Saskatchewan[a] is aprovince inWestern Canada. It is bordered to the west byAlberta, to the north by theNorthwest Territories, to the east byManitoba, to the northeast byNunavut, and to the south by the United States (Montana andNorth Dakota). Saskatchewan and neighbouring Alberta are the onlylandlocked provinces in Canada. In 2025, Saskatchewan's population was estimated at 1,253,569.[4] Nearly 10% of Saskatchewan's total area of 651,900 km2 (251,700 sq mi) is fresh water, mostly rivers, reservoirs, andlakes.
Saskatchewan has been inhabited for thousands of years byindigenous peoples. Europeans first explored any part of the province in 1690 and first settled in the area in 1774. It became a province in 1905, carved out from the vastNorth-West Territories, which had until then included most of theCanadian Prairies. In the early 20th century, the province became known as a stronghold for Canadian social democracy, with the1944 provincial election electingNorth America's first socialist government to office.
Saskatchewan's economy is based onagriculture,mining, andenergy. In 1992, the federal and provincial governments signed a historic land claim agreement withFirst Nations in Saskatchewan, granting these nations compensation which they could use to buy land on the open market for the bands.[11] Presently, Saskatchewan is governed by theSaskatchewan Party, led by PremierScott Moe, which has been in power since 2007.
A topographic map of Saskatchewan, showing cities, towns, rural municipality borders, and natural features.The highest point in Saskatchewan, at 1,392 metres (4,567 ft), is found near theCypress Hills.
Saskatchewan is the only province without anatural border. As its borders follow geographic lines oflongitude andlatitude, the province is roughly aquadrilateral, or a shape with four sides. However, the southern border on the49th parallel and the northern border on the60th parallel curve to the left as one proceeds east, as do all parallels in the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, the eastern boundary of the province follows range lines andcorrection lines of theDominion Land Survey, laid out by surveyors before theDominion Lands Acthomestead program (1880–1928).
Saskatchewan is bounded on the west byAlberta, on the north by theNorthwest Territories, on the north-east byNunavut, on the east byManitoba, and on the south by theU.S. states ofMontana andNorth Dakota. Saskatchewan has the distinction of being the only Canadian province for which no borders correspond to physical geographic features (i.e., they are all parallels and meridians). Along with Alberta, Saskatchewan is one of only twoland-locked provinces.
The overwhelming majority of Saskatchewan's population is in the southern third of the province, south of the53rd parallel.
Saskatchewan contains two major natural regions: theboreal forest in the north and theprairies in the south. They are separated by anaspen parkland transition zone near theNorth Saskatchewan River on the western side of the province, and near to south of theSaskatchewan River on the eastern side. Northern Saskatchewan is mostly covered by forest except for theLake Athabasca Sand Dunes, the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58°, and adjacent to the southern shore ofLake Athabasca. Southern Saskatchewan contains another area with sand dunes known as the "Great Sand Hills", covering over 300 km2 (120 sq mi). TheCypress Hills, in the southwestern corner of Saskatchewan and Killdeer Badlands (Grasslands National Park), are areas of the province that were unglaciated during the last glaciation period, theWisconsin glaciation.
