Manitoba

Manitoba in Canada

Manitoba is a province of Canada. It lies roughly in the centre of Canada.

Manitoba is the 6th largest province with 647,797 km² area. It has the fifth largest number of people, with 1 150 000 in 2001. People from Manitoba are called "Manitobans".

Government

The capital of Manitoba is the City of Winnipeg. Other big cities in Manitoba include Steinbach and Brandon.

The people of Manitoba elected a legislature. The leader of the government, who is called the Premier, is the leader of the largest party in the legislature. There is also a Lieutenant Governor, who represents the Queen. Right now, the premier of Manitoba is Greg Selinger and the Lieutenant Governor is Philip S. Lee.

The main political parties in Manitoba are the New Democratic Party, the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and the Liberal Party.

History

People have been living in Manitoba for thousands of years. Both the Hudson's Bay Company from England and many people from France moved to Manitoba during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It became part of the Northwest Territories in 1869. The Red River Rebellion, which was started by Louis Riel, began in Manitoba.

Manitoba became part of Canada on 12 May 1870. It included only the southern part which is nearest to the United States. But parts of the Northwest Territories were added to Manitoba later on.