| I | INTRODUCTION |
Saskatchewan
(province), province in western Canada. Saskatchewan is one of the
Prairie provinces, the others being Manitoba and Alberta. Its name is derived
from the Cree Indian word kisiskatchewan, which means “swiftly flowing,”
a term first applied to the Saskatchewan River. Crossed by a vast belt of flat
prairie land, Saskatchewan, with Alberta, is one of only two Canadian provinces
with no saltwater coast. Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan, and Saskatoon is
the largest city.
Until 1870, most of Saskatchewan was included
in the vast Rupert’s Land domain of the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had a
monopoly on the North American fur trade. Before 1880 the area was exploited
mainly for animal pelts. Only when the railroads came through the prairies in
the 1880s did settlers begin coming to Saskatchewan in any numbers. These early
pioneers settled the flatlands of central and southern Saskatchewan in scores of
tiny rail-side towns, strung out at 13-km (8-mi) intervals along the railroad
routes. The excellent soils of the southern prairies enabled Saskatchewan to
become the largest producer of wheat in Canada. Saskatchewan, which became a
province in 1905, has also prospered with the discovery of petroleum, natural
gas, coal, potash, uranium, and other valuable minerals.
| II | PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY |
Saskatchewan is a long, narrow swath of
territory that stretches 1,225 km (761 mi) from the 49th parallel of north
latitude, the United States boundary, to the 60th parallel. In width the
province varies from 632 km (393 mi) along the southern boundary to 446 km (277
mi) at the northern margin. It is the only Canadian province whose boundaries
are drawn without reference to any natural feature. The area they circumscribe
is 651,036 sq km (251,366 sq mi), of which 59,366 sq km (22,921 sq mi) are
inland water. Saskatchewan ranks fifth in size among the provinces.
| A | Natural Regions |
Saskatchewan contains portions of two major
natural regions: the Canadian Shield in the north and the Interior Plains in the
south.
The Canadian Shield, a rugged, rocky,
glacier-scoured region, makes up about 40 percent of the surface area of the
province. Its southern edge begins north of the Saskatchewan River at the
Manitoba border and can be traced roughly west-northwest across the province,
through Lac La Ronge to the Alberta boundary south of Lake Athabasca. The shield
is a complex area of old rocks, which are the eroded roots of ancient mountain
ranges. In more recent geologic time, great glaciers moved across the shield,
modifying its surface. The result is a low rippled surface, dotted with lakes
and poorly drained tracts of land. Bare rock is exposed in some places. In other
places the bedrock is covered by materials left by the glaciers or by meltwater
from the once-great ice masses.
South of the shield is a part of the
Interior Plains, which is a great sedimentary basin that lies between the shield
and the Rocky Mountains. The plains are underlain by nearly horizontal rock
strata. The surface, which slopes gently eastward, has been etched by rivers and
modified by glacial ice to the point that it is far from uniform. Traditionally,
three subdivisions of the plains, often called prairie levels, have been
recognized within Saskatchewan.
To the east is the First Prairie Level, or
Manitoba Lowland. A small section of it extends from Manitoba into eastern
Saskatchewan, beginning at the margin of the shield and ending at a point south
of the Saskatchewan River. In glacial times large portions of this lowland were
submerged beneath the waters of prehistoric Lake Agassiz, and a great delta was
formed where the Saskatchewan River entered the lake. Vestiges of this ancient
delta remain in the level and poorly drained lands on either side of the
Saskatchewan River, around Cumberland House. This part of the Manitoba Lowland
is commonly called the Saskatchewan Delta.
West of the Manitoba Lowland is the Second
Prairie Level. Its boundary with the First Prairie Level is marked by a long,
broken cliff, called the Manitoba Escarpment, which faces east and rises above
the lowland. It is breached by river lowlands and shows the effects of having
been sculptured by the continental ice sheets. The Porcupine Hills and the
Pasquia Hills are part of the Manitoba Escarpment. The plains, sweeping westward
from this escarpment, strike the base of a second escarpment in central
Saskatchewan. It is capped with material left by glaciers and forms a more or
less continuous belt of hills, traceable from the U.S. border northwestward to a
point not too far south of Lake Athabasca. The distinctive southern part of this
escarpment, separating the Second and Third prairie levels, is called the
Missouri Coteau. West of the coteau are the High Plains, or the Third Prairie
Level. Geologically, this region is a continuation of the Great Plains of the
United States.
| B | Rivers and Lakes |
More than 12 percent of the surface area
of Saskatchewan is covered by rivers and lakes. They are heavily concentrated in
the northern half of the province, in the Canadian Shield. Of the thousands of
lakes found here, the largest is Lake Athabasca, which is shared with Alberta.
Second in size is Reindeer Lake, shared with Manitoba. Other large lakes include
Wollaston, Cree, and Frobisher lakes and Lac La Ronge. Immediately south of the
shield are a number of other sizable bodies of water, including Peter Pond, and
Doré, Montreal, Primrose, and Cumberland lakes.
