City of Winnipeg, Manitoba | |
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Flag of City of Winnipeg, Manitoba Official seal of City of Winnipeg, Manitoba | |
Nickname(s): The Peg, Winterpeg | |
Motto(s): Unum Cum Virtute Multorum (One With the Strength of Many) | |
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 |
• MLAs | List of MLAs |
Elevation | 238 m (781 ft) |
Population (2006 Estimate) | |
• City | 654,500 |
• Metro | 711,000 |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
Postal code | |
Area code | 204 |
Website | City of Winnipeg |
Winnipeg is the largest city and capital of the province of Manitoba. Located in Western Canada, near where the Canadian Shield meets the Prairies, the city plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and education. It is known as the "Gateway to the West" and "Heart of the Continent" due to its critical location on the Canadian transportation network.[1][2]
The city is located near the geographic centre of North America [3]. It lies in a flood plain at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers and started around the point now commonly known as The Forks. It is protected from flooding by the Red River Floodway. The city proper has a population of 619,544 people (2001 Canadian Census)[4], while the Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area (which includes Winnipeg and surrounding rural municipalities) has a population of 706,900 (Statistics Canada, July 1, 2005 estimate) making it the ninth-largest city in Canada.
Winnipeg offers an abundance of recreational opportunities as it lies in close proximity to hundreds of lakes including Lake Winnipeg, Canada's fifth largest lake and the world's eleventh largest, Lake Manitoba, and Lake of the Woods.[5] The city is one of Canada's major cultural centres and is home to the world-famous Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Winnipeg hosted the Pan-American Games in 1967 and again in 1999, the only city besides Mexico City to have hosted the event twice.
A resident of Winnipeg is known as a Winnipegger.
History
The name Winnipeg is a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters".
The canoe river routes of the Assiniboine River and the Red River provided an easy way to travel for aboriginal, or native peoples. For thousands of years there was a trade network of various tools, rocks, pottery, and skill sharing. Many artifacts have been found along the banks of these historic rivers, and at the Forks, a historic site and meeting place in downtown Winnipeg where the Red and the Assiniboine Rivers meet.
In 1738, the Sieur de la Vérendrye built the first trading post on the site, Fort Rouge, but it was later abandoned [6]. Other posts were built in the Red River region, which was fiercely contested by the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. 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. In 1835, Fort Garry was rebuilt after the devastating flood of 1826 and although it played a small role in the actual trading of furs, it housed the residence of the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company for many years. In 1869-1870, Winnipeg was the site of the Red River Rebellion, a conflict between the local Métis people led by Louis Riel and newcomers from eastern Canada. This rebellion led directly to the entry of Manitoba into Confederation as Canada's fifth province in 1870. On November 8, 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. In 1876, the post office officially adopted the name "Winnipeg," three years after the city's incorporation.
Winnipeg experienced a decades-long boom, and the city's population rose from about 25,000 in 1891 to more than 200,000 in 1921. The Manitoba Provincial Legislature Building reflects the optimism of the boom years. Built of Tyndall Stone in 1920, the highest point has a giant statue commonly named the "Golden Boy". The Manitoba Legislative Building was elaborately designed based on neoclassical art, architecture, and the revival of classical philosophy and ideas.
Winnipeg's growth began to slow considerably after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The canal reduced reliance on Canada's rail system for international trade, and the increase in ship traffic helped Vancouver surpass Winnipeg and become Canada's third-largest city in the 1920s.
Another major event that affected Winnipeg economically, socially and politically was the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. Appalling labour conditions following World War I led to calls for reform. Around 35,000 Winnipeggers walked off the job in May 1919. The government defeated the strike through arrests, deportation and violence. The strike ended in June of 1919, with the reading of the Riot Act and the death of two strikers and injuring at least 30 others, and was 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 socialist party, the CCF, which would later become the New Democratic Party.