The province's highest point, at 1,392 m (4,567 ft), is in theCypress Hills less than 2 km (1.2 mi) from the provincial boundary with Alberta.[14][15] The lowest point is the shore ofLake Athabasca, at 213 m (699 ft). The province has 14 majordrainage basins made up of various rivers and watersheds draining into theArctic Ocean,Hudson Bay, and theGulf of Mexico.[16]
Saskatchewan receives more hours ofsunshine than any other Canadian province.[17] The province lies far from any significant body of water. This fact, combined with its northerly latitude, gives it a warm summer, corresponding to itshumid continental climate (Köppen typeDfb) in the central and most of the eastern parts of the province, as well as theCypress Hills; drying off to asemi-arid steppe climate (Köppen typeBSk) in the southwestern part of the province. Drought can affect agricultural areas during long periods with little or no precipitation at all. The northern parts of Saskatchewan – from aboutLa Ronge northward – have asubarctic climate (KöppenDfc) with a shorter summer season. Summers can get very hot, sometimes above 38 °C (100 °F) during the day, and with humidity decreasing from northeast to southwest. Warm southern winds blow from the plains and intermontane regions of the Western United States during much of July and August, and very cool or hot but changeable air masses often occur during spring and in September. Winters are usually bitterly cold, with frequent Arctic air descending from the north,[18] and with high temperatures not breaking −17 °C (1 °F) for weeks at a time. Warmchinook winds often blow from the west, bringing periods of mild weather. Annual precipitation averages 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 inches) across the province, with the bulk of rain falling in June, July, and August.[19]
Saskatchewan is one of the mosttornado-active parts ofCanada, averaging roughly 12 to 18 tornadoes per year, some violent. In 2012, 33 tornadoes were reported in the province. TheRegina Cyclone took place in June 1912 when 28 people died in an F4Fujita scale tornado. Severe and non-severe thunderstorm events occur in Saskatchewan, usually from early spring to late summer. Hail, strong winds and isolated tornadoes are a common occurrence.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in Saskatchewan was in July 1937 when the temperature rose to 45 °C (113 °F) inMidale andYellow Grass. The coldest ever recorded in the province was −56.7 °C (−70.1 °F) inPrince Albert, north of Saskatoon, in February 1893.
Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Saskatchewan[20]
The effects ofclimate change in Saskatchewan are now being observed in parts of the province. Evidence of reduction ofbiomass in Saskatchewan'sboreal forests[21] (as with those of otherCanadian prairie provinces) is linked by researchers to drought-related water stress, stemming fromglobal warming, most likely caused bygreenhouse gas emissions. While studies as early as 1988 (Williams, et al., 1988) have shown climate change will affect agriculture,[22] whether the effects can be mitigated through adaptations ofcultivars, or crops, is less clear.Resiliency ofecosystems may decline with large changes in temperature.[23] The provincial government has responded to the threat of climate change by introducing a plan to reducecarbon emissions, "The Saskatchewan Energy and Climate Change Plan", in June 2007.
The first known European to enter Saskatchewan wasHenry Kelsey from England in 1690, who travelled up the Saskatchewan River in hopes of trading fur with the region's indigenous peoples.Fort La Jonquière andFort de la Corne were first established in 1751 and 1753 by early French explorers and traders. The first permanent European settlement was aHudson's Bay Company post atCumberland House, founded in 1774 bySamuel Hearne.[24] The southern part of the province was part ofSpanish Louisiana from 1762 until 1802.[25]
In the late 1850s and early 1860s, scientific expeditions led byJohn Palliser andHenry Youle Hind explored the prairie region of the province.
In 1870, Canada acquired the Hudson's Bay Company's territories and formed theNorth-West Territories to administer the vast territory betweenBritish Columbia andManitoba. The Crown also entered into a series ofnumbered treaties with the indigenous peoples of the area, which serve as the basis of the relationship betweenFirst Nations, as they are called today, and the Crown. Since the late twentieth century, land losses and inequities as a result of those treaties have been subject to negotiation for settlement between theFirst Nations in Saskatchewan and the federal government, in collaboration with provincial governments.
The North-West Mounted Police set up several posts and forts across Saskatchewan, includingFort Walsh in the Cypress Hills, andWood Mountain Post in south-central Saskatchewan near the United States border.
ManyMétis people, who had not been signatories to a treaty, had moved to theSouthbranch Settlement andPrince Albert district north of present-day Saskatoon following theRed River Rebellion in Manitoba in 1870. In the early 1880s, the Canadian government refused to hear the Métis' grievances, which stemmed from land-use issues. Finally, in 1885, the Métis, led byLouis Riel, staged theNorth-West Rebellion and declared a provisional government. They were defeated by a Canadian militia brought to theCanadian prairies by the new Canadian Pacific Railway. Riel, who surrendered and was convicted of treason in a packed Regina courtroom, was hanged on November 16, 1885. Since then, the government has recognized the Métis as an aboriginal people with status rights and provided them with various benefits.