Most of the rivers of Saskatchewan flow
eastward toward Hudson Bay. In the southeast the Qu’Appelle and Souris rivers
feed into the Assiniboine-Red River system of Manitoba, which drains through
Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. The central plains are
crossed by the most important of the province’s rivers, the Saskatchewan, whose
northern and southern branches join east of Prince Albert. It also flows into
Lake Winnipeg. The Churchill River system in Saskatchewan is actually a series
of lakes connected by streams. The Churchill River drains the southern part of
the Canadian Shield and adjacent parts of the Interior Plains. In southwestern
Saskatchewan, the Frenchman River feeds southward into the Missouri River
System. Northern Saskatchewan falls within the extensive Mackenzie River Basin,
which drains northward into the Arctic Ocean.
| C | Climate |
The climate of Saskatchewan is
continental, with great seasonal variations in temperature. The interior
location of the province and the great barrier zone of mountains to the west
combine to seal Saskatchewan off from the moderating influences of both the
Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Winters are cold. January temperature averages
are low, even in the south. Regina, for example, has an average temperature
range in January from a high of -11°C (12°F) to a low of -22°C (-8°F); the
lowest temperature on record there is -50°C (-58°F). The lowest temperature
averages are found in the northeast, where the January mean is about -28°C
(-18°F) and winter readings sometimes sink to -57°C (-70°F). Summers are
generally hot in southern Saskatchewan, and warm weather is experienced all the
way to the 60th parallel. The average range in July in Regina is from a high of
26°C (79°F) to a low of 12°C (53°F). A maximum of 43°C (110°F) has been recorded
at Regina, and highs of more than 32°C (90°F) have been registered at Lake
Athabasca.
Precipitation is relatively light, ranging
from little more than 430 mm (17 in) per year near the Manitoba border to about
300 mm (about 12 in) in the southwest. Precipitation also diminishes northward,
with less than 280 mm (11 in) normally recorded along the 60th parallel. More
rain falls in summer, but it is concentrated during the harvest period of late
summer. Winter snows are not heavy, but they appear to be because snow remains
on the ground for long periods and drifting becomes a problem.
The length of the frost-free season varies
within the province. In the southwest, particularly in the valley lands along
the South Saskatchewan River, the frost-free period ranges from 150 to 160 days.
Regina enjoys about 123 frost-free days, and Saskatoon has about 111. The far
north has only from 85 to 95 frost-free days.
One important characteristic of
Saskatchewan’s climate is the great variability in temperature and precipitation
from year to year, which is often critical for agriculture. The growing season
is normally short, and any abbreviation of it may mean crop failure. Snows have
been known to fall on ripening grain. Since rainfall is modest,
drier-than-normal years may cause drought. In wet years there may be floods or
fields may become waterlogged.
| D | Soils |
The soils of Saskatchewan vary greatly in
character and productivity. The two primary categories are grassland soils and
forest soils.
The soils associated with the grasslands
tend to be of medium to high fertility. Deep black chernozem soils of high
fertility are found in the areas of the tall-grass and midgrass prairies. In the
drier short-grass areas, the soils are lighter-colored, brown prairie soils.
They are also fertile, but lack of precipitation limits their usefulness. Forest
soils are generally low in fertility. The podzol soils, soils that are formed by
moist climates and are associated with the coniferous forest, are deficient in
nutrients. The mixed forest is usually underlain by gray, wooded soil, also of
limited fertility.
The parklands provide a transition in
soils as well as in vegetation. Patches of gray, wooded soils are interspersed
with tracts of chernozem. Many areas have what is called degraded chernozem, a
soil of grassland origin that has been modified to some degree by the invasion
of trees into the region. Despite their name, the degraded chernozems are
usually quite productive. The vast swamplands between the Saskatchewan River and
the Pasquia Hills, in eastern Saskatchewan, have potentially productive soils
that require extensive draining before they can be used.
| E | Plant Life |
Although Saskatchewan is one of the
Prairie provinces, only a little more than one-fourth of its area was true
prairie in its natural state. Tall-grass prairies were found southwest of an
irregular boundary that could be drawn across the province approximately through
Regina and Saskatoon. Farther southwest, because of decreasing precipitation,
the tall grasses gave way to shorter ones, and beyond Swift Current true
short-grass prairie prevailed. The original grasslands of Saskatchewan were
either completely destroyed in the process of human settlement of the land or
have been considerably altered through many years of livestock grazing.
North of the prairies was a zone of
transition between the grasslands and the forests, called the parklands or aspen
grove belt. This zone varied from about 90 to 160 km (60 to 100 mi) in width.
Within it, patches of trees, or bluffs, occurred in a mixture with tracts of
tall grasses. The parklands have been an important area of settlement, and
settlers have removed most of its original vegetative cover. Aspen groves still
cover some lands that have not proved agriculturally productive.
The remainder of the province was, and
largely remains, forested land, known as the boreal forest. Here are found
coniferous trees, notably spruce and pine, and deciduous trees such as aspen,
poplar, and birch. In poorly drained areas are extensive tracts of muskeg,
swampy land in which sphagnum moss and other water-tolerant plants grow. The
southern boundary of the boreal forest is an irregular line connecting Kamsack,
Prince Albert, and the Alberta border. South of that line is a zone of mixed
forest in which aspen and birch are abundant but conifers are also present. In
the northeast is a subarctic zone, which forms a transition between the boreal
forest and the tundra.
| F | Animal Life |
Animals that have survived from the days
of the open range are the antelope, now protected, and the badger, now rare. The
coyote still inhabits the open prairie, and the timber wolf roams the region
farther north. The most common of the wild mammals on the prairie are the ground
squirrel, or gopher, and the jackrabbit. In the northern timberland there is a
variety of animals, including the muskrat, mink, weasel, beaver, black bear, and
skunk. In the forest region there are moose, elk, and deer. Farther north, the
caribou is common.