The stock market crash in 1929 only hastened an already steep decline in Winnipeg. The Great Depression and resulted in massive unemployment, which was worsened by drought and depressed agricultural prices. By 1937, city officials told a federal commission that they could no longer function without assistance.
The Depression ended when World War II broke out in 1939. Thousands of Canadians volunteered to join the forces. 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. Businesses in Winnipeg went on a war footing as well and men and women were hired in large numbers.
The end of World War II brought a new sense of optimism in Winnipeg. 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 largest flood since 1861 had waters above flood stage for 51 days. On May 8, 1950, eight dikes collapsed and four of the city's eleven bridges were destroyed. Nearly 70,000 people had to be evacuated. Premier Douglas Campbell called for federal assistance and Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent declared a state of emergency. Soldiers from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry came to the city prior to the flood and remained for the duration of it. Total damages exceeded $1 billion.
To prevent future floods, the Red River Basin Investigation recommended a system of complementary flood control measures, including a primary and secondary diking system and a floodway to divert the Red River around Winnipeg. The project, which included the Shellmouth Reservoir on the upper Assiniboine River, the Portage Diversion channel and a control structure on the Fairford River, cost of $99,200,000. The Winnipeg Floodway alone cost $62,700,000. Under the leadership of Premier Duff Roblin, a cost-sharing agreement was signed with the federal government. Construction began in October of 1962 and was completed in 1968. For many years, both critics and supporters called the floodway "Duff's Ditch."
The current city of Winnipeg was created when the City of Winnipeg Act was amended to form Unicity in 1971. 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. Small portions of the city have since seceded, but the vast majority of the populated area of the city remains within one single municipality. In order to prevent urban sprawl, the city restricted development to inside an urban limit line and in most cases left several kilometres of open space between the municipal boundary and suburban developments. Surrounding municipalities have a combined population of fewer than 100,000.
Geography and climate
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. It is near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, and about 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Lake Winnipeg. It is situated in the floodplain of the Red River and is surrounded by rich agricultural land. Winnipeg is very isolated from other large population centres. 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.
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’s northerly location is also influential, though Winnipeg is located farther south than London or Amsterdam. The city is famous for its long cold and snowy winters, and is often referred to as “Winterpeg”. It is often argued that Winnipeg has the coldest temperatures of any major city in the world.
In sharp contrast summers are warm to hot and often quite humid with frequent thunderstorms. The summers in Winnipeg are similar to those experienced in cities in the Midwestern United States. Spring and autumn are short and highly variable seasons. In a typical year temperatures range from –35° C (-31° F) to 35° C (95° F), though lower and higher readings are occasionally observed. The weather is characterized by an abundance of sunshine throughout the year.
Demographics
The City of Winnipeg is home to 619,544 people (2001 Census),[7] about 54% of the total population of Manitoba. Winnipeg's total annual growth rate has been 0.5% since 1971, while Calgary and Edmonton, formerly smaller cousins, have grown 4.5% and 3.0% per year, over the same period, so that each now has a metropolitan population of over 1.0 million. Winnipeg was once Canada's third-largest city (until the 1920s), but, beginning in the 1970s, Winnipeg stalled in growth and dropped to 9th by 2005.
As of the 2001 census:[7]
- 25.7% of the population were 19 or under
- 29.4% were between 20 and 39
- 31.6% were between 40 and 64
- 13.3% were 65 and older
Visible minorities Statistics Canada asks census respondents whether they are aboriginal and whether they belong to a visible minority. Published figures for 2001:[7]
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Religious affiliation
Religious affiliations with less than 0.5% are not listed here. Units are in percent of population. 1.4% of the population did not respond.