The national policy set by the federal government, theCanadian Pacific Railway, theHudson's Bay Company and associated land companies encouraged immigration. TheDominion Lands Act of 1872 permitted settlers to acquire one-quarter of a square mile of land to homestead and offered an additional quarter upon establishing a homestead. In 1874, the North-West Mounted Police began providing police services. In 1876, theNorth-West Territories Act provided for appointment, by the Ottawa, of a Lieutenant Governor and a Council to assist him.[26]
Highly optimistic advertising campaigns promoted the benefits of prairie living. Potential immigrants read leaflets that described Canada as a favourable place to live and downplayed the need for agricultural expertise. Ads inThe Nor'-West Farmer by the Commissioner of Immigration implied that western land held water, wood, gold, silver, iron, copper, and cheap coal for fuel, all of which were readily at hand. The reality was far harsher, especially for the first arrivals who lived insod houses. However eastern money poured in and by 1913, long term mortgage loans to Saskatchewan farmers had reached $65 million.[27]
The dominant groups comprised British settlers from eastern Canada and Britain, who comprised about half of the population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They played the leading role in establishing the basic institutions of plains society, economy and government.[28]
Gender roles were sharply defined. Men were primarily responsible for breaking the land; planting and harvesting; building the house; buying, operating and repairing machinery; and handling finances. At first, there were many single men on the prairie, or husbands whose wives were still back east, but they had a hard time. They realized the need for a wife. In 1901, there were 19,200 families, but this surged to 150,300 families only 15 years later. Wives played a central role in settlement of the prairie region. Their labour, skills, and ability to adapt to the harsh environment proved decisive in meeting the challenges. They prepared bannock, beans and bacon, mended clothes, raised children, cleaned, tended the garden, helped at harvest time and nursed everyone back to health. While prevailing patriarchal attitudes, legislation, and economic principles obscured women's contributions, the flexibility exhibited by farm women in performing productive and nonproductive labour was critical to the survival of family farms, and thus to the success of the wheat economy.[29][30]
A banquet being held to commemorate the creation of Saskatchewan, 1905
On September 1, 1905, Saskatchewan became a province, with inauguration day held on September 4. Its political leaders at the time proclaimed its destiny was to become Canada's most powerful province. Saskatchewan embarked on an ambitious province-building program based on its Anglo-Canadian culture and wheat production for the export market. Population quintupled from 91,000 in 1901 to 492,000 in 1911, thanks to heavy immigration of farmers from Ukraine, U.S., Germany and Scandinavia. Efforts were made to assimilate the newcomers to British Canadian culture and values.[31]
In the 1905 provincial elections, Liberals won 16 of 25 seats in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan government bought out Bell Telephone Company in 1909, with the government owning the long-distance lines and left local service to small companies organized at the municipal level.[32] Premier Walter Scott preferred government assistance to outright ownership because he thought enterprises worked better if citizens had a stake in running them; he set up the Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company in 1911. Despite pressure from farm groups for direct government involvement in the grain handling business, the Scott government opted to loan money to a farmer-owned elevator company. Saskatchewan in 1909 provided bond guarantees to railway companies for the construction of branch lines, alleviating the concerns of farmers who had trouble getting their wheat to market by waggon.[33] TheSaskatchewan Grain Growers Association, was the dominant political force in the province until the 1920s; it had close ties with the governing Liberal party. In 1913, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association was established with three goals: to watch over legislation; to forward the interests of the stock growers in every honourable and legitimate way; and to suggest to parliament legislation to meet changing conditions and requirements.[34]
Farmers at work in 1907. The introduction ofMarquis wheat saw wheat output soar in the province.
