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)
Grand Forks, ND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . .  231
Fargo, ND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . .. . . . . .350
Regina, SK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . .. . . . . .576
Thunder Bay, ON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . .  702
Minneapolis, MN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 723
Saskatoon, SK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . ..798
Edmonton, AB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 1,313
Kansas City, MO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 1,315
Calgary, AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .1,326
Chicago, IL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . .1,361
Denver, CO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1,847
Toronto, ON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . 2,079
Dallas, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2,145
Ottawa, ON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,171
Montreal, QC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,291
Vancouver, BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,372
Washington D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,496
Quebec City, QC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,535
New York, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,659
Los Angeles, CA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3,330
Halifax, NS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3,463

Climate:
Average Summer Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25.4ºC (77.7ºF)
Average Winter Temperature .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-12.9ºC (8.8ºF)
Average Annual Precipitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51.4 cm (20.2”)
Average Annual Rainfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41.6 cm (16.4”)
Average Annual Snowfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  110.6 cm (43.5”)

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)