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Languages spoken The most common languages spoken by Winnipeggers are: English (99.0%), French (11.1%), German (4.1%), Tagalog (3.8%), Ukrainian (3.1%), Spanish (1.7%), Chinese (1.7%), Polish (1.7%), Portuguese (1.3%), Italian (1.1%), Punjabi (1.0%), Vietnamese (0.6%), Ojibway (0.6%), Hindi (0.5%), Russian (0.5%), Cree (0.5%), Dutch (0.4%), Non verbal languages (0.3%), Arabic (0.3%), Croatian (0.3%), Greek (0.3%), Hungarian (0.3%), Japanese (0.2%), Creoles (0.1%), Danish (0.1%), Gaelic languages (0.0%), Inuktitut (0.0%), Micmac (0.0%). In terms of Canada's official languages: 88.0% spoke English only, 11.0% both English and French, 0.9% neither English nor French, and 0.1% French only.
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Government
History
The first elections for city government in Winnipeg were held shortly after the city was incorporated in 1873. 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. There were only 382 eligible voters in the city at the time but property owners were allowed to vote in every civic poll in which they owned property. Up until the year 1955, mayors could only serve one term. City government consisted of 13 aldermen and one mayor. This number of elected officials remained constant until 1920.
The inaugural Council meeting took place on January 19, 1874 on the second floor of Bentley's, a newly constructed building on the northwest corner of Portage and Main.
Construction of a new City Hall commenced in 1875. The building proved to be a structural nightmare and eventually had to be held up by props and beams. The building was eventually demolished in favour of building a new City Hall in 1883.
A new City Hall building was constructed in 1886. It was a "Gingerbread" building built in Victorian grandeur and symbolized Winnipeg's coming of age at the end of the nineteenth century. The building stood for nearly eighty years. There was a plan to replace it around the World War I era, during the time that the Manitoba Legislature was under construction, but the war itself delayed that process. And so the beloved Gingerbread City Hall stood until it started to fall down. In 1958, falling plaster almost hit visitors to the building. The tower eventually had to be removed and in 1962 the whole building was torn down. Even today, the building is well remembered and its demolition is seen as a very unfortunate mistake. City Council[9] embraced the idea of a "Civic Centre" as a replacement for the old city hall. The concept originally called for an administrative building and a council building with a courtyard in between. Eventually, a police headquarters and remand center (The Public Safety Building) and parkade were added to the plans. The four buildings were completed in 1964 in non-descript, brutalist styles, at a cost of $8.2 million. The Civic Centre and the Manitoba Centennial Centre were connected by underground tunnels in 1967.
- See also: List of mayors of Winnipeg, Manitoba
Education
Education is a provincial government responsibility in Canada.
In Manitoba, education is governed principally by The Public Schools Act and The Education Administration Act as well as regulations made under both Acts. Rights and responsibilities of the Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth and the rights and responsibilities of school boards, principals, teachers, parents and students are set out in the legislation.
There are two major universities, a community college, a private Mennonite college and a French college in St. Boniface
The University of Manitoba is the largest university of the province of Manitoba, most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university.
The University of Winnipeg received its charter in 1967 but its roots date back more than 130 years. The founding colleges were Manitoba College 1871, and Wesley College 1888, which merged to form United College in 1938.
School divisions There are six school divisions in Winnipeg:
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Higher education There are four universities and one major college in Winnipeg: |
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- See also: List of schools of Winnipeg, Manitoba
Economy
Winnipeg is an important regional centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and government.
Approximately 375,000 people are employed in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. 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. Approximately 54,000 people or 14% of the work force are employed in the public sector.
There are several large private sector employers, as well: Manitoba Telecom Services, CanWest Global Communications, Palliser Furniture, Great-West Life Assurance, Motor Coach Industries, Convergys, Faneuil, 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 are Ben Moss Jewellers and Paterson Grain.
Winnipeg is the site of Canadian Air Division (1CAD),[10] the headquarters of the Canadian Forces "Air Command" (Canada's Air Force). This is also the command structure responsible for strategic coordination and control of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) operations over Canada (tactical control is in North Bay, Ontario, in a bunker similar to Cheyenne Mountain in the United States).
The Royal Canadian Mint located in eastern Winnipeg 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 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.