The lakes, sloughs, and swamps of
Saskatchewan attract a vast number of water birds and waders. Birds include the
Hungarian partridge, sharp-tailed grouse or prairie chicken, and pheasant on the
prairie; the ruffed grouse in wooded country; the ptarmigan in the far north;
and the Canada goose and a wide variety of ducks throughout the province. In
addition there are the western and horned grebe, common loon, great blue heron,
sandhill crane, and several species of hawk.
Fish include the common whitefish,
tullibee, pickerel, yellow perch, black bass, and lake trout. The grayling is
found in the far north.
| G | Environmental Issues |
With few large population centers and
limited manufacturing, Saskatchewan has few of the environmental problems
typically associated with industrialization and urbanization. The main ones are
largely related to the province’s extensive agriculture, which has transformed
the landscapes of southern Saskatchewan and led to the disappearance of much of
the native prairie habitat. Fertilizer and pesticide runoff from cultivated
fields has contaminated surface and groundwater in some areas and has also
affected wildlife. At the same time, intensive livestock operations (ILOs,
large-scale livestock farms) produce vast amounts of animal waste. Without
proper treatment, this waste can degrade water, soil, and air quality, and pose
serious risks to public health. Other issues of concern include the harmful
environmental impacts of mining, oil and gas development, and industrial
forestry—activities that occur within a variety of biologically diverse habitats
throughout the province.
The federal government enforces federal
regulations dealing with certain kinds of air and water pollution. The
provincial ministry of the environment is responsible for most provincial
environmental programs. Its activities include the enforcement of regulations
for the collection, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, and the operation
of provincial parks, renewable resource management, and wildlife management
programs. In 2002 the provincial government established the Long-Term Safe
Drinking Water Strategy (LTSDS), a water-management initiative, following an
incident in the town of North Battleford in which thousands were sickened by
contaminants in the public water supply. The initiative set in motion new
processes to reduce known risks to water quality and improve watershed
management to better protect human health and the environment.
| III | ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES |
The economy of Saskatchewan has always
depended on primary products. The first one was fur, for which the Hudson’s Bay
Company and the North West Company competed from 1774 to 1821. The development
of agriculture in the province began with the coming of the railroads in the
late 19th century. Agriculture, mainly wheat farming, rapidly expanded from
about 1880 to 1930. The depression and drought of the 1930s brought the
province’s economy to a virtual standstill. However, an improvement in the yield
and prices of grain during World War II (1939-1945) initiated an economic
recovery in the province.
In the 1950s economic growth was spurred by
oil, natural gas, uranium, and potash mining. By the 1960s a vigorous mining
industry and expanding levels of agriculture production helped bring economic
stability to the province. The service sector, which includes such activities as
banking and finance, insurance, and real estate, also expanded rapidly in the
postwar period, and today contributes more than 50 percent of Saskatchewan’s
gross domestic product (GDP, a measure of the value of all goods and services
produced annually). In 2006 Saskatchewan’s GDP was C(Canadian)$45.9
million.
A notable feature of Saskatchewan’s economy
is the prevalence of cooperatives across multiple economic sectors. Cooperative
associations, which are owned by members and managed for their benefit, were
organized by prairie wheat farmers in the early 1900s to help market and
distribute their crops. Since that time, cooperatives have become an important
feature of economic life in the province. Among the largest is the Saskatchewan
Wheat Pool, which operates hundreds of grain elevators, numerous export
terminals and terminal elevators, livestock yards, and many other facilities.
Cooperative associations are also active in retailing and wholesaling, housing,
and in many service industries.
| A | Agriculture |
Although agriculture accounts for less
than half of total production, it remains Saskatchewan’s largest single
industry. The raising of field crops is the leading type of farming in
Saskatchewan, and wheat is the most important field crop. In fact, Saskatchewan
is by far the largest producer of wheat in Canada.
In 2006 there were 44,329 farms in
Saskatchewan. Farmland and ranchland occupied 260,026 sq km (100,397 sq mi), of
which 58 percent was cropland. More than one-third of the farms and ranches
raised wheat. In 2002 the total farm cash receipts totaled 6.2 billion Canadian
dollars. Three-quarters of that income came from sales of crops.
Saskatchewan normally devotes about
one-half of its cropland to wheat. Most of the wheat is grown on the prairies
and adjacent parklands. Canola, a source of vegetable oil, is Saskatchewan’s
second most valuable crop. Oilseed crops have expanded in importance since the
early 1990s, and today canola is nearly as important as wheat. Flax, another
valuable oilseed, is also grown. Other important grains include barley, oats,
and rye. A variety of forage and feed crops, including hay, are grown to support
livestock.
Livestock farming is an important part of
Saskatchewan’s agricultural sector and, given the year-to-year variability in
crop production, a valuable stabilizing influence. Livestock production accounts
for about one-fifth of all agricultural sales. Traditionally, beef cattle
accounted for the majority of livestock raised, but hogs have increased in
importance due to growing domestic and international demand for pork. Cattle
were first brought into southwestern Saskatchewan from the Great Plains of the
United States in the 1880s. Since that time, livestock raising has occurred
alongside grain farming in all agricultural areas of the province.
