Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 12, 2010

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province which was brought into Confederation in 1870 after the Red River Rebellion. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, with European contact made in the 17th century. The province has over 110,000 lakes, and has a largely continental climate due to its mostly flat topography. Agriculture, found especially in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to its economy; other major industries are transportation, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy, and tourism. The political and cultural capital, Winnipeg, is home to four of the province's five universities, all four of its major professional sports teams, and most of its cultural events. The city is also a transportation and military hub, hosting a busy international airport and the regional headquarters of NORAD. The province has a population of over one million; its largest ethnic group is English, but it has a significant Franco-Manitoban minority and a growing aboriginal population. The province's name, meaning "strait of the spirit" or "lake of the prairies", is derived from the languages of its early aboriginal inhabitants. (more...)

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