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Manitoba
Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Glorious and free)
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province. Manitoba is probably from a Cree name meaning 'the place where the spirit (manitou) speaks’. The British arrived in Manitoba in the 17th century forming the Hudson’s Bay Company, controlling the watershed; it was called Rupert’s Land after Prince Rupert who subsidised the Company. Britain secured the territory for themselves following the French and Indian War, 1754-1763. Manitoba was brought into Canada as a province in 1870. The original province of Manitoba was a square one-eighteenth of its current size, and was known colloquially as the ‘postage stamp province’.
Several tartans exist but one of the main designers was Hugh Kirkwood Rankine who was born in Winnipeg of Scottish parents. It's said that during a leave in Scotland during World War II, he became interested in tartan and on his return learned how to weave and in time produced a 'history in cloth' which was given Royal Assent in 1962.
The red squares represent the Red River Settlement; the green squares signify the natural resources of the province; the azure blue squares represent Lord Selkirk, the founder of the Red River Settlement and the dark green lines are for Manitoba's multi-cultural population. In his 'District Tartans' book, Gordon Teal states that sometimes the tartan is depicted with the dark green as red. The tartan as it would appear with red in place of green.
Choose from one of the Manitoba tartans listed below:
