Manitoba

III

Economic Activities

The fur trade, the first major industry in Manitoba, dominated the local economy until the late 19th century, when it was replaced by agriculture. After 1875 wheat replaced beaver pelts as the chief export. Agriculture remained the most important economic activity in the province until the mid–20th century, when it was surpassed by manufacturing as a source of income. The decades after World War II (1939-1945) also witnessed rapid growth in service industries. Today, services provide the largest portion of Manitoba’s gross domestic product (GDP), followed by manufacturing, agriculture, hydroelectricity production, and mining. Hunting and trapping continues in the province to the present day. In 2006 Manitoba’s GDP was $C(Canadian)44.9 billion.

A

Agriculture

Manitoba’s early farmers settled in the fertile Red River Valley, and other agricultural settlements gradually spread outward from there. Because poor, sandy soils were encountered in the forests to the east and north, the main thrust of settlement was westward and to the south. The black and brown soils of the prairies and the parklands proved the most productive.

Farmland occupies about 14 percent of Manitoba’s land, and crops are raised on 61 percent of the farmland. In 2006 there were 19,054 farms in Manitoba, with an average farm size of 405 hectares (1,001 acres). This represents nearly a 30 percent decline in the number of farms in Manitoba since 1981; at the same time, the average farm size has risen by nearly 40 percent. About three-quarters of all Manitoba farms specialize in wheat, other grains and oilseeds, and livestock.

The black soil of southwestern Manitoba is part of an area of exceptionally fertile soil that extends over the Prairie provinces. Many farms in Manitoba’s black-soil belt are devoted solely to wheat, the most important crop in the province. Most wheat farmers grow varieties of hard red spring wheat.

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Manitoba produces several other grain crops, including barley, oats, and rye. Flax has been an important crop since the mid-20th century, but other oilseed crops have since risen in importance, including canola and sunflowers. Manitoba also produces potatoes, mushrooms, fruit, and a variety of vegetables. Specialty crops include soybeans, mustard seed, and grain corn, which is used as a livestock feed.

Livestock is the leading source of farm income in Manitoba. Manitoba’s beef cattle herd is among the largest in Canada. During the 1990s the swine industry grew significantly, and today the value of hog production generally exceeds that of cattle. Other animals raised include sheep, chickens, and turkeys, as well as less conventional animals such as bison, geese, and wild boar. Dairy cattle provide Manitoba with fresh milk and cream. Chicken eggs are an important export.

Among the more unusual agricultural activities in Manitoba are the gathering of wild rice and medicinal herbs by indigenous First Nations peoples. The wild rice grows in marshes in the southeastern part of the province, particularly in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

B

Fisheries

In 1880 Icelandic settlers in the interlake region north of Winnipeg started the Lake Winnipeg pickerel and whitefish industry. The large southern lakes were long the major source of Manitoba’s commercial fish harvest, but the catch there has declined because of pollution and overfishing. Today, a growing proportion of the catch comes from the cleaner northern lakes, from which the fish are transported by air.

About 15 varieties of fish are sold commercially, mostly in the United States. Walleye, pickerel, mullet, whitefish, northern pike, sauger, and carp are the main species caught. The entire commercial freshwater fish catch in Manitoba is marketed and processed by the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, a crown corporation with headquarters and processing facilities in Winnipeg. The corporation also maintains operations in northwestern Ontario and the Northwest Territories.

C

Furs

Since the late 19th century the fur trade has been of limited significance to Manitoba’s economy, partly because of a loss of interest by the public in beaver hats and partly because of the depletion of fur-bearing animals. By the early 20th century, the beaver was almost extinct in Manitoba. Government-backed conservation measures eventually made it possible to resume the harvesting of wild fur. Beaver, marten, muskrat, mink, and fisher are the most valuable wildlife fur sources. Ranch-raised mink and fox account for approximately one-third of the value of Manitoba’s production of pelts.

D

Forestry

Although about half of Manitoba’s land area is forested, only three-fifths of the forestland is productive, or suitable for regular harvest. Nearly all of this productive forestland is located in the area adjacent to the large lakes and to the lower Saskatchewan River; more than 90 percent of it is owned by the provincial government. Because of the small size of the trees on the productive forestland and the predominance of spruce and pine trees, three-fifths of the timber cut in the Manitoba forests is converted to wood pulp. Lumber and pulpwood processing operations are located near The Pas. A mill at Pine Falls produces newsprint and a plant at Minitonas makes oriented strand board.

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