Immigration peaked in 1910, and in spite of the initial difficulties of frontier life – distance from towns, sod homes, and backbreaking labour – new settlers established a European-Canadian style of prosperousagrarian society. The long-term prosperity of the province depended on the world price of grain, which headed steadily upward from the 1880s to 1920, then plunged down. Wheat output was increased by new strains, such as the "Marquis wheat" strain which matured 8 days sooner and yielded 7 more bushels per acre (0.72 m3/ha) than the previous standard, "Red Fife". The national output of wheat soared from 8 millionimperial bushels (290,000 m3) in 1896, to 26×10^6 imp bu (950,000 m3) in 1901, reaching 151×10^6 imp bu (5,500,000 m3) by 1921.[35]
Urban reform movements in Regina were based on support from business and professional groups. City planning, reform of local government, and municipal ownership of utilities were more widely supported by these two groups, often through such organizations as the Board of Trade. Church-related and other altruistic organizations generally supported social welfare and housing reforms; these groups were generally less successful in getting their own reforms enacted.[36]
The province responded to the First World War in 1914 with patriotic enthusiasm and enjoyed the resultant economic boom for farms and cities alike. Emotional and intellectual support for the war emerged from the politics of Canadian national identity, the rural myth, and social gospel progressivism The Church of England was especially supportive. However, there was strong hostility toward German-Canadian farmers.[37] Recent Ukrainian immigrants were enemy aliens because of their citizenship in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A small fraction weretaken to internment camps. Most of the internees were unskilled unemployed labourers who were imprisoned "because they were destitute, not because they were disloyal".[38][39]
The price of wheat tripled and acreage seeded doubled. The wartime spirit of sacrifice intensified social reform movements that had predated the war and now came to fruition. Saskatchewan gave women the right to vote in 1916 and at the end of 1916 passed a referendum to prohibit the sale of alcohol.
In the late 1920s, theKu Klux Klan, imported from the United States and Ontario, gained brief popularity in nativist circles in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Klan, briefly allied with the provincial Conservative party because of their mutual dislike for PremierJames G. "Jimmy" Gardiner and his Liberals (who ferociously fought the Klan), enjoyed about two years of prominence. It declined and disappeared, subject to widespread political and media opposition, plus internal scandals involving the use of the organization's funds.
In 1970, the first annualCanadian Western Agribition was held in Regina. This farm-industry trade show, with its strong emphasis on livestock, is rated as one of the five top livestock shows in North America, along with those inHouston,Denver,Louisville andToronto.
An equestrian statue ofElizabeth II inRegina. The statue was unveiled by the Queen in 2005.
The province celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishment in 1980, withPrincess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, presiding over the official ceremonies.[40][41] In 2005, 25 years later, her sister, QueenElizabeth II, attended the events held to mark Saskatchewan's centennial.[42]
Since the late 20th century, First Nations have become more politically active in seeking justice for past inequities, especially related to the taking of indigenous lands by various governments. The federal and provincial governments have negotiated on numerous land claims, and developed a program of "Treaty Land Entitlement", enabling First Nations to buy land to be taken into reserves with money from settlements of claims.
"In 1992, the federal and provincial governments signed an historic land claim agreement with Saskatchewan First Nations. Under the Agreement, the First Nations received money to buy land on the open market. As a result, about 761,000 acres have been turned into reserve land and many First Nations continue to invest their settlement dollars in urban areas", including Saskatoon. The money from such settlements has enabled First Nations to invest in businesses and other economic infrastructure.[11]
As of the2021 Canadian census, the ten most spoken languages in the province includedEnglish (1,094,785 or 99.24%),French (52,065 or 4.72%),Tagalog (36,125 or 3.27%),Cree (24,850 or 2.25%),Hindi (15,745 or 1.43%),Punjabi (13,310 or 1.21%),German (11,815 or 1.07%),Mandarin (11,590 or 1.05%),Spanish (11,185 or 1.01%), andUkrainian (10,795 or 0.98%).[47] The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.