Saskatchewan’s wheat farmers depend on
selling their vast output of grain on the world market. Huge amounts of wheat
are exported to countries such as the United States, Mexico, South Korea, Iran,
Brazil, Japan, and China. Most of the province’s grain is shipped through
Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the Great Lakes. Some wheat is also sent by rail to the
port of Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson Bay.
Irrigation projects in Saskatchewan were
first put in place after the severe drought of the 1930s to help rehabilitate
drought-stricken drylands in the southwest. Today, this system consists of 26
storage reservoirs that feed multiple irrigation projects across the southwest.
Irrigation water is used largely for the production of hay and fodder crops. The
water also provides recreational benefits and wildlife habitat, and is a source
of local and urban water supplies.
| B | Fisheries |
Commercial fishing is carried out on a
small scale in Saskatchewan’s lakes and rivers. The main fish caught are
walleye, whitefish, pike, and lake trout. The commercial freshwater fisheries
are small but locally important. Sport fishing draws many tourists to the
province, most from the United States.
| C | Furs |
By value, the principal species of the
fur trade in Saskatchewan are beaver, coyote, muskrat, and marten. Saskatchewan
ranks fourth among provinces and territories in the value of pelts produced
annually.
| D | Forestry |
Saskatchewan has 243,000 sq km (93,800 sq
mi) of forestland; of this 126,300 sq km (48,800 sq mi) is suitable for regular
harvest. Of the province’s lumber shipments, almost all is softwood; the
principal species are spruce and jack pine. Forestry remains a relatively small
industry in Saskatchewan. However, wood processing is locally important at
Hudson Bay, Glaslyn, Big River, and Meadow Lake.
| E | Mining |
Since the 1950s, mining has been of
increasing importance to Saskatchewan’s economy. By the 1980s, mining was second
only to agriculture as a percentage of overall production. Today, Saskatchewan
ranks third among the provinces in nonrenewable resource production in Canada.
Nonrenewable resources include all minerals, oil, and natural gas. Uranium and
other metallic minerals are produced from the Canadian Shield in northern
Saskatchewan. Potash, coal, and other industrial minerals are mined in southern
Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan is the largest
uranium-producing region in the world and is Canada’s most important source of
the mineral. Interest in Saskatchewan’s uranium deposits greatly increased after
atomic weapons were used during World War II (1939-1945), and in 1952 Uranium
City was established to mine a major deposit in the Beaverlodge area. That
deposit was exhausted in the 1980s, but new mines were established at three
other locations: Rabbit Lake, Key Lake, and Cluff Lake. Uranium produced from
these mines is sold to nuclear power plants in North America, Europe, and East
Asia. Gold is also mined in Saskatchewan.
Potash is used primarily in fertilizers,
and about 25 percent of the world production comes from Saskatchewan. Potash is
the largest mining sector in the province and is produced from numerous mines
spread across southern Saskatchewan. It is sold within Canada and to the United
States, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and countries in Southeast Asia. Other
minerals produced in Saskatchewan include salt, sodium sulfate, calcium
chloride, and clays.
Saskatchewan is the second largest
oil-producing province in Canada. Heavy and light crude oil are produced from
the Lloydminster, Kindersley-Kerrobert, Swift Current, and Weyburn-Estevan
areas. Crude oil is sold within the province and to buyers in Alberta, eastern
Canada, and the United States. The province is also an important natural gas
producing area in Canada. The main reserves are located along the western
boundary of Saskatchewan, in the Beacon Hill, Kindersley, and Hatton areas.
Natural gas is sold within the province and to buyers in eastern Canada and the
United States.
| F | Manufacturing |
Industry has developed slowly in
Saskatchewan, in part due to the small internal market, and it remains much less
important than farming or mining. In 1997 the province’s manufacturing concerns
generated 6 percent of GDP. Food processing has long been the main industry.
Especially important are slaughtering and meatpacking and the production of
beer, soft drinks, and animal feed. Other major products include newspapers and
magazines, agricultural implements, agricultural chemicals, commercial printed
materials, ready-mix concrete, and machine shop products. Regina and Saskatoon
are the principal manufacturing centers.
| G | Electricity |
The government-owned Saskatchewan Power
Corporation generates the electricity used in the province and has a monopoly
over the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. A few
large industrial consumers generate electricity for their own use. In 2002, 68
percent of the province’s electricity was produced by coal-fired plants, 16
percent by hydroelectric power plants, and 16 percent by natural gas
plants.
| H | Transportation |
During the fur-trade era, transportation
was almost exclusively by water. Steamboat traffic on the Saskatchewan River was
important during the late 19th century until railroad construction began. Today,
Saskatchewan has an efficient system of transportation based on extensive
east-west road and railroad routes and supplemented by many north-south spurs.
Saskatchewan has about 3,700 km (about 2,300 mi) of operated mainline railroad
track, run by the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways. There are
about 250,000 km (about 155,000 mi) of public highways and urban and rural
roads. A 653-km (406-mi) portion of the Trans-Canada Highway spans southern
Saskatchewan from the Alberta border near Maple Creek in the west through Regina
to the Manitoba border just east of Moosomin. Regina and Saskatoon are served by
Air Canada’s transcontinental flights. Small private airlines link the major
cities and operate to remote communities of the north.
| I | Trade |
Aside from the larger cities,
Saskatchewan’s urban communities—with their grain elevators, general stores, and
service stations—are predominantly shipping and trading centers for the farm
population. In addition to grain, Saskatchewan exports large quantities of a few
important commodities, often unprocessed, to other provinces and countries. In
turn, Saskatchewan imports most consumer and industrial goods used in the
province. Saskatchewan’s economy is thus highly dependent on trade and is
vulnerable to fluctuations in world commodity prices.
| IV | THE PEOPLE OF SASKATCHEWAN |
| A | Population Patterns |
Among the provinces, Saskatchewan ranks
sixth in population, with a population of 978,933 at the 2001 national census.
