The easternmost of Canada's three Prairie Provinces is Manitoba. It is called the Keystone Province because it is centrally located within Canada, like the keystone in an arch. Bordering Hudson Bay, Manitoba is the only Prairie Province with a seacoast. Its capital is Winnipeg.

Geography

Manitoba is bounded on the west by Saskatchewan, another of the Prairie Provinces. Nunavut lies to the north, and the cold waters of Hudson Bay are to the northeast. To the east is Ontario and to the south are the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Flat prairies with rich soils cover much of southern Manitoba. Most of the rest of the province is rocky land with many forests and rivers. The land near Hudson Bay in the far north is treeless tundra. Manitoba has more than 38,000 lakes. The three largest—Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Winnipegosis—are in the south.

People

Manitoba has more ethnic groups than any other Canadian province. More than half of its people have ancestors who came from Great Britain or Ireland. People of German, Ukrainian, French, and Polish ancestry also make up large segments of the population. More than 100,000 people have American Indian roots. Most of them are Chipewyan, Assiniboin, Cree, or Ojibwa. The Métis people have both American Indian and European (mostly French) ancestry.

Winnipeg and its suburbs are home to about 60 percent of Manitoba's people. Winnipeg is the largest city in central Canada. Its population includes large groups of French speakers and native people. The universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg are located there.

Economy

Manitoba's location in central Canada has made transportation and shipping important to its economy. Lying 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of the U.S. border, Winnipeg is a key linking point for air, railroad, and truck routes. Products made in Manitoba are shipped in all directions. They include foods and drinks, airplane parts, buses, computers, clothing, and paper. Mines in the north produce copper, zinc, nickel, and gold.

About 20,000 farms, mostly on the southern prairies, contribute to Manitoba's economy. Wheat, canola, alfalfa, barley, and oats are the most important crops. Farmers also raise hogs and cattle.

History

The first residents of Manitoba were American Indians who arrived thousands of years ago. European explorers came in the early 1600s. They found that the area was rich in fur-bearing animals. In 1670 the English government created the Hudson's Bay Company to build fur-trading posts in the area. The company faced fierce competition from French fur traders. After the English drove the French from Canada in 1763, the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the whole area.

The Hudson's Bay Company soon had another competitor, a Canadian fur-trading company called the North West Company. In 1811 the Hudson's Bay Company started the first farming colony in Manitoba along the Red River, near what is now Winnipeg. The North West Company attacked the colony, but it survived. In 1821 the North West Company was made part of the Hudson's Bay Company.

In 1869 the Hudson's Bay Company turned its territory over to the new country of Canada. The Métis who lived in the area feared that the Canadians would take their land and change their way of life. Led by Louis Riel, the Métis rebelled. The Canadian government defeated the rebels, but Riel won rights for his people.

The Canadian government made Manitoba a province in 1870. Manitoba grew slowly at first, but in the early 1900s many immigrants arrived from eastern Canada and Europe. Winnipeg quickly developed into one of Canada's largest cities. Many of the early settlers were farmers, but mining and manufacturing soon developed. Later in the 20th century Manitoba's government worked to expand economic activities in the north.