File:405 Broadway, Winnipeg, Manitoba (43924842022).jpg

Winnipeg 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.

The city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg; the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water. The region was a trading centre for Indigenous peoples long before the arrival of Europeans. French traders built the first fort 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. As at 2016, Winnipeg is the seventh-most populated municipality in Canada, with a resident population of about 778,500. Being far inland, the local climate is extremely seasonal even by Canadian standards with average January lows of around −21 °C (−6 °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. It is home to several professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian football), the Winnipeg Jets (ice hockey), Manitoba Moose (ice hockey), Valour FC (soccer), and the Winnipeg Goldeyes (baseball).

Winnipeg is an economic base and regional centre. It has one of the country's most diversified economies, with major employment in the trade (15.2%), manufacturing (9.8%), educational (7.7%), and health care and social assistance (15.2%) sectors. There were approximately 21,000 employers in the city as of 2012.

In 2013, The CIBC Metropolitan Economic Activity Index rated Winnipeg's economy as fourth in a national survey of 25 city economies, behind Toronto, Calgary, and Regina. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Winnipeg was projected to experience a real GDP growth of 2 percent in 2014. Unlike most of Canada, the city experienced a decrease in unemployment in 2013, ending the year at a rate of 5.8 percent. As of 2010, median household income in the city was $72,050.

As of January 2014, approximately 416,700 people are employed in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Some of Winnipeg's largest employers are government and government-funded institutions, including the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre, and Manitoba Hydro. Approximately 54,000 people (14% of the work force) are employed in the public sector as of 2008. Large private sector employers include Shaw Communications, Manitoba Telecom Services, Ipsos-Reid, Palliser Furniture, Great-West Life Assurance, Motor Coach Industries, New Flyer Industries, Boeing Canada Technology, StandardAero, Magellan Aerospace, Nygård International, Canad Inns, Canada Goose clothing and Investors Group.

The Royal Canadian Mint, established in 1976, produces all circulating coinage in Canada. The plant, in southeastern Winnipeg, also produces coins for many other countries.

In 2012, Winnipeg was ranked by KPMG as the least expensive location to do business in western Canada. Like many prairie cities, Winnipeg has a relatively low cost of living. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average house price in Winnipeg was $260,000 as of 2013.

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