Military
Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg (CFB Winnipeg) is a Canadian Forces Base located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Co-located at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, CFB Winnipeg is home to many flight operations support divisions, as well as several training schools. It is also the 1 Canadian Air Division/Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters. The base is supported by over 3,000 military personnel and civilian employees.
17 Wing of the Canadian Armed Forces is based in Winnipeg near the international airport. The Wing is comprised of three squadrons and six schools. It also provides support to the Central Flying School. Excluding the three levels of government, 17 Wing is the largest employer in the city.
The Wing also supports 113 units stretching from Thunder Bay, to the Saskatchewan/Alberta border and from the 49th Parallel to the high Arctic. 17 Wing also acts as a deployed operating base for CF-18 Hornet fighter-bombers assigned to the Canadian NORAD Region.
Two squadrons based in the city are:
- 402 “City of Winnipeg” Squadron. This squadron flies the Canadian-designed and -produced de Havilland Canada CT-142 Dash 8 navigation trainer in support of the Canadian Forces Air Navigation School’s Air Navigators and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator training programs.
- 435 “Chinthe” Transport and Rescue Squadron. This squadron flies the powerful Lockheed CC-130 Hercules tanker/transport in the airlift search and rescue roles. In addition, 435 Squadron is the only Air Force squadron equipped and trained to conduct air-to-air refueling of fighter aircraft in support of operational and training activities at home and abroad. The CC-130 Hercules tanker is a key asset for the Canadian NORAD Region in its mission to defend Canada and the United States against aerial threats that originate outside or within North American airspace.
For many years, Winnipeg was the home of The Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, or 2 PPCLI. Initially, the battalion was based at the Fort Osborne Barracks near present day Osborne Village. They eventually moved to the Kapyong Barracks located in the River Heights/Tuxedo part of Winnipeg. Since 2004, the 550 men and women of the battalion have operated out of Canadian Forces Base Shilo near Brandon.
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada are infantry reserve units based at Minto Armouries in Winnipeg.
Transportation
The transportation system for thousands used by Aboriginals was the various networks of rivers across the province of Manitoba. Forks became an early meeting place for the purpose of trade. Situated at the confluence of the Red and the Assiniboine, it would prove to be the most important location for European and First Nations trade.
Winnipeg has had a public transit system since the 1880s, starting with horse-drawn streetcars. It had electric streetcars from 1891 until 1955, and electric trolley buses from 1938 until 1970. Winnipeg Transit now operates entirely with diesel buses. For decades, the city has explored the idea of a rapid transit link, either bus or rail, from downtown to the University of Manitoba's suburban campus.
Winnipeg is unique among North American cities its size in that it does not have freeways within the urban area. Beginning in 1958, the primarily suburban Metropolitan council proposed a system of freeways, including one that would have bisected the downtown area.
Winnipeg has an airport called Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. It was the first International Airport in Canada which was built in the early 1960s.
Crime
In 2004, Winnipeg had the fourth highest overall crime rate among Canadian Census Metropolitan Area cities listed with 10,879 Criminal Code of Canada offences per 100,000 population. Only Regina, Saskatoon, and Abbotsford had higher crime rates. Winnipeg had the highest rate among centres with populations greater than 500,000.[11] The crime rate was 50% higher than that of Calgary and more than double the rate for Toronto.
In 2005, Statistics Canada shows Manitoba had the highest decline of overall crime in Canada at nearly 8%. Winnipeg dropped from having the highest rate of murder per capita in the country. That distinction now belongs to Edmonton. Manitoba did continue to lead all other provinces in auto thefts, almost all of it centered in Winnipeg.[12] On January 6, 2007, a suspected car thief was badly beaten after a collision while driving a stolen truck in Elmwood. Two people were charged, including the 19-year-old driver of the other vehicle.[13]
Sports
Winnipeg is and has historically been home to numerous professional sports franchises, some of which survive today.
