Winnipeg is a major transportation hub, served by Richardson International Airport and railway connections to the United States as well as Vancouver and Toronto. Winnipeggers are of predominantly European descent, but a wide variety of languages are spoken, including English, French, German, Tagalog (Winnipeg has the second largest Filipino population in Canada after Toronto) and Aboriginal languages such as Cree. This multicultural society is reflected in the cultural organizations and festivals based in the city, which include the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Le Cercle Molière, the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Festival du Voyageur and Folklorama; in addition, the Winnipeg Art Gallery contains the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. Other notable organizations based in the city include its sports teams: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Winnipeg Goldeyes, and the Manitoba Moose. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
