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When Europeans pushed into the land that's now Manitoba in the late 1600s, they went for the wildlife. Or more accurately, they went for the wildlife's fur. Today, the province's rich supply of furry and fishy creatures—and the unspoiled wilderness in which they live—still draws travelers. One animal in particular—the polar bear—is more easily seen in Manitoba than anywhere else. Each year, the town of Churchill becomes a kind of way station for the migrating bears, allowing people a close-up view of one the largest predators in North America.

Wilderness enthusiasts also enjoy seeking out Manitoba's moose, black bear, caribou, white-tail deer and wide variety of birds, including snow geese, Canada geese, ducks, grouse, snowy owls, eagles, falcons and hawks. The water-blessed province offers excellent fishing and boating on the inland lakes and rivers and the opportunity to view seals and beluga whales in Hudson Bay.

The southern part of Manitoba combines the majestic expanse of the prairie with distinct farming towns of Ukrainian, Russian, Icelandic and Mennonite heritage. And lest you think Manitoba is entirely farmland, forest, lakes and tundra, there is also Winnipeg, a cosmopolitan center of culture and industry rising from the prairie.

Geography

History

The Ojibwa, Cree and Assiniboine inhabited the flat grasslands of what is now southern Manitoba. Culturally related to the Great Plains tribes living farther south, they were nomadic hunters whose complex culture was based primarily on the hunting of bison and the processing of its meat and hide. In the north, the population was more culturally akin to the Inuit. They hunted caribou, fished, and collected wild vegetables and berries.

The first Europeans arrived in Manitoba in 1668. Two years later, King Charles II of England granted the charter that established the Hudson's Bay Co., which attempted to control the fur trade in most of western and northern Canada, including the region that is now Manitoba. It was not until 1812 that the first permanent European settlers arrived in the province. Their attempts at farming often met with natural disaster, and they were subject to frequent harassment from the North West Co., which was engaged in a bitter trading struggle with the Hudson's Bay Co.

The Dominion of Canada was established in the 1860s, and the lands of the Hudson's Bay Co. were scheduled to become part of the new confederation. A group of Metis and aboriginal people, led by Louis Riel, became concerned that they would lose their territory after the area became part of Canada. Their Red River Rebellion erupted in 1868, and Riel's forces were successful in establishing their own government for a brief time. The uprising was eventually put down, but the rebels did win property and language rights as a part of the 1870 legislation that joined Manitoba to the rest of Canada. (Riel, however, was later hanged for taking part in the rebellion.)

The arrival of the railways in the 1880s—and the immigrants of many nationalities and cultures who rode them—tied Manitoba more closely to the rest of Canada. The railways also raised its status as a breadbasket and commercial center that provided agricultural products and trade goods to the nation. Even today, when manufacturing constitutes a good share of the province's economy, Manitoba still depends greatly on agriculture for its prosperity.

Snapshot

Manitoba's chief attractions are fishing, hunting, wilderness scenery, polar bears, provincial parks, boating and white-water rafting, Winnipeg and a diverse culture.

Travelers seeking wilderness adventures and a vacation off the beaten track will have a great time in Manitoba. Those who are looking for the supercharged pace of a large metropolis may find that Winnipeg doesn't quite fill the bill (but that's one reason we like Manitoba's capital city.)

Potpourri

Winnipeg's Royal Canadian Mint not only produces Canadian coins, but has minted currency coins for some 60 other countries, from Australia to Yemen. The Mint also produced the world's first colored circulation coin: a memorial coin honoring Canadian cancer hero (and one-time Winnipegger), long-distance runner Terry Fox.

Manitoba's big on big things: a 76-ft/23-m replica of Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting on a giant easel in the town of Altona, the world's largest Coca-Cola can in Portage la Prairie, a giant fire hydrant at Elm Creek, Chuck the Channel Catfish at Selkirk, a monster mosquito in Komarno, a gargantuan pumpkin at Roland, and dozens more corny-but-cute statues and mascots erected by small towns around the province.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Canada's oldest dance company, received the "royal" title in 1953 from Queen Elizabeth, the first such distinction she awarded anywhere.

Although Manitoba is considered one of Canada's western provinces, it is located near the geographic center of the continent. This gives Manitoba a bit of an identity crisis, having been moved to the Eastern Division of the Canadian Football League, yet primarily known for being the "Gateway to the West."

Wapusk National Park in northern Manitoba contains one of the world's largest polar-bear "nurseries." An estimated 1,200 winter dens are located within the park's boundaries. Perhaps 250 are occupied each year by females, which use them to give birth to and raise their infant cubs.

Polar bears are not white. Their skins are black, and their hair is clear—but each hair shaft is constructed to reflect light, making the animal appear white.

A huge population of nonvenomous red-sided garter snakes lives in pits about 4 mi/6 km north of Narcisse, west of Gimli. This is thought to be the greatest concentration of the breed in the world. The best time to see them (or avoid them, depending on your feelings about snakes) is mid-April to mid-May, when tens of thousands of snakes mate in giant, writhing masses.