Manitoba

Manitoba is a province of Canada at the longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's fifth-most populous province, with an estimated population of 1,503,865 as of 2026. Manitoba is bordered by Nunavut and the Northwest Territories to the north, Hudson Bay to the northeast, Ontario to the east, the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south, and Saskatchewan to the west. The province has a widely varied landscape, from arctic tundra and the Hudson Bay coastline in the north to dense boreal forest, large freshwater lakes, and prairie grassland in the central and southern regions. Its capital and largest city is Winnipeg. Indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Manitoba for approximately 10,000 years. In the early 17th century, English and French fur traders began arriving in the area and establishing settlements. England secured control of the region in 1670, creating a territory named Rupert's Land under the administration of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert's Land, which included all of present-day Manitoba, grew and evolved from 1670 until 1869 with significant settlements of Indigenous and Métis people in the Red River Colony. Deep disagreements over self-determination during negotiations to transfer Rupert's Land to Canada in 1869 led to an armed resistance known as the Red River Rebellion, led by Louis Riel against the Canadian government. Subsequent negotiations resulted in Manitoba becoming the fifth province to join Canadian Confederation, when the Parliament of Canada passed the Manitoba Act on 15 July 1870. Manitoba has a diversified market economy led by manufacturing, natural resources, and agribusiness. The province maintains an established Francophone presence, with French holding official legislative and judicial status in Manitoba alongside the majority English language. Winnipeg is the dominant economic, political, and cultural centre, with the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region encompassing nearly two-thirds of the provincial...