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Winnipeg lies at the bottom of the valley of the Red River and has an extremely flat topography. There are no substantial hills in the city or in its vicinity. Downtown Winnipeg is centred at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street about one kilometre (0.6 mile) from The Forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. From this intersection, known as the windiest in Canada, all roads radiate outwards. The city uses the grid system for streets although there are several different grids in place which correspond to old Red River Lots and the meandering courses of the rivers. This creates some very irregular intersections. As a result many visitors find it difficult to get around in Winnipeg. There is no absolute numbering system in place but usually street addresses become higher the farther one moves away from either river. For example west of the Red River street addresses will increase as one heads west, but east of the river they will increase as one heads east. In general avenues run east and west and streets north and south. Unlike many cities in North America, all streets are named, not numbered. Of interest, many of the main thoroughfares in Winnipeg are extremely wide due to the spring soil conditions and the historical use of the Red River Cart which created wide ruts in the (then) muddy roads. Portage Avenue has four lanes of traffic in each direction plus a central boulevard for much of its run through Winnipeg.
Downtown Winnipeg is the financial heart of the city, and covers an area of about one square mile (2.5 km²) which is quite large for a city this size. Although downtown Winnipeg once housed what was for a time one of the world's most successful department stores, the The West End, The North End, St Norbert, and Exchange District, The Forks, Osborne Village and Corydon Village (both in Fort Rouge), Sargent and Ellice Avenues (West End) and Old St. Boniface.
Because of its extremely flat topography and substantial snowfall, Winnipeg is subject to severe flooding. The Red River reached its greatest flood height in Portage Diversion (also known as the Assiniboine River Floodway) and the Shellmouth Dam. The flood-control system prevented flooding in 1974 and 1979 when water levels neared record levels. However, in the 1997 flood, flooding threatened the city's relatively unprotected southwest corner. Flood control dikes were reinforced and raised using sandbags and the threat was averted. Winnipeg suffered very limited damage compared to cities without flood control structures, such as Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
The relatively flat terrain and the poor drainage of the Red River Valley's clay-based soil results in seasonal explosions of insect populations, such as that of the mosquito, which are intensified during especially wet years . Winnipeg has gained a reputation as the mosquito capital of North America, resulting in the limitation of much outdoor activity during the hot and humid summer months. The fear of West Nile Virus has further exacerbated the problem. In the summer of 2005, mosquito trap counts in some parts of the city went into the thousands, causing immediate city-wide fogging with the chemical malathion. The use of chemicals to combat Winnipeg's insect problem is an extremely controversial issue in the city as many feel that the use of chemicals, and particularly malathion, is unnecessarily dangerous to human and animal health.
Winnipeg lies in an unprotected arctic trough which channels cold arctic air south, directly across the Canadian Shield and Canadian Prairie. This results in bone-chilling temperatures as early as the end of October, followed by bitter cold and icy winds during December, January and February. Cold weather and snow often extend into April. The extremity of its climate in the winter months has caused the (somewhat derisive) nickname of "Winterpeg". Summers are typically warm with average temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) and much sunshine is received throughout the year. Spring and fall tend to be rather contracted seasons, each averaging little over six weeks. Average maximum temperatures for each month are as follows (source Environment Canada): January ?13 °C (9 °F), February ?9 °C (16 °F), March ?1 °C (30 °F), April 10 °C (50 °F), May 19 °C (67 °F), June 23 °C (74 °F), July 26 °C (79 °F), August 25 °C (77 °F), September 19 °C (67 °F), October 11 °C (52 °F), November 0 °C (32 °F), December ?10 °C (14 °F). The city receives an annual average of about 510 mm (20 inches) of precipitation including 115 cm (45 inches) of snow. There is generally snow cover from mid-November to the end of March, though this varies depending on the year—heavy snowfalls in late October and in April are not uncommon. Winnipeg is virtually assured of having a White Christmas as there is only one December 25 on record in the last century where there was no snow on the ground.
 Winnipeg panorama, from 1907
Winnipeg panorama, from 1907
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 Winnipeg skyline
Winnipeg skyline
The City of Winnipeg is home to 619,544 people (2001 Census), about 54% of the total population of Manitoba. Winnipeg's population grew by only 1,067 residents from 1996 to 2001. Winnipeg's total annual growth rate has been 0.5% since 1971, with the majority of growth coming from immigration from Asia and Africa and in-migration from the surrounding rural areas, and aboriginal communities.
Quebec City, Quebec, and Hamilton, Ontario. Winnipeg's growth rate has increased in recent years and Metropolitan Winnipeg may again overtake Quebec City and Hamilton in the near future.
