Founded in 1967,[1] the UMP is the first university press in western Canada.
[2][3][4] Publishing 12 to 14 books a year,[5] UMP is regarded as a leading publisher of books with a focus on Indigenous history, Indigenous studies, and Canadiana.
[4] Its distribution is handled by UTP Distribution in Canada; Michigan State University Press in the US; and Eurospan Group internationally (EMEA, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Caribbean).
[6][7] UMP's publishing program is supported by the federal government via the Canada Book Fund, the Council for the Arts, and the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council); the provincial government via the Department of Sport, Culture, and Heritage, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the Manitoba Book Publishing Tax Credit; and Livres Canada Books.
[5] The Press publishes various works exploring Indigenous history and studies (such as cultures of the Inuit, Anishinaabe, Cree, and Métis); Canadiana (such as Canadian history and literature), especially the culture and history of the Canadian Prairies; and Canadian-immigrant cultures (such as Italian, Japanese, Ukrainian, and Icelandic).