This figure represented a decrease of 1 percent from the 1991 figure of 988,928.
The province has an average density of 1.7 persons per sq km (4.3 per sq mi).
Population density is greatest in the parklands and along the margin of the
prairies. The population of Saskatchewan is of mixed ethnic origin. More than 40
percent of inhabitants trace their ancestry to the British Isles. The next
largest ethnic groups claim German, French, Ukrainian, American Indian, Métis
(people of mixed indigenous and European ancestry), and Scandinavian
ancestry.
Indigenous peoples, mainly Cree,
Assiniboine, and Chipewyan account for a significant share of Saskatchewan’s
population. At the time of the 2006 census, they constituted 14.9 percent of the
population. Indigenous peoples live mainly in the north and on more than 100
reserves throughout the province.
By 1931 the population of Saskatchewan had
reached 921,785. A severe drought and the deep economic depression in the 1930s
prompted many people to leave the province to look for work elsewhere. Within
the province many people moved from the prairie dust bowl northward into the
southern margins of the forested regions. Subsequently these poorer woodlands
were also abandoned, and there was further migration from the province. The
population grew slowly in the 1950s, and it stagnated in the 1960s and 1970s. In
1976 the population was almost exactly the same as it had been in 1931. The
censuses of 1981 and 1986 showed population increases. However, the population
declined at the end of the 1980s and was less than 1 million by 1991.
There has been a marked shift of people
from farms to towns and cities. Some 64 percent lived in cities of more than
5,000 inhabitants in 2001, up from 43 percent in 1961.
| B | Principal Cities |
Saskatoon and Regina, the largest cities,
are the leading trade centers. Saskatoon had 202,340 inhabitants in 2006, and
Regina, the capital, 179,246. Prince Albert, with 34,138 inhabitants, is the
northernmost city of any significant size. Very few people permanently reside in
northern Saskatchewan, where mining is a major industry. Moose Jaw, a railroad
center, had 32,132 people.
| C | Religion |
The leading religious denominations in
Saskatchewan are the United Church of Canada and the Roman Catholic Church. The
Lutheran, Anglican, Mennonite, and Eastern Orthodox churches also have large
memberships.
| V | EDUCATION AND CULTURAL LIFE |
| A | Education |
Public schools in Saskatchewan are
nondenominational and are administered by autonomous boards of education. The
ministry of education provides about half the cost of education through
operating and capital grants to these boards. Local property taxes are the other
main source of revenue for the boards. Citizens, however, may elect to pay their
taxes to support separate elementary and secondary schools that have religious
affiliations, although most parents send their children to public schools. The
ministry of education provides academic standards and curriculum for all
schools, including those with religious affiliations. The federal government
funds schools on First Nations reserves throughout the province. These
aboriginal schools are administered by local tribes.
| A1 | Higher Education |
There are two major public universities
in the province: the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, and the University
of Regina. The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST),
the premier vocational institution in the province, has four campuses and offers
courses in business, agriculture, health and science, technology, and many other
fields. There are also nine community colleges, with campuses throughout
Saskatchewan, and numerous Bible colleges.
The provincial and federal governments
also support instructional institutions that specialize in the education of
indigenous peoples. The First Nations University of Canada (called the
Saskatchewan Indian Federated College until 2003) is the only fully accredited
aboriginal university of Canada. The Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies
and Applied Research, a part of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, supports
aboriginal studies and cultural renewal.
| B | Museums and Libraries |
Wildlife, First Nations, and earth science
exhibits are housed in the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina. Regina Depot,
one of the training colleges of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has a museum
containing uniforms, weapons, and other historical information about the force.
Materials of the homestead era are on display at the Saskatchewan Western
Development Museum (WDM), which has branches in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Yorkton,
and North Battleford. The Battleford, Batoche, and Fort Walsh national historic
parks each have museum collections. The major art museums include the Mackenzie
Art Gallery in Regina (originally a part of the University of Regina), the
Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, The Little Gallery in Prince Albert, and the
Estevan Art Gallery in Estevan.
Saskatchewan’s public library system
consists of two municipal libraries, in Regina and Saskatoon, and seven regional
libraries. These libraries receive grants administered by the Provincial Library
in Regina, which also provides a central reference library and traveling
libraries. The University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan, and the
Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) each maintain
libraries. Among the specialized libraries are those at the Saskatchewan Indian
Cultural Centre in Saskatoon, and the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Library in
Regina.
| C | Communications |
Soon after the first settlers reached
Saskatchewan, many frontier newspapers appeared, the first in Battleford in
1878. Among the early journalists was Nicholas Davin, editor of Regina’s first
newspaper and author of several books written in the late 1880s. In 2002 there
were 3 daily newspapers and many weeklies. There were also 19 AM radio stations,
12 FM radio stations, and 10 television stations. Radio is especially important
as a means of communication in northern areas.
| D | Arts |
The Saskatchewan Arts Board, an agency
established by the provincial government in 1948, funds a wide variety of
cultural activities throughout Saskatchewan, including the visual arts, music,
drama, literature, and handicrafts. Both Regina and Saskatoon have symphony
orchestras. Professional theater companies include the Globe Theatre, in Regina,
the 25th Street Theatre Centre in Saskatoon, and the Persephone Theatre, also in
Saskatoon.
| VI | RECREATION AND PLACES TO VISIT |
Water sports and fishing and hunting are
among the most popular recreational activities in Saskatchewan. A chain of lakes
on the Qu’Appelle River and Madge, Kenosee, and Carlyle lakes draw many visitors
in the south. The northern wilderness attracts increasing numbers of visitors to
Lac La Ronge, Île-à-la-Crosse, and a vast network of lesser-known lakes.