As of the 2001 census:
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 or older
Visible minorities
Statistics Canada asks census respondents whether they are aboriginal and whether they belong to a visible minority.Page 3&ThisPage=1pop2&Prov=Manitoba&SEARCH=BEGINS">[1] Published figures for 2001:
Total Visible Minority: 13.4%, as follows:
Filipino: 4.9%
South Asian: 2.0%
Black: 1.8%
Chinese: 1.8%
Southeast Asian: 0.8%
Latin American: 0.7%
Japanese: 0.3%
Korean: 0.2%
Arab: 0.2%
West Asian: 0.1%
Other minority or multiple minories: 0.6%.
Aboriginal: 8.6% (census respondents claiming Aboriginal identity)
Not aboriginal or visible minority: 78.0%
Page 3&ThisPage=1pop2&Prov=Manitoba&SEARCH=BEGINS">[2]
Religious affiliation
Roman Catholic: 29.8%
United Church: 12.7%
Anglican: 7.0%
Lutheran: 4.4%
Ukrainian Catholic: 2.7%
Mennonite: 2.6%
Jewish: 2.1%
Baptist: 2.1%
Pentecostal: 1.1%
Buddhist: 0.9%
Sikh: 0.9%
Muslim: 0.8%
Greek Orthodox: 0.7%
Presbyterian: 0.7%
Hindu: 0.6%
Christian (not included elsewhere): 3.6%
Protestant (not included elsewhere): 1.9%
No religion: 21.0%
Religious affiliations with less than 0.5% are not listed here. Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census
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 as used by Winnipeggers: 88.0% spoke English only, 11.0% both English and French, 0.9% neither English nor French, and 0.1% French only.
Source: Statistics Canada (Census 2001), see external link.
External links
Winnipeg 2001 census data at Statistics Canada
Winnipeg 2001 census summary at the City of Winnipeg (PDF file)
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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 Canada Technology">Boeing Canada Technology, Bristol Aerospace, and Investors Group. Approximately 54,000 people or 14% of the work force are employed in the public sector.
Winnipeg is the site of Canada (tactical control is in North Bay, Ontario, in a bunker similar to Cheyenne Mountain in the United States).
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.
Large corporations based in Winnipeg
Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Insurance)
IGM Financial Inc. (Finance)
Canadian Wheat Board (Agri-business)
Cargill Ltd. (Agri-business)
Agricore United (Agri-business)
CanWest Global Communications Corp. (Media)
The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board (Utility)
James Richardson & Sons, Limited (Conglomerate)
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. (Insurance)
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (Telecommunications)
Standard Aero Holdings Inc. (Manufacturing)
The North West Company Fund (Merchant)
The Manitoba Public Insurance Corp. (Insurance Services)
Ridley Inc. (Agri-business)
Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. (Mining)
Winpak Ltd. (Manufacturing)
Paterson GlobalFoods Inc. (Agri-business)
Centra Gas Manitoba Inc. (Utility)
Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (Specialty Retailing)
Palliser Furniture Ltd. (Manufacturing)
Manitoba Lotteries Corp. (Entertainment)
Canada Ltd.">Kitchen Craft of Canada Ltd. (Manufacturing)
Buhler Industries Inc. (Manufacturing)
Bison Transport Inc. (Transportation)
Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (Agri-business)
Reimer Express Lines Ltd. (Transportation)
Pollard Banknote Ltd. (Printing)
Boyd Group Income Fund (Service)
Cangene Corp. (Biotech)
New Flyer Industries (Manufacturing)
Motor Coach Industries (Manufacturing)
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In 2002, Winnipeg had the fourth highest overall crime rate in Toronto.
Winnipeg crime is associated with the distribution of factors related to the population and land-uses of the city. In particular, crime in Winnipeg in 2001 was concentrated in the city centre, representing a relatively small proportion of the total geographic area of the city. High-crime neighbourhoods were characterized by reduced access to socio-economic resources, decreased residential stability, increased population density and land-use patterns that may increase opportunity for crime. The level of socio-economic disadvantage of the residential population in a neighbourhood was most strongly associated with the highest neighbourhood rates of both violent and property crime. Source: Statistics Canada's Internet Site, Neighbourhood Characteristics and the Distribution of Crime in Winnipeg , Extracted November 29, 2005.
Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy the data and redisseminate them, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada's Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.
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Winnipeg is and has historically been home to numerous professional sports franchises, some of which survive today. The Rudy Pilous and players Bobby Hull, Dale Hawerchuk, and (briefly) Serge Savard, as well as potential Hall of Famers Teemu Selanne, Phil Housley, Keith Tkachuk, and Nikolai Khabibulin. In 1996, the team was sold to an ownership group based in Phoenix, Arizona, and it was moved there to become the Phoenix Coyotes. There is considerable optimism that the city may once again host an NHL franchise. Support for the minor league AHL Manitoba Moose has been good, but the city will most likely never consider itself a minor league town for hockey, and therefore will clamor for another NHL franchise for years to come.
