Winnipeg, Canada Population

Population in Urban Area, now

830,939
  • World: 727th
  • North America: 94th
  • Canada: 8th

Population in City Area, 2022-08-11

749,607
  • World: 495th
  • North America: 18th
  • Canada: 6th

Winnipeg Urban Area Population Graph

Winnipeg Population Review

Winnipeg is a city located in the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is the largest city in the province and is also the capital of the province. It is home to 819 thousand people in the urban area and 632 thousand people in the city area. The city is named after Lake Winnipeg, whose name comes from a Western Cree word meaning ‘muddy water’.

The area was a known trading center for indigenous people long before the arrival of the Europeans. Established in 1738, Winnipeg is the eighth-most populated municipality in Canada and is known as the “Gateway to the West”.

A large population of First Nations’ people

The demographics of Winnipeg show it to be a multicultural and multilingual city: typical of most large, Canadian cities. A large part of the city’s population descended from First Nations people, with almost 11% of Winnipeg’s population self-identifying. This is far beyond the national average of 4.3%. The strong presence of First Nations’ descendants plays heavily into the city’s makeup. The city has the largest population of urban and off-reserve First Nations people, with about 72,000 Indigenous people calling the city home.

Winnipeg also has a large Filipino population, with Tagalog being the second-most common mother tongue spoken in the city. About 5% of the city’s population speak Tagalog as a first language and 8.7% of the city’s total population are Filipino. The city’s Filipino population live mostly in the West End and North End of the city.

A booming downtown core

Downtown Winnipeg is the city’s financial and economic core. Centred on the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street, it covers 2.6 square kilometres and is the fastest growing, high-income neighbourhood out of all of Winnipeg’s 236 neighbourhoods. There are more than 72,000 people who work in the downtown core and over 40,000 students attend classes at the universities and colleges located there.

The downtown core of Winnipeg has also been undergoing major changes, with the past few decades seeing huge revitalization efforts. Since 1999, over $1.2 billion dollars CAD has been invested in revamping downtown Winnipeg.

An economic powerhouse

Winnipeg has one of Canada’s most diversified economies and it is considered an economic base for the province. Major employment sectors are in the trades (15.2%), manufacturing (9.8%), education (7.7%), and health care and social assistance (15.2%). The city of Winnipeg had 21,000 employers listed as of 2012 and, as of 2014 there were approximately 416,700 people working in Winnipeg and the surrounding areas.

Winnipeg’s economy is rated as the fourth largest in Canada, just behind three of other major cities (Toronto, Calgary, and Regina). Winnipeg’s economy continues to flourish, with a real GDP growth of 2 percent in 2014 and a decrease in unemployment n 2013—something that was not happening in most of Canada. The median income in Winnipeg is around $72,000.

Culture Capital

In 2010, Canadian Heritage named the city of Winnipeg the Culture Capital of Canada. The city is rife with national historic sites (26, to be exact) and The Forks alone attracts 4 million visitors per year. It has many attractions, including the ‘City’ television studio, the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The city’s multicultural roots have also led to a variation of dishes and cooking styles that have now become unique to Winnipeg. Combinations of First Nations, European and Asian cooking styles have led to the city being known for its unique confectionaries and hot-smoked fish. Some of the city’s most famous dishes include schmoo torte, which is a torte with layers of whipped cream, caramel and nuts and sponge or angel food cake, and wafer pie, a Graham cracker pie which dates back to the 19th or early 20th century.

Review Updated: October 2, 2020

Winnipeg Urban Area Population History

1950 345,000
1951 355,000
1952 366,000
1953 377,000
1954 388,000
1955 400,000
1956 412,000
1957 424,000
1958 437,000
1959 450,000
1960 463,000
1961 477,000
1962 483,000
1963 489,000
1964 496,000
1965 503,000
1966 509,000
1967 515,000
1968 522,000
1969 528,000
1970 534,000
1971 541,000
1972 548,000
1973 556,000
1974 563,000
1975 571,000
1976 578,000
1977 579,000
1978 580,000
1979 580,000
1980 581,000
1981 583,000
1982 591,000
1983 600,000
1984 608,000
1985 617,000
1986 626,000
1987 633,000
1988 640,000
1989 647,000
1990 654,000
1991 661,000
1992 662,000
1993 663,000
1994 665,000
1995 666,000
1996 667,000
1997 669,000
1998 671,000
1999 673,000
2000 675,000
2001 677,000
2002 681,000
2003 684,000
2004 688,000
2005 691,000
2006 696,000
2007 703,000
2008 710,000
2009 717,000
2010 724,000
2011 731,000
2012 741,000
2013 750,000
2014 760,000
2015 770,000
2016 780,000
2017 790,000
2018 800,000
2019 808,000
2020 817,000
2021 825,000
2022 833,000
2023 841,000
2024 849,000

Winnipeg Urban Area Population Projections

2025 857,000
2026 865,000
2027 874,000
2028 882,000
2029 890,000
2030 898,000
2031 905,000
2032 913,000
2033 921,000
2034 929,000
2035 937,000

Map of Winnipeg, Canada

All Biggest Cities in Canada