THE PROVINCE OF MANITOBA
General Information
The Province of Manitoba is located in the centre of Canada, north of the States of Minnesota and North Dakota. It is the most easterly of the three Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which together constitute the Prairie Region of Canada. Manitoba is bounded on the east by the Province of Ontario, on the north by Hudson Bay and the Territory of Nunavut, and on the west by the Province of Saskatchewan. Manitoba has 400 miles of northern coastline bordering on Hudson Bay. The only seaport in the Prairie Region is located at Churchill on Hudson Bay.
Of Manitoba’s total area of 251,000 square miles, 39,000 square miles are lakes and rivers and 163,000 square miles are lands owned by Manitoba. Cultivated land comprises 28,000 square miles in the southern part of Manitoba. The northern part of the Province, which is part of the Canadian Shield, is composed largely of timberlands and extensive areas of mineralized rock structure.
The estimated population of Manitoba on July 1, 2019 was 1,369,465, an increase of 1.2% over the prior year. The Winnipeg Census Metropolitan Area had an estimated population of 844,300 in 2019, an increase of 1.5% over the prior year. Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, has a diversified economic base with significant activity in a variety of manufacturing and service sectors. Winnipeg is also a major air, rail and truck transportation hub by virtue of its geographical position in the centre of the continent.
The second-largest city in Manitoba is Brandon, with an estimated population of 54,196 in 2018 (latest figure available), an increase of 0.4% over the prior year. Brandon, in western Manitoba, is a major supply centre for the agriculture industry, as well as an agriculture-related manufacturing centre.
Constitutional Framework
Canada consists of a federation of Provinces and Territories. A constitutional division of powers between the Federal and Provincial governments was established by the British North America Act, 1867, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. By later enactments, including the Constitution Act, 1982, the power to amend the constitution of Canada (the Constitution) was transferred to Canada.
Under the Constitution, the Provinces are assigned jurisdiction over education, municipal institutions, property and civil rights, natural resources and other matters of purely provincial or local concern. The Legislature of each Province has exclusive jurisdiction over the borrowing of money on the sole credit of that Province. The Parliament of Canada has jurisdiction over areas not assigned to the Provincial Legislatures, including such matters as aboriginal persons’ civil rights, the Federal public debt and property, the regulation of trade and commerce, currency and coinage, banks and banking, national defence, foreign affairs, postal services, interprovincial transportation and communications undertakings. The Provinces and the Parliament of Canada have shared jurisdictions over immigration, health care, environment and agriculture.
Various constitutional issues have been under discussion in Canada for a number of years. In 1998, in response to a reference from the Federal Government, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that under the Constitution and international law, Quebec may not secede unilaterally from Canada, but that if the people of Quebec voted to secede by a clear majority vote on a clear question, the other Provinces and the Federal Government would be obliged to enter into negotiations with Quebec with respect to secession, such negotiations to be guided by constitutional principles, including federalism, democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law and the protection of minorities.
Provincial Government
The Provincial Government has general responsibility for the administration of all governmental activities and functions within Manitoba, other than those which are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. It carries out certain of these responsibilities through Provincial agencies, boards, commissions and Crown organizations. Certain other responsibilities have been delegated to cities, municipalities and semi-autonomous bodies such as school boards and regional health authorities.
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