The City of Winnipeg
Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine River and the Red River, known as The Forks, a historic focal point on canoe river routes travelled by Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years. The name Winnipeg is a transcription of a western Cree word meaning "muddy waters".
European influence began with the arrival of fur traders in the mid-eighteenth century.
During the ensuing decades, the Métis, an ethnic group descended from the mixing of fur traders and First Nations peoples, began settling in the Red River Valley. They settled along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, with their homes along the river, and long narrow lots extending back from the river in the French Canadian style.
Tensions arose when in 1812 the Hudson's Bay Company gave Lord Selkirk a land grant of 116,000 acres centred on the junction of rivers so he could bring in Scottish settlers. Although the Metis had occupied the lands for many years they held no legal title and feared the loss of it and their way of life. Friction and hostility culminated with the Red River Rebellion in 1869-70, a conflict between the local provisional government of Métis, led by Louis Riel, and new settlers from eastern Canada. This rebellion led directly to Manitoba's entry into Confederation as Canada's fifth province in 1870, and on November 8, 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city.
During following years and decades Winnipeg experienced periods of prosperity and hardship alike. Nature dealt the city a blow in1950 when the Red River flooded, destroying dikes, bridges, structures and displacing almost 100,000 people. One source quotes $600 million dollars as the final tally of costs to repair damage.
In 1972 eleven surrounding municipalities were incorporated with the “old city” to form what is known as The City of Winnipeg today.
According to 2011 census information, Winnipeg has the 7th largest population among Canadian cities. Business, arts, culture, entertainment all thrive in this community as evidenced by several Canadian head offices, professional sports teams, a world renowned ballet company and, of course, some of the world’s best curlers.
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FUN STUFF ABOUT WINNIPEG!
The Man Called Intrepid called Winnipeg Home. William Stephenson, a Winnipeg boy, grew up to become Sir William Stephenson, master spy and personal intelligence adviser to Winston Churchill, then the British Prime Minister. Under his code name, Intrepid, he trained agents who parachuted behind Nazi lines to work with resistance fighters and send information back to the Allied Forces. Though author lan Fleming would never confirm it, he is also thought to be the inspiration behind James Bond. His own famous character was merely a romanticized version of a spy, Fleming said, adding that Stephenson was the real deal. A statue of Sir William, sculpted by Winnipeg artist Leo Mol, is on display at the Central Intelligence Agency (the most famous spy agency in the world) in Langley, Virginia, United States.
One of the world's most successful publishers was founded in Winnipeg in 1949. Harlequin Enterprises, the romance novel publisher no longer has its roots here, sadly.
The University of Manitoba, founded in 1877, is the oldest university in Western Canada. U of M is also where Professor Baldur Stefansson developed canola, an oil-seed widely used as an industrial lubricant and for cooking oil.
Winnie the Pooh was named after the city of Winnipeg, by a Canadian Captain Harry Colebourn of the Fort Garry Horse Militia who purchased Winnipeg Bear, shortened to Winnie the Pooh. He was sent to England for training, and the playful cub soon became the Regiment's mascot. When Capt. Colebourn learned they were being sent to France, he donated the bear, now too large to be a pet, to the London Zoo. There, author AA Milne and his young son, Christopher Robin Milne, saw Winnie, who became the inspiration for the beloved Winnie the Pooh in Milne's books.
Terry Fox the runner and national hero, a true symbol of courage and dignity in the face of adversity, was born in Winnipeg. Terry Fox began a log run across part of Canada after loosing part of a leg to cancer. He ran with a prosthetic limb to help raise awareness and money to try and help find a cure for cancer.
Winnipeg was the first Canadian home of Coke. The first Coca-Cola bottling plant opened here in 1905 and was the company's Head Office until 1923.
The well-known game show host of "Let's Make a Deal", Monty Hall came from Winnipeg. Let's make a Deal was a smash hit game show from 1963 to 1977.
Winnipeg is the birthplace of the 911 emergency phone number which is now used throughout the developed world.
Bob Hope, the legendary entertainer, played his first game of golf in Winnipeg and liked to tell people that this is where he caught the golfing bug.