WINNIPEG - CANADA

Winnipeg (49� 53' N, 97� 09' W, CST) is a Canadian city, and the provincial capital of Manitoba.

The city is located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, and is protected from flooding by the Red River Floodway. It is the province's largest city and one of the world's largest wheat markets. It has the Winnipeg International Airport, railroad shops, grain elevators, stockyards, meatpacking, aerospace and bus manufacturing plants, flour and textile mills, and bio-medical research facilities.

Demographics

The metro area is home to 671,274 people (2001), about 60% of the total population of Manitoba. Winnipeg's population was 667,205 in 1996 and 660,450 in 1991. Winnipeg's growth rate has been 0.5% since 1971; Edmonton and Calgary, once Winnipeg's smaller cousins, have grown 3.0% and 4.5% per year, respectively, over the same period. Long Canada's 4th-largest city, Winnipeg dropped to 8th in the last decade. The city's ethnic makeup is approximately 79% Caucasian, 10% Aboriginal, 5% Filipino, 3% Chinese, 2% Indian and 1% Black.

Politics

Starting in 1900, in both provincial and federal elections, central Winnipeg elected politicians from the Labour Party. Winnipeg was the site of a general strike from May 15 to June 28, 1919. This strike saw violent protests, including several deaths at the hands of the Royal North-West Mounted Police, and the arrest of many of Winnipeg's future politicians. Though it was not chartered until 1932, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation was born not only out of the depression but also out of the labour unrest of 1919. Its successor, the New Democratic Party, has enjoyed some support in Winnipeg since the early 1960s. Winnipeg's longest-serving MPs include J.S. Woodsworth (21 years), Stanley Knowles (38 years), David Orlikow (25 years), Bill Blaikie (25 years and counting), Lloyd Axworthy (21 years).

On June 22, 2004, businessman Sam Katz was elected mayor of Winnipeg, receiving 42.51% of the vote.

Sports

Winnipeg is and has been home to numerous professional sports franchises. The Winnipeg Jets were one of the original teams of the World Hockey Association and won three league titles. The Jets entered the National Hockey League in 1979 and played in Winnipeg until 1996. The Jets featured such hall of famers as WHA Coach Rudy Pilous, players Bobby Hull, Dale Hawerchuk, and (briefly) Serge Savard, as well as potential hall of famers Teemu Selanne, Phil Housley and Keith Tkachuk. Since 1996, Winnipeg has been home to the minor league Manitoba Moose, currently a member of the American Hockey League. The Moose are the primary affiliate to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. Winnipeg has produced Hall of Fame hockey players Andy Bathgate, Billy Mosienko, Art Coulter, Ching Johnson, Frank Fredrickson, Jack Ruttan, Kenny Reardon, Fred Maxwell, and Terry Sawchuk.

Winnipeg also has a team in the Canadian Football League, the Blue Bombers, who have won 10 Grey Cups, the league's championship trophy. Winnipeg has a long history of minor league baseball, including the Class A Winnipeg Goldeyes, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1953-1964, the AAA Whips, Montreal's farm team in 1970-1971, and since 1994, the Goldeyes, a franchise in the independent Northern League. Winnipeg hosted the 1967 and 1999 Pan American Games. In addition, the University of Winnipeg's women's basketball team won 88 consecutive games during the 1990s, a college sports record. Winnipeg is also home to many of the world's best curling teams and hosted the 2003 World Championships.

Other notable sports figures include Olympic Taekwondo athlete and bronze-medalist Dominique Bosshart, and Minnesota Twins third-baseman Corey Koskie.

Arts and culture

Winnipeg is well known for its arts and culture. Among the popular cultural institutions in the city are: the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), the Manitoba Opera, the Manitoba Museum (formerly the Museum of Man and Nature), the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Prairie Theatre Exchange, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The city is home to several large festivals. The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is North America's second largest Fringe Festival, held every July. Other festivals include Folklorama, the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Red River Exhibition, and Le Festival du Voyageur.

Winnipeg also has a thriving film community, which is bolstered by migrating film companies from the United States, especially in the summer. Although small for a capital city, Winnipeg has its share of visiting celebrities, including Robin Williams, Sharon Stone and Kirstie Alley. Winnipeg was the site of the soon-to-be-released hollywood movie Shall We Dance, starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. The Guy Maddin film The Saddest Music in the World was set in depression-era Winnipeg.

Winnipeg has a community college, Red River College. Winnipeg's three universities are the University of Manitoba (undergrad and grad, medical), College universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the University of Winnipeg (undergrad).