Winnipeg: Events | Attractions | Restaurants | Facts | Winnie-the-Pooh

Winnipeg, Manitoba - Facts and Trivia

Compiled by Michelle & Keith Sanheim
River Gate Inn Bed & Breakfast, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada

The name Manitoba comes either from the Ojibwa word "manito-bah" or the Cree word "manito-wapow" meaning "strait of the spirit". "manito" is an Indian spirit.

The name Winnipeg is a Cree Indian name from "win" meaning muddy and "nipee" meaning water.

Per capita, Winnipeg has one of the highest numbers of restaurants in North America with over 1,100 restaurants. Authentic food of all types can be found in Winnipeg and some of the city's restaurants have made Canada's "Top 5" and "Top 10" list.

The Golden Boy is 5.25M tall (17.2 feet) and the tip of his torch is 77 M (255 feet) high on top of the Manitoba Legislative Building.

The Manitoba Legislative building is enshrined with mystery. Masonic symbols and Hermetic Code have recently been uncovered and analyzed adding to past secrets. Masonic Interpretation of Manitoba Legislative Building (PDF) (Local version - html)

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%).

The provincial flower for Manitoba is the prairie Crocus.

The provincial bird for Manitoba is the Great Grey Owl.

The provincial animal for Manitoba is the Bison.

The provincial tree for Manitoba is the White Spruce.

The provincial motto for Manitoba Gloriosus et Liber or glorious and free, taken from the National Anthem of Canada.

The coat of arms for Manitoba was assigned by King Edward the VII on May 10, 1905.

Manitoba's provincial flag is considered by the North American Vexillological Assocation to be an example of a 'bad flag'.

Winnipeg's sister cities are:

• Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan (October 5, 1970),
• Reykjavík, Iceland (September 7, 1971),
• Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (January 31, 1979),
• 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)

When the City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 the population was 1,869.

The population of Winnipeg in 2005 was 706,854.

Approximately 62% of Winnipeg's population is below the age of 54. Roughly 46% is below the age of 34.

Winnipeg, Manitoba has the highest average of clear skies of all Canadian cities averaging 2,727 hours and among the highest cities for average hours of sunshine at 2,372 per year.  (Environment Canada).

Average temperatures for Winnipeg: Summer 25.4C (77.7F), Winter -12.9C (8.8F).

Average Rainfall: 41.6cm (16.4"), Average snowfall: 110.6cm (43.5") (Environment Canada).

Winnipeg has the largest remaining mature urban elm forest in North America.

The City of Winnipeg Spends ~$2 million / year to control Dutch Elm Disease.

It would cost approximately $25,000,000 to remove all the Elms. Winnipeg has lost approximately 4,000 elm trees per year for the past 10 years to Dutch Elm Disease.

Estimates put Winnipeg's urban forest at 2.73 million trees.

The Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada has produced over 52 billion coins for 62 countries from 1980-2005.

The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is one of only 15 Biosafety Level 4 laboratories in the world.

Winnipeg has hosted the Pan American Games twice. The first time in 1967 (1967 Pan American Games) and again in 1999 (1999 Pan American Games). Keith Sanheim was a member of the Canadian National Volleyball team that won a bronze medal in 1999.

Movies: Shall We Dance (2004), Capote (2005) and the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford were all partially filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Winnipeg, Manitoba is the "Slurpee Capital of the World".

Lt. Harry Colebourn named a black bear cub after his home town of Winnipeg. The bear was the inspiration for "Winnie the Pooh" while located in London Zoo.

Winnipeg is near the geographic center of North America. (Rugby, North Dakota).

Lake Winnipeg is Canada's fifth largest and the world's twelfth larges freshwater lake.

Manitoba's version of the Loch Ness Monster is Manipogo and is rumoured to live in Lake Winnipeg.

The Red River system is 877Km long.

The flooding of the Red River in 1997 was the largest flood since 1826. It displaced 75,000 people, had more than 2560 square km under water and caused $450 million dollars damage. The flood of 1950 displaced 80,000 people.

The Red River floodway was built to protect Winnipeg from flooding. 76 million cubic meters of earth in a 47 km path was moved. This area is larger than the St. Lawrence Seaway or the Panama Canal.

Portage and Main in Winnipeg, Manitoba is considered the windiest intersection in North America.

People have been gathering at the historic Forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers for 6,000 years mostly to engage in trade.

Churchill Manitoba is a short flight from Winnipeg. The largest concentrations of Polar Bears in the world today are located there. See Frontiers North for travel arrangements.

The Manitoba Museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba near Portage and Main, has the largest collection of Hudson's Bay memorabilia in the world. A replica of the famous "Nonsuch" ship can also be viewed.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is held annually at Bird's Hill Park with attendance figures surpassing 60,000. In 1997, the festival was the first of it's kind to be certified by Canada's Environmental Choice Program with an Ecologo as a "Green Event".

The Festival Du Voyageur is held in St. Boniface, a district known as the French Quarter in Winnipeg. The festival celebrates French heritage and culture with traditional events and food. It is the largest French Cultural festival in Western Canada.

Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg is home to the city's zoo, a statue commemorating Winnie the Pooh, and the Leo Mol garden. It's whopping 1100 acres makes it one of the largest urban parks in North America.

Manitoba's first census showed 11.963 with 9,848 being Métis. Métis are the offspring of a French and a native aboriginal in Canada.

The Ontario government offered a $5000.00 reward for the capture of Louis Riel. His executioner, Jack Henderson was paid an honorarium of $80.00. Louis Riel was instrumental in shaping Canada as a nation and he was Métis.

The French lyrics for the Canadian national anthem of  "O CANADA" were written in 1880, along with the music for the St. Jean-Baptiste day ceremony. It wasn't until 1980 that the title of "O Canada" was officially chosen.

The Vice Regal Salute is made up of the national anthem, "O Canada" and "God Save the Queen".

James Freer of Brandon, Manitoba was Canada's first filmmaker. He made films about the Canadian prairies in 1897.

Manitoba's Oak Hammock Marsh has been known to have over 400,000 waterfowl present at one time during migratory periods.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest and North America's second oldest dance Company. It was the first dance company granted the title "Royal" by Queen Elizabeth in 1953.

The Prairie Theatre Exchange is the only live theatre in the world that is located in a mall. It is also one of 8 major theatre companies in Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery has the world's largest collection of contemporary Inuit art including over 9,000 works including sculptures, paintings, textiles and prints.

Winnipeg's French theatre company Le Cercle Moliere is Canada's oldest continuously operating French theatre.

In 1909, the Grain Exchange was recognized as the largest cash wheat market in the world.

Pine Street was renamed Valour road after three soldiers residing there received the Victoria Cross from World War I.

The St. Boniface Museum is the oldest building in Winnipeg and the largest oak log structure in North America.

Winnipeg-born author Gabrielle Roy is perhaps the best French-language writer in Canada. She is most famous for writing "The Tin Flute" which won the Prix Femina in France and the Literary Guild award for North America.

Winnipeg was the first city in the world to develop the 911 emergency phone number.

The Costume Museum of Canada is home to 35,000 artifacts spanning 400 years and is the only museum in North America uniquely dedicated to the collection of costumes, textiles, and related accessories.

Portage Avenue was originally named Queen Street. The name was changed to direct immigrants towards Portage La Prairie.

Henry McKenny built the first retail store at the corner of Portage and Main in 1862.

Pantages Theatre was built in 1913-14 and hosted such performers as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers; Tickets were 10, 15 or 25 CENTS!

Pantages Theatre was the first air-conditioned building in Winnipeg. Huge blocks of ice and fans were used.

The Winnipeg Free Press published its first hand-made issue in 1887.

French explorer La Verendrye is recognized as the first European to visit the modern day site of Winnipeg in 1737.

The Leo Mol sculpture garden is one of the few sculpture gardens in the world featuring the work of a single artist.

Winnipeg is widely known as the Christmas Capital of Canada!

Winnipeg purchased the only known painting of Winnie-the-Pooh by E.H. Shepard for $285,000.

There are over 30 major bridges in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg hockey teams have won two Olympic gold medals, three AVCO CUPS (WHA), and two STANLEY CUPS (pre-NHL).

Winnipeg's Chamber of Commerce is 125 years old. It was established 6 months prior to Winnipeg becoming incorporated.

Winnipeg has won the awards for Communities in Bloom, a summer city beautification award and Winter Lights Celebrations – all within a 6-month period!

Winnipeg was the first city in Canada to establish a United Way charity.

Winnipeg has over 100 Kms of Navigable waterways.

The University of Winnipeg Women's volleyball team broke the world record for the number of consecutive wins with 123. This shattered the previous record held by the men's team at UCLA.

The International polling company Angus Reid began in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg's motto since 1972 has been "Unum Cum Virtute Multorum" meaning "One with the strength of many"

The University of Manitoba was incorporated in 1877 as the first University in the West. The first graduating class in 1880 had one person in it.

The Hudson's Bay Company brought the game of golf to Manitoba in the early 1800's. There are 47 golf courses in and within and hour's drive of Winnipeg.

Comedian Bob Hope played his first game of golf in Winnipeg.

Sir William Stevenson's incredible life as a spy was immortalized in the book "A Man called Intrepid". He was born and raised in Winnipeg

TV's Monty Hall of the game show "Let's make a Deal" was born in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg produces over 25,000 pounds of gold medal award-winning Caviar and sells it worldwide.

Bobby Hull or the "Golden Jet" as he was known was the first million-dollar hockey player. He played for the Winnipeg Jets.

Harlequin Romance publishing began in Winnipeg.

The same architects responsible for Grand Central Station in New York City designed Winnipeg's Union Station.

Professor Baldur Stefansson at the University of Manitoba developed canola and subsequently Canola oil. Canola stands for CAN OIL LOW ACID.

Rainbow stage is Canada's oldest outdoor theatre. It has been used for over 45 years.

Winnipeg is situated on what was the bottom of a huge prehistoric lake, Lake Agassiz.