Visitors can fish for pike, pickerel, whitefish, lake trout, and perch. An
abundance of wildlife, particularly in the forested regions, provides hunting in
season for deer, antelope, moose, and elk. Also hunted are geese and ducks in
the swamps and lakes, game birds in the prairies, and caribou in the north.
During the long, cold winters the frozen lakes are used for ice hockey and
curling, Saskatchewan’s most popular sports.
| A | National Parks |
Saskatchewan has two national parks.
Prince Albert National Park, north of the city of Prince Albert, covers 3,874 sq
km (1,496 sq mi) of lakes and forests. The undeveloped Grasslands National Park
is located in the southwestern prairies near the U.S.-Canadian border.
| B | Provincial Parks |
Most of Saskatchewan’s 34 provincial parks
are in wooded uplands, such as Moose Mountain, Duck Mountain, and the Cypress
Hills, or around lakes, such as the parks around Greenwater Lake and Lac La
Ronge. Katepwa, Crooked Lake, and Echo Valley provincial parks, east of Regina,
and Buffalo Pond, west of Regina, are all in the beautiful Qu’Appelle River
valley. Facilities for winter sports are provided at Cypress Hills, Greenwater
Lake, and Moose Mountain. In addition to the provincial parks, the province
maintains more than 130 recreational sites.
| C | Other Places to Visit |
National historic parks or sites have been
established at Fort Battleford and Fort Walsh, posts of the old North-West
Mounted Police (now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and at Batoche, the site
associated with the Northwest Rebellion in 1885. Dozens of historic sites have
been marked by national, provincial, and local agencies.
| D | Annual Events |
Saskatoon hosts numerous annual events
that are staged throughout the year. In summertime, agricultural fairs and
exhibitions are held in many cities and towns, the largest being the exhibitions
in Saskatoon in July and in Regina in June. Other events include the
Saskatchewan Handcraft Festival in Battleford, held in July, and the Folkfest in
Regina, held in August. The Canadian Western Agribition, a livestock show, is
held at Regina in November, and the Prince Albert Winter Festival occurs in
February.
| VII | GOVERNMENT |
| A | National Representation |
Saskatchewan is represented in the
Canadian Parliament by 14 elected representatives in the House of Commons and by
six senators who are appointed by the federal government.
| B | Executive |
The crown is represented by the
lieutenant governor, who is appointed by the federal government. Real power is
vested in the premier and cabinet. The premier is the leader of the majority
party or coalition in the legislature. The premier and cabinet must resign if
they lose the confidence of a majority in the legislature.
| C | Legislature |
Saskatchewan’s legislature is a
unicameral (single-chamber) body known as the Legislative Assembly. It is
composed of 58 elected members. A general election must be held at least every
five years; an election can be held sooner if the legislature is dissolved
before its term is completed.
| D | Judiciary |
Saskatchewan has two higher courts, the
justices of which are appointed by the federal government. The Court of Appeal,
with a chief justice and eight justices, hears criminal and civil appeals from
the lower courts. The Court of Queen’s Bench, with a chief justice and 32 other
full-time justices, is a trial court for criminal and civil cases. Its justices
also deal with bankruptcies and estates. There is also a system of provincial
courts, with judges appointed by the provincial government. The provincial
courts hear criminal and civil cases, as well as family and juvenile cases.
| VIII | HISTORY |
| A | Indigenous Peoples |
Indigenous peoples had lived in
Saskatchewan for thousands of years when European explorers and fur trappers
first arrived in the late 17th century. The province’s aboriginal inhabitants at
the time of contact with Europeans can be divided into three distinct language
families, located roughly within three major geographical regions of
Saskatchewan. The Canadian Shield region in northern Saskatchewan was the home
of ethnic groups that spoke languages of the Athapaskan linguistic family: the
Chipewyan, the Beaver, and the Slavey. Groups of the Algonquian linguistic
family, the forest and Plains Cree and the Blackfoot, were located in the
Interior Plains, in the central region drained by the Saskatchewan River. The
Assiniboine and Gros Ventres of the Siouan family lived on the extreme southern
plains. Several bands of Sioux, also of the Siouan family, migrated to
Saskatchewan from the United States in the early 1870s.
| B | Exploration |
The presence of great numbers of
fur-bearing animals first attracted Europeans to the plains and rugged northland
of the interior of North America. The Hudson’s Bay Company had, by its charter
of 1670, secured rights to all lands drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay.
