20 Interesting Facts About Winnipeg

Facts About Winnipeg

Facts About Winnipeg

  • The city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg; the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water.
  • Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada.
  • is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America.
  • Winnipeg is known as the “Gateway to the West”, Winnipeg is a railway and transportation hub with a diversified economy.
  • Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games.
  • The Manitoba Museum is the largest museum in the city, and depicts the history of the city and province.
  • English explorer Henry Kelsey may have been the first European to see the lake in 1690, and he adopted the Cree and Ojibwe name win-nipi meaning “murky water” or “muddy water”.
  • On November 8, 1873, Winnipeg officially became a city.
  • In 1914, a Canadian veterinarian named Lt Harry Colebourn bought a bear cub for $20 while serving in the First World War. He named her Winnie, after his native Winnipeg.
  • Over 4 million people visit The Forks every year so the area is considered one of Winnipeg’s greatest tourist attractions.
  • The highest temperature ever recorded in Winnipeg was 42.2 °C on 11 July 1936 while the highest daily low temperature was 28.3 °C on 12 July 1936.
  • The Estimated Population of Winnipeg is 749,534, as of 2017.
  • Métis legislator and interpreter James McKay named the city.
  • Saint Boniface has the largest French-speaking community west of Quebec in Canada, Saint Boniface was established in 1818.
  • There are officially 236 neighbourhoods in Winnipeg.
  • The longest skating rink in the world, that freezes naturally is found in Winnipeg, The Length of the Red and Assiniboine River is over 8.5 Kilometers in length. 
  • The average altitude is 239 meters (784 feet) above sea level.
  • Winnipeg was the first city in North America to use a central emergency, 911 or 999.
  • In 1911 Winnipeg was Canada’s third-largest city. Winnipeg is the largest city in Manitoba and the 7th largest in Canada by Population.
  • The city is near the longitudinal centre of North America.
Facts About Winnipeg
Facts About Winnipeg