12 May: Manitoba

On this date in 1870 Royal assent was given to the Manitoba Act whereby Manitoba entered the Confederation as the fifth Canadian province. 10 facts about it:

1. The name Manitoba is probably derived from manitou, which means “fundamental life force” in the Cree and Ojibwa languages. Alternatively, it may be from the Assiniboine "minnetoba," meaning "Lake of the Prairie". This name was chosen over the alternative suggestion of Assiniboia.

2. Manitoba is bordered to the west by Alberta, the north by Nunavut, the east by Ontario, and the south by North Dakota and Minnesota. It is roughly equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, meaning it is at the longitudinal centre of Canada. Its capital, Winnipeg, is at the geographic centre of Canada. Hence it is sometimes referred to as the “Keystone” province.

3. 750,000 people live in Winnipeg, which is more than half the population of the province as a whole. That said, more people live in each of the cities of Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto than in the whole of Manitoba.

4. Manitoba has over 110,000 lakes. Over 15% of the surface of the province is lake. One of the lakes, Lake Manitoba, is thought to be the home of a Loch Ness Monster-like creature called the Manipogo.

5. Manitoba’s highest point is Baldy Mountain at 831 metres. It is located in Duck Mountain Provincial Park.

6. The largest Icelandic community outside of Iceland lives in Manitoba, in a town called Gimli, on the west shores of Lake Winnipeg.

7. Churchill, Manitoba, is Canada’s most northerly port. It's nicknamed the “Polar Bear Capital of the World" because polar bears congregate here on their way to Hudson Bay.

8. If you’re a fan of snake porn, Manitoba is the place to go because it has the biggest mating dens in the world for red-sided garter snakes. Thousands of them come out in early May for a bit of spring nookie.

9. If it were a country, Manitoba would be the 41st largest in the world. It’s bigger than Great Britain and Honshu (the main island of Japan) combined. That said, it’s not the biggest province of Canada, but only the sixth.

10. Manitoba has more curling clubs than Ontario and Quebec combined and is often referred to as the "Curling Capital of the World". The world’s largest curling rock is located in Arborg, Manitoba, outside the Arborg-Bifrost Curling Club. The rock measures 4.2 metres.

Character birthday

Emily Garrett, half sister of the assassin Sebastian Garrett, and a Viper agent/assassin in her own right. She also serves as a mentor and advisor to younger Viper agents in training. Read about her in Killing Me Softly.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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