In the beginning the company relied on indigenous peoples to bring the furs out
to the posts on the shores of the great bay. In 1690 Henry Kelsey of the
Hudson’s Bay Company traveled into the interior to encourage this trade,
becoming the first European to enter the Saskatchewan territory. By the mid-18th
century, however, French traders based at Montréal had penetrated the interior
by the Great Lakes route, and the resulting competition forced the Hudson’s Bay
Company to extend its operations inland. In 1754, in direct response to the
French challenge, Anthony Henday traveled into the plains area, and in 1774
Samuel Hearne built a Hudson’s Bay Company post at Cumberland House, which was
the first permanent European settlement in the area of present-day
Saskatchewan.
The fur traders quickly adapted, and by
the early 19th century they had explored the western domain. A vast network of
lakes and rivers gave them access to the fur territory of the north. The
Saskatchewan River system carried them through the central region to the
foothills of the mountains, and the Qu’Appelle and Assiniboine rivers took them
to the southern plains. By the 1850s, however, the fur trade was in decline, and
the agricultural possibilities of the plains were being seriously examined. The
British government sent Captain John Palliser to the west for this purpose in
1857, and another expedition under J. S. Dawson and H. Y. Hind was sent by the
Canadian government the following year. In 1870 the Dominion of Canada acquired
the vast region of Rupert’s Land and The North-Western Territory from the
Hudson’s Bay Company. This area, which included present-day Saskatchewan, was
renamed the Northwest Territories.
| C | Settlement |
By the last quarter of the 19th century
the era of the fur trade had ended, and the period of western settlement began.
After 1878 the Canadian government fostered settlement in the west, in part
because of the danger that advancing westward settlement in the United States
would sweep north into the unoccupied Canadian prairies. To prevent the
Americans from driving a wedge between British possessions east and west of the
central plains, it was decided to unite the eastern provinces with British
Columbia by means of a transcontinental railroad. The railroad was also intended
as a means of transporting settlers into the west and later of shipping farm
products eastward. Construction began in 1872, but the Canadian Pacific Railway
was not completed until 1885.
Settlers also came to the Northwest
Territories, encouraged by government policies that gave free land to people who
were willing to settle it and by incentives offered to companies who would move
to the territories. These companies were responsible for bringing in groups of
English, German, Swedish, and Hungarian settlers.
| D | Resistance by the Métis |
In 1874 and 1876 most of the aboriginal
peoples of the Northwest Territories sold their lands to the Canadian government
and accepted life on reserves set aside for them. However, the Métis were
displeased by the encroachment of settlers. They also objected to the slaughter
of the bison (commonly called buffalo), which resulted in the virtual
annihilation of the herds by 1878. Following a serious crop failure in 1883, the
Métis of Saskatchewan united under the leadership of Louis Riel and began to
seek self-government. Negotiation toward settling the Métis’ demands proved
futile, and some of the Métis rose in armed resistance in 1885. The resistance,
called the Northwest Rebellion, was quickly suppressed, and the Canadian
government made no serious efforts to solve the problems of the dissatisfied
Métis.
Thereafter, settlement was a slow but
steady process. By 1891 the population of the Northwest Territories, excluding
indigenous peoples and Métis, was 51,000. The population increased more rapidly
in the last years of the century as settlers from eastern Canada, Europe, and
the United States flooded into “the last best West.” By 1901 the territorial
population was 158,940, and in 1905 it exceeded 400,000.
| E | Saskatchewan Province |
The foundations for self-government in
the Northwest Territories were developed during the latter decades of the 19th
century. A provision was made in 1883 for the creation of municipal governments
in the more heavily populated areas. The territories were represented in the
Canadian House of Commons for the first time in 1887 and in the Senate in 1888,
the same year that the northwest council became a fully elective legislative
assembly. In 1905 Saskatchewan was granted provincial status. In the first
provincial election, Saskatchewan chose a Liberal government.
Saskatchewan assumed its place as a
province of the Dominion of Canada in a period of prosperity. Continued
immigration increased the population to 750,000 people by 1914. Wheat acreage
expanded by more than five times, railway mileage rose four times, and the
number of cities in the province increased from three to seven. The most
significant developments in the province concerned agriculture. Early in the
century, Sir Charles E. Saunders had developed Marquis wheat, an early-maturing,
hard-spring variety that, because of its excellent milling qualities, became
known as the wheat that made Saskatchewan famous. The province’s agriculture was
further aided by the introduction of the gasoline tractor and by the
establishment of a college of agriculture at Saskatoon.
| F | Growth of Cooperative Farming |
The farmers of Saskatchewan soon saw the
advantages of organizing and forming cooperatives, businesses owned by the
farmers, allowing them to retain control over their products. The first major
farmers’ organization was the Territorial Grain Grower’s Association, founded by
William Motherwell in 1901. In 1911 the farmer-owned Saskatchewan Cooperative
Elevator Company was formed to combat the unfair practices of privately owned
grain elevators.
A recession in 1913, followed by World
War I (1914-1918), poor crops, and a serious blight of wheat rust, slowed the
process of cooperative development. These conditions were further aggravated in
the early 1920s by the nation’s painful readjustment to a peacetime economy.
Saskatchewan farmers organized under the national Progressive Party, and in 1921
the party won 15 of the province’s 16 seats in the federal House of Commons. The
Progressives held the balance of power in the House of Commons from 1921 to
1926. Their strength waned thereafter, and farmers turned again to economic
cooperation.
