Tourism Winnipeg

For more information contact:
Gillian Leschasin
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Phone: 204-954-1977
Email: gillian@tourismwinnipeg.com

Location:
Winnipeg lies at the geographic centre of Canada and North America. Winnipeg is the capital city of Manitoba, a resource-rich province of 1.2 million people bordered by Ontario to the east, Saskatchewan to the west, and North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. The city is just 100 km (62 miles) from the United States border.
Winnipeg is easily accessible from the east and west via the Trans Canada Highway.

Description: 
Winnipeg is a culturally diverse city with about 100 languages and nationalities represented throughout the region. Winnipeg is known for its cultural achievement and flourishing arts scene, as well as its green spaces and access to outdoor activities. The city features more than 1,100 restaurants as well as numerous attractions, museums, theatres, sports venues and nightspots.

History:
Winnipeg derives its name from the Cree word of “win” for muddy and “nippee” for water. An aboriginal trading centre prior to the arrival of the Europeans, Winnipeg was at the heart of the country’s fur trade and instrumental in developing Canada’s gateway to the west. The first permanent settlement occurred in 1812 when a group of Scottish crofters arrived and it became a trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1870. Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873 with a population of 1,869. The city saw a 30 year period of growth and prosperity with the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. Winnipeg became a financial centre in Western Canada thanks to a flood of immigrants, high wheat prices and improved farming techniques.

Lodging:
Winnipeg offers 6,200 hotel rooms throughout the city, with 2,600 of them located in downtown. Lodging options include everything from chain hotels to quaint bed and breakfasts to low-cost options like hostels and universities.

Dining:
Winnipeg’s top notch food scene tantalizes every taste bud. Sample exotic dishes at authentic mom-and-pop restaurants, bite into innovative tapas at trendy bistros and dine with gourmands at hotspots manned by the city’s top chefs. A complete list of restaurants can be viewed by clicking here.

Cultural Attractions: 
Known as the “cultural cradle of Canada”, Winnipeg is home to Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and so much more. Festivals abound in Manitoba’s capital with a year-round slate of activity including Festival du Voyageur, Folklorama and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Here, theatre season is alight with talent, excitement and star power. Winnipeg also offers an impressive and inspiring arts scene, from the world’s largest collection of Inuit Art, to modern canvases covered in spray paint to locally-made handicrafts.

Time Zone:
Central

Population:
Total population of Census Metropolitan Area (2009) is 742,408.

Airport: 
The Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is Winnipeg’s only airport serving more than 3.5 million passengers per year. Airlines operating out of the airport include Air Canada, Air Transat, Air West, Aviation Bearskin Airlines, Calm Air, Fast Air, First Air, Innotech-Execaire, Keystone Air, Service Kivalliq Air, Northway Aviation, Northwest Airlines, Perimeter Aviation, Skyservice Airlines, Sunwing Airlines, United Airlines, Wasaya Airways, West Wind Aviation, and WestJet Airlines.

Road distance from selected cities (in kilometeres)

Climate:

Winnipeg experiences one of the highest amounts of sunshine per year at 2,372 hours and boasts 2,727 hours of clear skies on average per year—the most of all Canadian cities.

Industries:

• Aerospace
• Transportation & Distribution
• Energy & Environment
• Agribusiness
• Life Sciences
• Information, Communications and Technology
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Tourism
• Cultural Industries
• Financial Services
• Lifestyle

Attractions:

• The Forks
• Assiniboine Park
• Manitoba Museum
• Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Royal Canadian Mint
• Manitoba Legislative Building
• FortWhyte Alive
• Oak Hammock Marsh
• Manitoba Children’s Museum
• Club Regent Casino
• McPhillips Station Casino
• St. Boniface
• Western Canada Aviation Museum
• Exchange District

Performing Arts:

• Black Hole Theatre Company
• Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
• Celebrations Dinner Theatre
• Le Cercle Moliere
• Little Opera Company
• Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
• Manitoba Opera
• Manitoba Theatre Centre
• Prairie Theatre Exchange
• Rainbow Stage
• Theatre in the Cemetery
• Theatre Projects Manitoba
• Virtuosi Concerts
• Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
• Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
• Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
• Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers

Professional Sports Teams:

• Canadian Football League Team (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
• National Hockey League Team (Winnipeg Jets)
• American Baseball League Team (Winnipeg Goldeyes)