Hockey
In 1972, the Winnipeg Jets were one of the original teams of the World Hockey Association and won three league titles in eight years. The Jets entered the National Hockey League in 1979 and played in Winnipeg until 1996. The Jets featured such Hall of Famers as WHA coach Rudy Pilous and players Bobby Hull, Dale Hawerchuk, and (briefly) Serge Savard, as well as potential Hall of Famers Teemu Selänne and Phil Housley. In 1996, the team was sold to an ownership group based in Phoenix, Arizona, and it was moved there to become the Phoenix Coyotes.
Since 1996, Winnipeg has been home to the minor-league Manitoba Moose, currently a member of the American Hockey League. The Moose are the farm team to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.
The old Winnipeg Arena (1955-2006) was once home to the Winnipeg Warriors of the WHL from 1980 through 1984, and the Winnipeg Monarchs of the same league in the 1960s and 70s.
Old-Time Hockey
Winnipeg produced Hall of Fame hockey players Andy Bathgate, Bill Mosienko, Art Coulter, Ching Johnson, Frank Fredrickson, Jack Ruttan and Terry Sawchuk.
The Stanley Cup was won three times by the Winnipeg Victorias in 1896, 1901 and 1902. The Winnipeg Falcons won the gold medal in the 1920 Winter Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.
Football
Winnipeg also has a team in the Canadian Football League, the Blue Bombers, who have won 10 Grey Cups, the league's championship trophy. The Winnipeg 'Pegs won the Grey Cup in 1935.
Speed Skating
Winnipeg is well known for putting out some of the best speed skaters throughout Canada, particularly for long track. Some well known speed skaters from Winnipeg include:
Baseball
Winnipeg has one of the longest history of minor-league baseball in Canada, including the Winnipeg Maroons of the original Northern League, which existed from 1902-1942; the Class A Winnipeg Goldeyes, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1953-1964; the AAA Whips, the Montreal Expos farm team in 1970-1971.
In 1994, the former Rochester Aces baseball team re-located to Winnipeg. The team was dubbed the Goldeyes and the franchise began play in the independent Class AA-quality Northern League. Initially, the team made do with the Winnipeg Stadium. However, in 1999, the team moved to the downtown CanWest Global Park, a baseball diamond specially built for the team. Since its inception, the Goldeyes have been owned by present mayor Sam Katz.
Horseracing
There have been a number of horse racetracks in the city over the years with the first race taking place in 1922. Whittier Park and Polo Park were two of the historic racetracks built over the years. Today, Assiniboia Downs is a six and one half furlong oval located on the western edge of the city. It is operated as a non-profit organization by the Manitoba Jockey Club. Live thoroughbred horseracing takes place in the summer.
Amateur sports
Winnipeg hosted the 1967 Pan American Games and 1999 Pan American Games. Other notable sports figures include six time Olympic speedskating medalist and most decorated Canadian Olympian Cindy Klassen, Olympic Taekwondo athlete and bronze-medalist Dominique Bosshart and Summer and Winter Olympic medal winner Clara Hughes. Canadian Olympic Women's Hockey Gold Medalist Jennifer Botterill also calls Winnipeg home.
University sports
The University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba have active and successful programs in sports, especially volleyball and basketball. The University of Winnipeg's women's basketball team won 88 consecutive games during the 1990s, tying a college sports record. The University of Manitoba Bisons football team has won two Vanier Cup trophies and has won the Hardy Trophy nine times.
Curling
Winnipeg is also home to many of the world's best curling teams and has hosted the World Curling Championships in 1978, 1991 and 2003. Several World Curling Championships winners have called Winnipeg home including Don Duguid, Kerry Burtnyk and Georgina Wheatcroft.
Notable Current Sports Figures
Milwaukee Brewers third-baseman Corey Koskie, Colorado Avalanche forward Tyler Arnason, and former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Superstar Chris Jericho.
