Winnipeg is…

If you had to use one word to complete that statement, what would you choose?

Over the past decade, a lot of different words have been used, by a lot of different people and publications. Let’s take a look at some notable ones.

Winnipeg is…

In 2014, two years after opening, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport was named as one of the 10 most stylish airports in the world, by ​Fodor’s Travel, a New York-based publisher of international guidebooks.

The warming huts we see dotted along the frozen river trail at The Forks each winter have been the subject of much international praise over the years, including winning the prestigious AZ Award in 2013 for ‘Best Temporary Architecture.’ The huts were also featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2017.

When did ‘cold’ become a dirty word? We’re happy to end the speculation once and for all; in the winter, yes, Winnipeg is cold. And we love it.

Remember that frigid day in 2013 when it was revealed that Winnipeg was, in fact, colder than the surface of Mars? Well, we ultimately came out on top on that one. A couple years later, NASA officially named a small patch of the red planet ‘Winnipeg.’

More recently, WestJet Magazine named Winnipeg ‘one of Canada’s best winter cities.’

How can a city be both cold and inviting? Well, pretty easily it turns out. Don’t believe us?

​​Winnipeg — or the ‘little spark on the Prairie’ as it’s referred to in the article — was named as one of National Geographic’s ‘Best Trips’ of 2016.

In fact, in 2017, a newlywed couple from Iowa actually took their honeymoon in Winnipeg.

​Winnipeg has been featured in Huffington Post and Vogue, called ‘the coolest Canadian destination you haven’t heard of’ by Happy to Wander and Manitoba was named as one of the top 10 regions to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet.

For seven of the last nine years (including this year), Winnipeg has been named as one of the ‘Smart21 Communities’ of the year, chosen annually by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).

The ICF describes Winnipeg as, “​the capital of a province rich in agricultural and natural resources. In the 21st Century, the city is pursuing economic growth by better connecting industry and education, while better equipping its large aboriginal population for opportunity.”

In 2018, Winnipeg was named one of ‘The World’s Greenest Cities’ by Bloomberg, for using 100 per cent renewable energy. Cities using anywhere from 70 to 100 per cent clean energy made the list, and Winnipeg was one of only four cities in Canada to be named, alongside Vancouver, Montreal, and Prince George.

The Conference Board of Canada released its ‘City Health Monitor’ report in 2016, grading ​the physical and socio-economic health of 10 major Canadian cities, and Winnipeg received an  A grade, finishing third overall, behind Saskatoon and Calgary.

The cities studied received their grade based on a total of 24 indicators, grouped into four categories: life satisfaction, population health, healthy lifestyle and access to health-care services.

Winnipeg had 13 companies on Canadian Business Magazine’s 2018 ‘Growth 500’ list of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Among the 13 were J-CON Civil (construction), Sherpa Marketing, Tiber River Naturals, and Manitobah Mukluks.

Winnipeg’s population only continues to grow as well, with an expectation to reach nearly 780,000 by the end of 2019; a growth of roughly 70,000 citizens since 2014.

Winnipeggers take pride in a great many things about their city and its culture, but that pride was never more visible than during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which saw the ‘Winnipeg Whiteout’ return to the city for the first time in three years.

The hometown Jets made a deep push to the third round of the post-season, drawing more than 15,000 fans for some of the ‘Winnipeg Whiteout Street Parties,’ and also drawing the attention of none other than The New York Times.

The Times ran an article written by Curtis Rush of the Toronto Star, titled, ‘Winnipeg looks for respect, on the ice and off it,’ saying, “The success of the Jets is changing people’s perception of their own city. No longer a small town, Winnipeg sees itself as a major player.”