"Winnipeg, Winterpeg, The Peg" a Winnipeg Travel Page by Babzz

Winnipeg: The Coldest Place on Earth?

Well, not quite; however, it was recently rated the coldest major city in the world! What they meant by "major city" is unclear, but it's something to brag about: I survived!

Update: "major city" meaning a population over 600,000 people; Winnipeg is at approximately 650,000.

Fortunately, the summers are hot. This means that Winnipeg experiences a healthy range of temperatures and weather:

From "Living In Canada":
Winnipeg has a cold continental climate with a short, very warm summer and a long, cold winter. Despite the cold weather, Winnipeg's skies are among the clearest in Canada and Winnipeg enjoys much sunny weather all year round. Snow depths of greater than 1 cm are seen on about 132 days each year in Winnipeg, compared with about 65 days in Toronto.

Winnipeg has a windy climate, which it owes to its prairie location. There are few natural barriers to prairie winds, allowing them to sweep down from the Arctic in wintertime.

The combination of very low temperatures and high windspeed is dangerous - and can be life threatening. Weather forecasters in Manitoba issue warnings not to venture out in such conditions.

Although Winnipeg endures lower winter temperatures than Toronto, people who live in Winnipeg claim their city's dry winter cold is more pleasant than the damper cold in Toronto.
[http://www.livingin-canada.com/climate-winnipeg.html]

Having experienced both, I agree! With proper clothing, winter in Winnipeg can be endurable and even pleasant. An abundance of winter activites are available to make it through those long winters. Two of my favourite things about Winnipeg winters (as opposed to Toronto winters) are the powdery, glittery snow and the abundance of sunshine!

U of M is the oldest university in western Canada - it was founded in 1877. It is also Manitoba's largest university, with almost 30,000 students, and it's the only university in Manitoba offering graduate programs. Although some of the buildings at the main Fort Garry campus look a bit run down (and some are just plain ugly!), I think it's quite a pretty campus, with buildings such as the Administrative and Tier Buildings reminding us of the university's old age. In the summer the campus is landscaped with gardens and the university's location nested in the bend of the Red River makes for a nice stroll or lunch picnic on the lawns.

The story goes like this: Captain Harry Colebourn of Winnipeg purchased a black bear from a hunter in White River, Ontario and named it after his hometown. He later donated the bear to the London Zoo, where A. A. Milne's son, Christopher, often came to visit. Winnie was one of Christopher's favourite animals at the zoo. From here came the name of the famous character in the beloved children's book!

A statue of Winnie the Bear and her owner stands in Assiniboine Park Zoo. There's also a big commemorative statue of the Disney-fied Winnie in White River.