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Abstract

k inside. And houses and apartments tend to be well isolated and it’s rare to be cold indoors.But you do need to plan your life around the cold: cars need to be plugged in when not in use and have to run for a few minutes so the engine can get warm before driving, you can’t spend too long outside, etc.<h2 id="d431">Pro: the winter activities</h2>Because Manitoba gets such a long and cold winter, you can find a slew of fun winter activities. While you can’t enjoy them during extreme cold warnings, most of the time, it is warm enough (-10 to -20°C or 14 to -4°F) to spend time outside.Notably, the longest river ice trail in Canada is created on the Assiniboine river with warming huts along the way. You can find skating trails and rinks all across the province, as well as some ski hills, and other fun winter activities.<h2 id="b1d0">Con: the isolation</h2>Manitoba is truly the middle of nowhere. For indication, it would take over 25 hours to drive between Winnipeg, the largest city in Manitoba, and Montréal in Québec, and 13 hours to drive to Calgary, Alberta. And most of these drives are kilometres of nothingness.Manitoba is large and sparsely populated, which increases the feeling of isolation. Over 60% of the population lives in Winnipeg, the rest being scattered over the province.There are a few airports in Manitoba, the main one being in Winnipeg, but there are very few international flights. If you want to leave Canada, you’ll have to transit through Toronto or Montréal.In our case, we lived near Brandon, so any journey involved driving almost 3 hours to Winnipeg, then a 2-hour flight to Toronto or Montréal, followed by the flight to wherever we were going next. That made for very long journeys.<h2 id="197

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d">Pro: lots to do in the province</h2>While it is complicated to leave the province, there are lots to do in the province.Some people might disagree with me. It is true that you can’t find the same things that you might find in larger cities across Canada. You can’t go to concerts every weekend. There aren’t thousands of restaurants to eat at. You won’t find a festival at every corner.But, especially if you love nature, there is plenty to see and explore in Manitoba.Manitoba is home to one incredible national park, Riding Mountain National Park, and 92 provincial parks. All of these offer great camping spots and amazing hiking trails.There are also a large number of lakes across Manitoba, my favourites being Lake William near Brandon and Grand Lake near Winnipeg.Summers in Manitoba mean renting cabins, camping, hiking, and discovering the great biodiversity of this province.And, even if you aren’t into nature activities, there is still plenty to do. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is world-renowned. There is a thriving small-business community with regular markets and craft fairs. Winnipeg is home to several incredible museums. The list goes on.Manitoba is also the place to go see polar bears in Churchill. It is a fairly long trip to get there but where else are you going to experience polar bears in their natural habitat?Manitoba might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It can be a challenging place to live, especially in the middle of winter.However, like every place, it is what you make of it. And Manitoba can be a great place to live if you take advantage of what it has to offer. I loved our time in Manitoba. And I think it’s a province worth a visit.</article></body>

The Pros and Cons of Living in Manitoba

It’s not as bad as you might think

The author hanging out with a polar bear at Assiniboine Park Zoo (photo by author)

A few years ago, as my husband got his posting message and we announced that we were moving to Manitoba, most people’s reaction was “But why?”. In the rest of Canada (and the world, if people even know where Manitoba is), it doesn’t have a great reputation.

Located in the centre of Canada, within the Great Plains, with a population barely above 1.3 million, it’s true that Manitoba doesn’t seem all that exciting.

And there are a lot of inconveniences to living there.

However, the three years we lived in Manitoba were mostly enjoyable. And we would gladly move back there, as it seems that we might have to this summer.

So here are the best and worst things about living in Manitoba.

Con: the winter

I’ll get this one out of the way because it’s truly one of the worst parts of living in Manitoba. Winter in Canada is difficult. But winter in Manitoba is brutal.

While there aren’t huge quantities of snow compared to some provinces closer to bodies of water, the temperatures dip extremely low and we experienced very regular extreme cold warnings. The temperatures regularly go down as low as -30°C (-22°F) and the wind chill brings it closer to -50°C (-58°F). At these temperatures, exposed skin can freeze within minutes.

Thankfully, it’s a dry cold, which means that it doesn’t seep into your clothes and bones, and it’s easy to get warm once you are back inside. And houses and apartments tend to be well isolated and it’s rare to be cold indoors.

But you do need to plan your life around the cold: cars need to be plugged in when not in use and have to run for a few minutes so the engine can get warm before driving, you can’t spend too long outside, etc.

Pro: the winter activities

Because Manitoba gets such a long and cold winter, you can find a slew of fun winter activities. While you can’t enjoy them during extreme cold warnings, most of the time, it is warm enough (-10 to -20°C or 14 to -4°F) to spend time outside.

Notably, the longest river ice trail in Canada is created on the Assiniboine river with warming huts along the way. You can find skating trails and rinks all across the province, as well as some ski hills, and other fun winter activities.

Con: the isolation

Manitoba is truly the middle of nowhere. For indication, it would take over 25 hours to drive between Winnipeg, the largest city in Manitoba, and Montréal in Québec, and 13 hours to drive to Calgary, Alberta. And most of these drives are kilometres of nothingness.

Manitoba is large and sparsely populated, which increases the feeling of isolation. Over 60% of the population lives in Winnipeg, the rest being scattered over the province.

There are a few airports in Manitoba, the main one being in Winnipeg, but there are very few international flights. If you want to leave Canada, you’ll have to transit through Toronto or Montréal.

In our case, we lived near Brandon, so any journey involved driving almost 3 hours to Winnipeg, then a 2-hour flight to Toronto or Montréal, followed by the flight to wherever we were going next. That made for very long journeys.

Pro: lots to do in the province

While it is complicated to leave the province, there are lots to do in the province.

Some people might disagree with me. It is true that you can’t find the same things that you might find in larger cities across Canada. You can’t go to concerts every weekend. There aren’t thousands of restaurants to eat at. You won’t find a festival at every corner.

But, especially if you love nature, there is plenty to see and explore in Manitoba.

Manitoba is home to one incredible national park, Riding Mountain National Park, and 92 provincial parks. All of these offer great camping spots and amazing hiking trails.

There are also a large number of lakes across Manitoba, my favourites being Lake William near Brandon and Grand Lake near Winnipeg.

Summers in Manitoba mean renting cabins, camping, hiking, and discovering the great biodiversity of this province.

And, even if you aren’t into nature activities, there is still plenty to do. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is world-renowned. There is a thriving small-business community with regular markets and craft fairs. Winnipeg is home to several incredible museums. The list goes on.

Manitoba is also the place to go see polar bears in Churchill. It is a fairly long trip to get there but where else are you going to experience polar bears in their natural habitat?

Manitoba might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It can be a challenging place to live, especially in the middle of winter.

However, like every place, it is what you make of it. And Manitoba can be a great place to live if you take advantage of what it has to offer. I loved our time in Manitoba. And I think it’s a province worth a visit.