Manitoba joined Confederation on July 15, 1870, soon after the first July 1 anniversaries.
Its admission followed the Red River Resistance of 1869–70, when Métis residents led by Louis Riel formed a provisional government and negotiated terms with Ottawa. Parliament passed the Manitoba Act in 1870, creating the province from part of Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory.
Manitoba became Canada’s fifth province, after Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Its original boundaries were much smaller than today’s; the province expanded northward in 1881 and again in 1912. Winnipeg became its capital.
A common mix-up is confusing Manitoba’s entry date with July 1, 1867, which marks the original Confederation of four provinces. Saskatchewan and Alberta joined much later, in 1905, while Newfoundland entered in 1949.