Current professional franchises
Club League Venue Established Championships Winnipeg Blue Bombers Canadian Football League Canad Inns Stadium 1930 10 Manitoba Moose American Hockey League MTS Centre 1996 0 Winnipeg Goldeyes Northern League CanWest Global Park 1994 1
Winnipeg hosted the 94th Grey Cup on November 19, 2006.
Arts and culture
Winnipeg is well known across the prairies for its arts and culture. Among the popular cultural institutions in the city are: the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), the Manitoba Opera, the Manitoba Museum (formerly the Museum of Man and Nature), the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Prairie Theatre Exchange, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The city is home to several large festivals. The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is North America's second largest Fringe Festival, held every July. 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.
The Winnipeg Public Library is a public library network with 20 branches throughout the city, including the Millennium Library.
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), and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006). 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.
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 is also associated with various music acts. Among the most notable are Neil Young, The Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Venetian Snares, Chantal Kreviazuk, Bif Naked, The Waking Eyes, Jet Set Satellite, the New Meanies, Propagandhi, The Weakerthans, The Perpetrators, Crash Test Dummies, and many more.
Winnipeg has also achieved some acclaim for being the "Slurpee capital of the world," as its residents have a year-round penchant for the icy slush served in convenience stores.
Architecture
The Exchange District Historical site is the original site of commerce in Winnipeg. After the railroads came to Winnipeg, this area was developed with many fine warehouses, offices and banks. Many of these buildings are still standing and are unrivalled in Canada.[14]
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 Historic Sites and Monuments board recommended that Winnipeg's Exchange District be designated an historic district of national significance because it illustrates the city's key role as a centre of grain and wholesale trade, finance and manufacturing in two historically important periods in western development: between 1880 and 1900 when Winnipeg became the gateway to Canada's West; and between 1900 and 1913, when the city's growth made it the region's metropolis.
Winnipeg's famous North End has spawned a variety of talented writers, artists and entertainers ranging from Let’s Make A Deal’s Monty Hall to The Guess Who’s Burton Cummings. The commercial main street of this neighbourhood, Selkirk Avenue, first saw development in the 1870s and its importance grew with a wave of immigration from Eastern Europe. The old country flavour of the neighbourhood still exists with a variety of boutiques, bakeries and butcher shops. This vibrant area also boasts 49 painted murals, each depicting a different multicultural and historical scene.
Local media
Winnipeg has two daily newspapers. The Winnipeg Free Press is a broadsheet and the Winnipeg Sun is a tabloid. There is one alternative weekly called Uptown that is available free at newsstands. There are several ethnic newspapers as well as regional and nationally based magazines based in the city.
Television stations
There are six English speaking stations and one French speaking station based in Winnipeg that supply free programming to the city. Most homes subscribe to cable through Shaw Communications, or digital television through MTS digital. There are also two satellite services available through StarChoice and Bell ExpressVu. Some homes use grey market satellite dishes to bring in signals from American satellite services.
Additionally, American network affiliates broadcasting from North Dakota are available over-the-air in many parts of Winnipeg and Southern Manitoba. WDAZ and Prairie Public Television are the only stations that still air on cable from this region. Until March 1986, KXJB and KVLY (then known as KTHI) were available on Winnipeg's cable service. These channels were replaced by WDIV and WJBK from Detroit, with WJBK replaced by WTOL from Toledo in December 1994. WTVS, better known as Detroit Public TV, is also avialable in addition to Prairie Public Television on cable. WCCO and KARE from Minneapolis replaced WDIV and WTOL on May 1, 1996, where they remain today. WUHF, the Fox-affiliate from Rochester, New York, has been available on cable since December 1994, despite a nearby Fox station, KNRR, in Pembina, North Dakota that could be reached over-the-air in Winnipeg.
Radio stations
Winnipeg is home to 25 AM and FM radio stations. The most popular station for many years has been CJOB, a talk oriented station famous for its coverage of major storms and floods. After an absence of many years, Winnipeg is now home to several English (CJUM, CKUW, CKIC), and one French campus radio stations. NCI is devoted to Aboriginal programming and CKJS is to ethnic programming. CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two broadcast local and national programming. There are several rock and pop oriented stations and one country station. Two CBC stations as well as one community owned radio station, Envol 91FM, broadcast French programming.
Winnie-the-Pooh
- Winnipeg Bear, the inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh, was not actually born in Winnipeg. Instead, Winnipeg Bear was purchased in White River, Ontario, by an officer (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. In 1924, on an excursion to the London Zoo with neighbour children, Christopher Robin Milne, son of author A. A. Milne, was introduced to Winnie for the first time.
- An E.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 late in 2000. The painting is displayed in the Pavilion Gallery in Assiniboine Park.
Twinnings
This is a list of Winnipeg's sister cities and the date the agreement with each location was signed.
- Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan (October 5, 1970)
- Reykjavík, Iceland (September 7, 1971)
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (January 31, 1973)
- Lviv, Ukraine (November 26, 1973)
- Manila, Philippines (December 31, 1979)
- Taichung, Taiwan (April 2, 1982)
- Kuopio, Finland (June 11, 1982)
- Beer-Sheva, Israel (May 15, 1984)
- Chengdu, China (February 24, 1988)
- Chinju, South Korea (April 1, 1992)
- San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico (July 23, 1999)
Neighbouring communities
Notes
- ^ Imperial Oil website
- ^ Winnipeg History
- ^ [1] USGS Survey
- ^ Winnipeg 2001 census summary at the City of Winnipeg (PDF file)
- ^ World Lake Database. "Lake Winnipeg". Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ The Forks National Historic Site of Canada. "Parks Canada". Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ a b c d e Statistics Canada Winnipeg Comunity Profile 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: 2005-11-30. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE.
- ^ City of Winnipeg. "Winnipeg 2001 census summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ City Council web page
- ^ 1 Canadian Air Division (1CAD)
- ^ Winnipeg Crime rate - Statistics Canada
- ^ Neighbourhood Characteristics and the Distribution of Crime in Winnipeg - Statistics Canada, Extracted November 29, 2005
- ^ Winnipeg Sun "Bat beating now a decal - People fed up, says designer"
- ^ Archiseek: Winnipeg
References
- J. M. Bumsted, The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919: An Illustrated History 1994, 140 pp. heavily illus; ISBN 0-920486-40-1.
- Ramsay Cook; The Politics of John W. Dafoe and the Free Press (1963)
- Grayson, J. P., and L. M. Grayson, "The Social Base of Interwar Political Unrest in Urban Alberta". Canadian Journal of Political Science, 7: 289-313 (1974)
- Kenneth McNaught; A Prophet in Politics: A Biography of J. S. Woodsworth. (1959)
- Norman Penner, ed., Winnipeg 1919: The Strikers' Own History of the Winnipeg General Strike (Toronto: 1973)
- K. W. Taylor; "Voting in Winnipeg During the Depression" Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology v 19 #2 1982. pp 222+
- Taylor, K. W., and Nelson Wiseman, "Class and Ethnic Voting in Winnipeg: The Case of 1941". Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 14: 174-87 1977
- Wiseman, Nelson and K. W. Taylor, "Ethnic vs Class Voting: the Case of Winnipeg, 1945". Canadian Journal of Political Science 7: 314-28 1974
- Wiseman, Nelson and K. W. Taylor, "Class and Ethnic Voting in Winnipeg During the Cold War". Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 16: 60-76 1979
See also
External links
- Winnipeg.ca - Official Winnipeg website
Template:Geolinks-Canada-cityscale
- Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000: Winnipeg at Environment Canada
- Golden Boy restoration project
- Winnipedia
- Transit Riders' Union of Winnipeg
- Miles MacDonell Collegiate Alumni Association - Local Winnipeg History