Manitoba is located at the longitudinal centre of Canada, although it is considered to be part of Western Canada. It borders Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east, Nunavut and Hudson Bay to the north, and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south.

The province has a lengthy coastline along Hudson Bay, and contains the tenth-largest fresh-water lake in the world,[3] Lake Winnipeg, along with two other large lakes: Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis. Manitoba's lakes cover approximately 14.5% or 94,241 km² of its surface area. Lake Winnipeg is the largest lake within the borders of southern Canada, and the east side has some of the last remote and intact watersheds left in the world. The large rivers that flow into the east side of Lake Winnipeg's basin are pristine, with no major developments along them. The most southern herd of woodland caribou in Canada are along the east side of Lake Winnipeg. Many uninhabited islands can be found along the eastern shore of this lake. There are thousands of lakes across the province.[4] Important watercourses include the Red, Assiniboine, Nelson, Winnipeg, Hayes, Whiteshell and Churchill Rivers.