Winnipeg
Winnipeg (/ˈwɪnɪpɛɡ/ ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. As of 2021, Winnipeg had a city population of 749,607 and a metropolitan population of 834,678, making it Canada's sixth-largest city and eighth-largest metropolitan area.[6]
This article is about the Canadian city. For other uses, see Winnipeg (disambiguation).
The city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg; the name comes from the Western Cree words for "muddy water" – winipīhk. The region was a trading centre for Indigenous peoples long before the arrival of Europeans; it is the traditional territory of the Anishinabe (Ojibway), Ininew (Cree), Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota, and is the birthplace of the Métis Nation.[8] French traders built the first fort, Fort Rouge, on the site in 1738. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. Being far inland, the city's climate is extremely seasonal (continental) even by Canadian standards, with average January highs of around −11 °C (12 °F) and average July highs of 26 °C (79 °F).
Known as the "Gateway to the West", Winnipeg is a railway and transportation hub with a diversified economy. This multicultural city hosts numerous annual festivals, including the Festival du Voyageur, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, and Folklorama. Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games in 1967. It is home to several professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian football), Winnipeg Jets (ice hockey), Manitoba Moose (ice hockey), Valour FC (soccer), Winnipeg Sea Bears (basketball), and the Winnipeg Goldeyes (baseball).
Etymology[edit]
Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg, 65 km (40 mi) north of the city. English explorer Henry Kelsey may have been the first European to see the lake in 1690. He adopted the Cree and Ojibwe name win-nipi (also transcribed win-nipiy or ouenpig) meaning "murky water" or "muddy water"[9][10][11] (modern Cree: wīnipēk, ᐑᓂᐯᐠ). French-Canadian fur trader La Vérendrye referred to the lake as Lac Gouinipique or Ouinipigon when he built the first forts in the area in the 1730s.[12] Local newspaper The Nor'-Wester included the name on its masthead on 24 February 1866, and the city was incorporated by that name by the Manitoba Legislature in 1873.[11]