Since 1996, Winnipeg has been home to the minor-league Kenny Reardon, Fred Maxwell, and Terry Sawchuk.
Winnipeg also has a team in the Canadian Football League, the Blue Bombers, who have won 10 Grey Cups, the league's championship trophy. Winnipeg has a long history of minor-league baseball, including the Winnipeg Maroons of the 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; and, since 1994, the Goldeyes, a franchise in the independent Class AA-quality Northern League. Winnipeg hosted the 1967 Pan American Games and 1999 Pan American Games. In addition, the University of Winnipeg's women's basketball team won 88 consecutive games during the 1990s, tying a college sports record. Winnipeg is also home to many of the world's best curling teams and hosted the 2003 World Championships.
Other notable sports figures include Olympic Taekwondo athlete and bronze-medalist Dominique Bosshart, Milwaukee Brewers third-baseman Corey Koskie, Canadian Olympic Women's Hockey Gold Medalist Jennifer Botterill, Philadelphia 76ers center Todd MacCulloch, and WWE Superstar Chris Jericho.
Current professional franchises
Logo
Club
League
Venue
Established
Championships
 Winnipeg Blue Bombers logo
Canadian Football League
Canad Inns Stadium
1930
10
 Manitoba Moose logo
American Hockey League
MTS Centre
1996
0
 Winnipeg Goldeyes logo
The Northern League
CanWest Global Park
1994
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 St Boniface Cathedral, Winnipeg, Manitoba
St Boniface Cathedral, Winnipeg, Manitoba
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.
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 scenes.
Archiseek: Winnipeg
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Daily newspapers
the Winnipeg Free Press
the Winnipeg Sun
Ethnic media
The Jewish Post
The Filipino Journal
Ang Peryodiko
The Philippine Times
The Philippine Press
La Liberté
O Mundial: the Portuguese newspaper
Weekly newspapers
Uptown - found at various downtown locations
Magazines
Canadian Dimension
Winnipeg Women
Winnipeg Men
Websites
WinnipegWeb
Winnipeg Online
My Winnipeg
Winnipeg Indymedia
Winnipeg Movies
City of Winnipeg
New Winnipeg
Winnipeg Guide
Television stations
CBWFT (SRC, channel 3, cable 10)
CBWT (CBC, channel 6, cable 2)
CKY (CTV, channel 7, cable 5)
CKND (Global, channel 9, cable 12)
CHMI (Citytv, channel 13, cable 8)
CIIT (OMNI Television, channel 35, cable 11)
Locally based national cable television channels
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
Deja Vu - classic television programming
Lonestar - western programming
Fox Sports World Canada - sports
MenTV - men's programming
CoolTV - Jazz
Xtreme Sports - sports programming
Mystery - crime and mystery drama
Prime - classic televison series
All of these stations are owned by Global, except for APTN.
Radio stations
CKSB 89.9 - Espace musique
CKXL 91.1 - Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface campus radio
CITI 92.1 - 92 Citi FM, classic rock
CKIC 92.9 - Kick FM modern rock
CHIQ 94.3 - Q94 FM contemporary hit radio
CHVN 95.1 - Christian music
CKUW 95.9 - University of Winnipeg campus radio
CJKR 97.5 - Power 97 active rock
CBW 98.3 - CBC Radio Two
CJZZ 99.1 - Cool FM jazz
CFWM 99.9 - Bob FM adult hits
CKFE 100.7 - oldies
CJUM 101.5 - University of Manitoba campus radio
CKY 102.3 - Clear FM adult contemporary
CKMM 103.1 - Hot 103 CHR/Top 40
CFQX 104.1 - QX 104.1 Country
CICY 105.5 - NCI - Aboriginal Public Radio
CKVN 106.3 - tourist information
CFEQ 107.1 - Freq 107 modern rock
CJWV 107.9 - Flava 107.9 hip-hop/urban
CJOB 680 - news/talk/sports
CKJS 810 - ethnic
CBW 990 - CBC Radio One
CKSB 1050 - La Première Chaîne
CFRW 1290 - oldies
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This is a list of Winnipeg's sister cities and the date the agreement with each location was signed.
Japan (October 5, 1970)
Iceland (September 7, 1971)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (January 31, 1973)
Lviv, Ukraine (November 26, 1973)
Philippines (December 31, 1979)
Taiwan (April 2, 1982)
Finland (June 11, 1982)
Israel (May 15, 1984)
China (February 24, 1988)
South Korea (April 1, 1992)
Mexico (July 23, 1999)
Neighbouring communities
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