One Great Province! Why I LOVE Manitoba!

Frosty Prairie winter, originally uploaded by Cody La Bière.

A few hours ago I was walking from the university on this beautiful day. Near me, there was this girl, on the phone and she went to say "I just moved to Brandon, Manitoba.. I hated it here and it sucks...a lot!". Like every other person who has moved to Brandon and Manitoba for various reasons such as for school, work, family or just for any other reason.. they quickly discover that it's not as a great place as they were hoping. Even I feel that I feel more welcome anywhere else but here!

But, on the flipside, there are things about Manitoba that I do love, which is weird to say... and if I was to leave Manitoba.. I would miss it.. somewhat.

Manitoba is a place that has an abundance of agriculture, like any other prairie province. We have enough beef to feed a third world nation, enough barley to brew the best beers in Canada, wheat for breads and pastries, and the local potatos are eaten around the world.. ever eaten a McDonalds french fry? A large quantity of those potatos are grown in Manitoba!

The fusion of cultures in Manitoba makes me smile once in a while. Growing up, I grew up in middle of nowhere of course, but even as late as grade one or grade two, I could tell that there were alot of people of different cultures in the class. One of my best friends was Hutterite, others were Irish, French, Métis, Scottish, Ukrainian, and much much more. Heck, I grew up hearing French on a regular basis being from a French family, I also heard several other languages on a regular basis. Brandon and Winnipeg once a year hold these events that let people discover how other cultures celebrate. Brandon has the Lieutenant Governor's Winter Festival, while Winnipeg has the world renown Folklorama. At these ones I get to see what people from El Salvador or Germany like to do culturally, what they like to eat and what sort of traditional music and dance they do. Manitoba is much more welcoming for immigrants than alot of regions are. Well, we need it as most people don't want to work at a pig barn for near minimum wage.

The music. Frankly, Manitoba has one of the best music scenes in Canada, period. While we cannot compare to Quebec, as they have the most amazing music scene I have ever seen, but Manitoba is full of very amazing musicians, ranging from John K Samson and the Weakerthans to local violinist James Ehnes to the Guess Who. I guess there's something in the water that gets people to really experiment with music here.. oh wait, no.. it's the fact that Manitoba is one of the coldest places on the planet Earth, that's why. You have to keep busy while you're here.

Slurpees, as a Manitoban, I loveeeee Slurpees, it's one of those weird cravings that I get from time to time. It can be a cold miserable night where it's -40C with a windchill of -48C, and if I'm craving a Slurpee, I MUST have a Slurpee, and sure enough, I end up getting a Slurpee, making the trek 15 minutes each way just for a 1L jug of Coke or Orange slurpee! But the cold trek is worth it. Slurpees were something I dearly missed while living in Quebec. They have la sloche there at Couche Tard (Mac's Convenience Store), but it's just iced kool-aid and sour flavours, not iced Coke/root beer or whatever.. I guess if I ever do move out of the Prairies, I'll have to buy myself a small Slurpee machine! Mmmmmm!

The Summers. One thing people bitch about Manitoba is that the winters here are unbelievably cold and long (well it is), and the summers are too hot and full of mosquitos. Well the mosquito part is, but personally, I LOVE Manitoban summers, it's hot, it's dry, it's a perfect time to go to the beach, and Manitoba has some of the best beaches in all of Canada! Nothing's better than going to a local beach and going for a swim, then tan for a bit, then at night go back home and sit on the deck with friends and have an ice cold beer while listening to Kim Mitchell on a small tape player! That's what I call heaven.


Winter weather on days like today. As I said before, Manitoban winters are unbelievably cold and long, but on days like today make it special. It's only -6C out today and supposed to warm up for the rest of the week. I love weeks like this as you see people out and about, going for walks, with their family, with their kids, with their loved ones, with their pets, with who/whatever. People are in a pleasant mood on days like this, actually smiling, instead of being bundled up, grouchy and freezing their arses off and wishing it was summer.

Lastly, the beer. Well most beer available in Manitoba is crap. Lucky Lager? Minhas Creek? Club? OV? Blech! Winnipeg's Microbrewery Half Pints Brewing Co is a company I admire dearly. They are one of the first breweries on the Prairies who have a desire to create quality beers, not quantity. Their beers are NOT the traditional Pilsner, lagers, golden and light beers that are popular with Manitobans. They focus on real India Pale Ales, coffee flavoured Stouts, Amber Ales, very hoppy beers and a very very tasty Pale Ale.. which personally, tastes much better than any Keith's, Kokanee, Canadian or Blue on the market. Every person who has ever tried the (St James) Pale Ale has fell in love with it. Why? Well it's just a good tasting beer, not too strong for the pickiest prairie beer drinker, but also appreciative for a connoisseur who wants something of a lighter fare. Half Pints is possibly the best brewery in Western Canada, and also one of the BEST breweries in Canada. Well their Humulus Ludicrous was rated as the BEST beer in Western Canada by RateBeer.com (and #10 Canada wide), so they're obviously doing SOMETHING right! Their beers are such a treat, especially their mixed pack.. but I wish they'd mix up the mixer pack more often, a few seasonal, a few staples, like have maybe one seasonal, a St James, Bull Dog, and something else. That'd be good for everyones tastes. How I love that beer company!