Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the Saskatchewan border. Brandon covers an area of with a population of 51,313, and a census metropolitan area population of 54,268. It is the primary hub of trade and commerce for the Westman Region as well as parts of southeastern Saskatchewan and northern North Dakota, an area with a combined population of over 180,000 people. The City of Brandon was incorporated in 1882, having a history rooted in the Assiniboine River fur trade as well as its role as a major junction on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Known as The Wheat City, Brandon's economy is predominantly associated with agriculture, as well as health care, manufacturing, food processing, education, business services, and transportation. Brandon's post-secondary institutions include Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College, Robertson College, and the Manitoba Emergency Services College. Canadian Forces Base Shilo is located east of Brandon and maintains close ties with the city. Brandon's Keystone Centre, one of the largest consolidated entertainment, recreation, convention, and agriculture complexes in Canada, is the home of the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. History Prior to the influx of people from Eastern Canada, the area around Brandon was primarily used by the Sioux people, the Bungays, the Yellow Quills, and the Bird Tails. In the 1870s and early 1880s, the Plains Bison were nearly wiped out by over-hunting. With the destruction of their staff of life, the buffalo, the nomadic Sioux people began to agree to settle in reservations such as the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, or left the area entirely. French Canadians also passed through the area on river boats on their way to the Hudson Bay Post, Fort Ellice located near present-day St. Lazare, Manitoba. The city of Brandon gets its name from the Blue Hills south of the city, which got their name from a Hudson's Bay trading post known as Brandon House, which got its name from a hill on an island in James Bay where Captain James had anchored his ship in 1631. During the 1870s it was believed by most that the transcontinental railway would take a northwesterly direction from Portage la Prairie. Many thought that the route would most likely go through