THOMPSON

 Rising from the northern bush is Thompson - Manitoba's nickel capital - established when INCO Ltd. built a mining and refinement project in 1957. It's now a community of modern houses, a golf course, museum, swimming pool, zoo and three major shopping centres. There is also a library, campground, float plane base for fly-in visitors as well as air, bus, rail service. Known as the "Hub of the North", Thompson is one of Manitoba's more remote destinations. Explore and experience your wildest dreams!

Adventure in Canada: Greetings from North of the 55th Parallel, Thompson, Manitoba

Inco Ltd. offers guided 90-minute walking tours of Inco's surface area - headframe, mill, smelter and rafinery.

Miner Statue stands 4m and was erected in 1981 as a part of the city's 25th anniversary celebrations.

Heritage North Museum is a beautiful log building housing local historic artifacts, natural history exhibits and a small pioneer display. Under development is a display of Hudson Bay Company and Northwest Company trade artifacts.

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE

City of Possibilities

The town name goes back to la Verendrye's days, when it was a portage resting area between the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba. The small city is at the centre of some the richest crop land in Manitoba, and is a major food processing centre.

Island Park and Crescent Lake This scenic park is a horseshoe-shaped lake setting has a deer and waterfowl sanctuary with a large flock of Canada geese, golf course, tennis courts, picnic sites, canoeing and fairgrounds.

 

Poised gracefully over Crescent Lake is a R.C.A.F. T33 Jet Trainer. A gift of goodwill from the Air Force Base to the citizen of Portage. The Lake and Island park are a feature attraction for visitors to the area.

 

The Portage Arts Centre and Gallery is one of the best public galleries in rural Manitoba with new exhibitions monthly. The facility also features a gift shop, studios for classes and workshops and art rental program. 

 

City of Portage la Prairie 

CHURCHILL

The town of Churchill ("Polar Bear Capital of the World"), on Hudson Bay, is the world's only easily accessible human settlement where polar bears can be seen in the wild. Thousands of visitors travel to the town with a population of 1100 every autumn during the polar bears' migration season. In summer, hundreds of beluga whales feed and raise their young in the mouth of the Churchill River and in the bay. Churchill is also renowned for its northern lights or aurora borealis and excellent birding opportunities. Seals can also be seen in the harbour and caribou are frequently sighted along the coast. This is truly the last great wilderness frontier. Explore and experience your wildest dreams!

 

 

An aerial view of Churchill townsite, 1960

 

For more information on the city, contact Town of Churchill

BRANDON

Brandon, the province's second-largest city, is a major agricultural centre located on the banks of the Assiniboine River and within easy access to many lakes and parks. The commercial and cultural hub of western Manitoba, with a population of just over 40,000. It is a flourishing centre with ample hotels, restaurants and parks. It hosts two major provincials fair - the Summer Fair and Pro Rodeo and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair (western Canada's largest spring agricultural and classical horse show). Brandon is a city on the rise with many hidden gems and untold stories!

 

 

Plan your excursion to Brandon - a city on the rise: Brandon Tourism

THE PRAIRIES

Spreading over the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the vast lands between Ontario in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west are commonly called “the Prairies”. They constitute the great wheat-producing region of Canada and are a major source for petroleum, potash, and natural gas. With British Columbia they form the Western Provinces. The Prairies are Canada's breadbasket, three geometrically-shaped provinces which in addition to the wide-open expanses of flat prairie land also collectively include mountains, hills, lakes, shoreline, and metropolitan cities. 

Prairie rainbow

The prairie experience can be unforgettable. Here brightly-painted grain elevators dot distant horizons and mile-long trains can be seen  rushing their loads to market. Everywhere you look, you are reminded that this is grain country. A visit for the first time is to be overwhelmed by the expanse of both earth and sky.

This postcard received from PC user Pat

CANADA

A World of Possibilities

The red and white Canadian flag shows a leaf of the maple tree, which grows widely in North America. Canada provinces number 10, with three territories to the north (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut). Each province and territory has its own unique draw for visitors. 

 

The 10 provinces in Canada, from west to east, followed by the territories are best known for:
1. British Columbia - Okanagan wine region, skiing, fishing, whale watching, golf and other outdoor adventures.
2. Alberta - Calgary Stampede, Edmonton Folk Festival, Edmonton Mall, Rocky Mountains, Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
3. Saskatchewan - Fishing, hunting and other outdoor adventure.
4. Manitoba - Polar Bear Capital of the World, Le Festival du Voyageur, Folklorama.
5. Ontario - Algonquin Park, CN Tower, Niagara wine region, Bruce Trail, woods and lakes.
6. Quebec - French Culture / Language, Old Montreal, Plains of Abraham, skiing.
7. New Brunswick - Bay of Fundy, Appalachian Range, coastline, lighthouses.
8. Nova Scotia - Cabot Trail and other scenic drives, Celtic culture, Fortress of Louisbourg, fresh lobster dinners, coastline, Annapolis Valley.
9. Prince Edward Island - Anne of Green Gables.
10. Newfoundland & Labrador - Gros Morne National Park, the friendliness of the people, icebergs, whale watching.
11. Yukon - Northern lights, dog sledding, historic Klondike Gold Rush locations, Kluane National Park, midnight sun.
12. Northwest Territories - Northern lights, midnight sun, Nahanni River, outdoor adventure.
13. Nunavut - Canada's youngest territory or province.

WINNIPEG

One great City!

Winnipeg - Manitoba capital city - is a place you will find hard to leave and impossible to forget. Fondly recognised as the "emerald of the prairies", Winnipeg boasts the largest mature urban elm forest in North America.
Multi-dimensional. Multi-charactered. Multi-cultural. Winnipeg has all of the features that make it the ideal urban holiday spot. This grand prairie city hums with the ecstatic rhythm of many nations and cultures. Winnipeg is a multi-ethnic city, and proud of it. Its ethnic fabric consists of Slavic, French, German, Native, Oriental, East Indian and Mediterranean traditions. And nowhere is this more evident that in the food the city offers.

The wonderful cluster of high rise buildings at Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg.

Winnipeg's diverse background is also reflected in its museums: The Museum of Man and Nature, a children's museum, a French-Canadian museum, a Ukrainian museum, an aviation museum and many others.
For over 6,000 years people have come here to meet, trade, live and explore. Discover the spirit of these early explorers at The Forks (the birthplace of the city). Located at the junction of two great rivers, in the heart of downtown Winnipeg. Today, it is a place where recreactional, cultural, commercial and historic activities again bring people together.Explore St. Boniface - Winnipeg's French quarter, an historic and cultural corner-stone of the city and home to Canada's largest Francophone community west of Quebec.

The Royal Canadian Mint

The Winnipeg branch of the Royal Canadian Mint officially opened in 1976, as part of the decentralizing initiative of the Trudeau government, replacing the Ottawa branch (1908) as the facility where the entire supply of circulation coins would be produced. The Winnipeg branch also produces coinage for several foreign countries. The Ottawa branch, able to strike coins in gold as well as silver, continues to strike collector coins.

Postcards received from Pat