In 1924 Saskatchewan farmers were still
convinced that the system of wheat marketing left the farmer at the mercy of the
grain elevators, the large milling concerns, and the speculators. They organized
a marketing cooperative, the Saskatchewan Cooperative Wheat Producers Limited,
popularly known as the Wheat Pool. Marketing organizations for other farm
products were formed on the cooperative principle, and local consumer
cooperatives were consolidated and expanded. The combine, a machine for
harvesting grain, became a familiar sight by the late 1920s, and research was
undertaken to produce better varieties of early-maturing, rust-resistant wheat.
By the end of the decade, prosperity had returned. After 1930 farmers turned
increasingly to cooperative purchasing associations as a means of improving
their economic position as consumers of general merchandise, fuel and gasoline,
and farm machinery.
| G | Depression |
The worldwide economic depression of the
1930s coincided in Saskatchewan with a prolonged drought, and the price of
agricultural products declined dramatically. In 1937, the worst of the drought
years, the wheat yield fell from a long-term average of 6 bushels per hectare
(15 bushels per acre) to a meager 1.08 bushels per hectare (2.7 bushels per
acre). Grasshoppers, wheat rust, drifting topsoil, and weeds wrought further
havoc, forcing two-thirds of the rural population to seek government relief.
Many families trekked north to pioneer once again on the fringe of the
parklands. Immigration practically ceased, and the population declined by almost
26,000 between 1931 and 1941.
In response to this crisis, the
provincial government undertook relief and youth-training programs. New
cultivation methods were developed, reclamation and irrigation projects were
instituted, and cooperative enterprises were further extended. This period also
saw the rise of a new, socialist political party, called the Co-operative
Commonwealth Federation (CCF), which drew its leadership largely from the
farmers’ movement and from organized labor. The CCF pledged to replace the
capitalist system with a planned economy. Conservation and reclamation projects
improved conditions somewhat. In 1939, however, before the province had fully
recovered from the ravages of the “dirty 30s,” World War II had begun.
| H | Social Democratic Reforms |
The impatience for social and economic
reforms bred by long years of depression, drought, and war was reflected in the
provincial election of 1944. The CCF, under the leadership of T. C. Douglas,
soundly defeated the Liberals. The CCF would govern Saskatchewan for the next 20
years. Postwar prosperity allowed the new government to introduce new social
services and to increase expenditures and improve administration in the fields
of public health, education, and social welfare. Compulsory government-run
automobile insurance was introduced, and the era of public ownership was
expanded to include bus and air transport, insurance, and the manufacture of
wool, leather, and clay products. The wool and leather plants later proved
inefficient and were discontinued. At the same time, the exploitation of natural
resources in the province was strictly controlled.
The CCF continued the policies of
previous administrations by encouraging the cooperative movement and supporting
the traditional economic interests of the grain growers. By 1960 the government
had instituted new measures to extend sewage and water services to rural and
smaller urban communities and to provide farmers with affordable crop insurance.
In 1962 a compulsory prepaid health-care program was inaugurated.
| I | Late 20th Century |
A Liberal government, elected in 1964,
moved quickly to reduce taxes, encourage mineral exploitation and industrial
development, and increase expenditures on roads and education. It also opened
publicly owned enterprises to increased competition from the private sector. In
1971 the Liberals were ousted by the New Democratic Party (NDP), the successor
to the CCF. Over the next 11 years the NDP carried out an extensive program of
reform. Social welfare benefits were expanded, and the government took over the
valuable potash-mining industry.
However, inflation undermined the
popularity of the NDP’s program, and in 1982, for the first time in the history
of Saskatchewan, the Progressive Conservative Party won the provincial
elections. They were reelected in 1986, winning most of the rural vote while the
NDP captured most of the urban vote. The Progressive Conservatives lost the
support of many rural voters after pushing through the generally unpopular
U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement in 1989. As a result, the NDP was returned to
power in 1991. The NDP won reelection in 1995 and 1999.
| J | Recent Developments |
At the start of the 1990s, Saskatchewan
enjoyed a reasonably prosperous economy as a result of a boom in the natural gas
industry and robust wheat harvests. Continuing a trend of the late 1980s,
however, the population declined as many working-age people left the province.
The population drain, which continued into the 2000s, was attributed to such
factors as a steady decrease in agricultural employment and the general decline
in rural population.
In 1996 the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
became a public company and began trading shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Pool members retained a large proportion of shares, and the company became one
of the largest publicly traded agribusiness cooperatives in Canada. At the same
time, Saskatchewan’s farmers were hard hit by plummeting wheat prices and farm
income. While declining farm income in the late 1990s was partly a result of
crop failure due to unfavorable weather, many farmers blamed high wheat
subsidies in the European Union (EU) and the United States, also major wheat
producers. Meanwhile, the Canadian government cut annual wheat subsidies
dramatically, causing hardship for many Saskatchewan farmers.
Rural discontent and the belief that the
NDP, with its strong urban electoral base, was insufficiently concerned with
farming issues, led many farmers to support the fledgling Saskatchewan Party
during the 1999 provincial elections. A few years earlier, in the mid-1990s, the
Progressive Conservatives had become embroiled in a corruption scandal, and the
party voted to abstain from the province’s next two general elections. As a
result, the Saskatchewan Party became the province’s primary conservative party.
When the NDP won reelection in 1999, it failed to win the expected majority in
the legislature. To build a working majority, the NDP formed a coalition
government with the Liberal Party—the first coalition government in Saskatchewan
in 70 years. In the 2003 provincial elections the NDP narrowly defeated the
Saskatchewan Party to retain power.
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