Historically, Saskatchewan's economy was primarily associated withagriculture, with wheat being the precious symbol on the province's flag. Increasing diversification has resulted in agriculture,forestry,fishing, andhunting only making up 8.9% of the province's GDP in 2018. Saskatchewan grows a large portion of Canada's grain.[49] In 2017, the production ofcanola surpassed the production ofwheat, which is Saskatchewan's most familiar crop and the one most often associated with the province. The total net income from farming was $3.3 billion in 2017, which was $0.9 billion less than the income in 2016.[50] Other grains such asflax,rye,oats,peas,lentils, canary seed, andbarley are also produced in the province. Saskatchewan is the world's largest exporter of mustard seed.[51]Beef cattle production by a Canadian province is only exceeded by Alberta. In the northern part of the province, forestry is also a significant industry.[52]
Distribution of GDP of Saskatchewan, by industry(2018)[53][54]
% Share of GDP
Sector
8.9
agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting
14.2
finance, insurance, real estate, leasing
2.5
Professional, scientific and food services
8.14
construction
11.51
education, health, social services
1.74
Accommodation and food services
1.46
Information and cultural industries
5.96
government services
6.43
manufacturing
17.05
mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction
3.87
other
8.05
transportation, communications, utilities
10.19
wholesale and retail trade
Mining is a major industry in the province, with Saskatchewan being the world's largest exporter ofpotash anduranium.[55]Oil andnatural gas production is also a very important part of Saskatchewan's economy, although theoil industry is larger. Among Canadian provinces, only Alberta exceeds Saskatchewan in overall oil production.[56] Heavy crude is extracted in the Lloydminster-Kerrobert-Kindersley areas. Light crude is found in the Kindersley-Swift Current areas as well as the Weyburn-Estevan fields. Natural gas is found almost entirely in the western part of Saskatchewan, from thePrimrose Lake area through Lloydminster, Unity, Kindersley, Leader, and around Maple Creek areas.[57]
Major Saskatchewan-basedCrown corporations areSaskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI),SaskTel,SaskEnergy (the province's main supplier of natural gas),SaskPower, and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC).Bombardier runs the NATO Flying Training Centre at 15 Wing, nearMoose Jaw. Bombardier was awarded a long-term contract in the late 1990s for $2.8 billion from thefederal government for the purchase of military aircraft and the running of the training facility.SaskPower since 1929 has been the principal supplier of electricity in Saskatchewan, serving more than 451,000 customers and managing $4.5 billion in assets. SaskPower is a major employer in the province with almost 2,500 permanent full-time staff in 71 communities.
Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in the province are administered bytwenty-seven school divisions. Public elementary and secondary schools either operate assecular or as aseparate schools. Nearly all school divisions, except one operate as an Englishfirst language school board. The Division scolaire francophone No. 310 is the only school division that operates French first language schools. In addition to elementary and secondary schools, the province is also home to several post-secondary institutions.
The first education on the prairies took place within the family groups of the First Nations and earlyfur trading settlers. There were only a few missionary or trading post schools established inRupert's Land – later known as theNorth West Territories. The first 76North-West Territories school districts and the first Board of Education meeting formed in 1886. The pioneering boom formedethnic bloc settlements. Communities were seeking education for their children similar to the schools of their homeland.Log cabins, and dwellings were constructed for the assembly of the community, school, church, dances and meetings.
The prosperity of theRoaring Twenties and the success of farmers in proving up on their homesteads helped provide funding to standardize education.[59] Textbooks, normal schools for educating teachers, formal school curricula and state of the artschool housearchitectural plans provided continuity throughout the province. English as the school language helped to provide economic stability because one community could communicate with another and goods could be traded and sold in a common language. The number of one-room schoolhouse districts across Saskatchewan totalled approximately 5,000 at the height of this system of education in the late 1940s.[60]
Following World War II, the transition from many one-room schoolhouses to fewer and larger consolidated modern technological town and city schools occurred as a means of ensuring technical education. School buses, highways, and family vehicles create ease and accessibility of a population shift to larger towns and cities. Combines and tractors mean the farmer could manage more than a quarter section of land, so there was a shift fromfamily farms andsubsistence crops tocash crops grown on many sections of land.School vouchers have been newly proposed as a means of allowing competition between rural schools and making the operation ofcooperative schools practicable in rural areas.
Saskatchewan'sMinistry of Health is responsible for policy direction, sets and monitors standards, and provides funding for regional health authorities and provincial health services. Saskatchewan's health system is asingle-payer system. Medical practitioners in Saskatchewan are independent contractors. They remit their accounts to the publicly funded Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Plan, which pays the accounts. Patients do not pay anything to their doctors or hospitals for medical care.[61]
In 1944, theCo-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a left-wing agrarian and labour party, won the provincial election in Saskatchewan and formed the first socialist government in North American history. Repeatedly re-elected, the CCF campaigned in the early 1960s on the theme ofuniversal health coverage and, after winning the election again, implemented it, the first in Canada. However, it was fiercely opposed by the province's doctors' union, which went on a massive strike the day the new system came into effect. Supported by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, most newspapers and the right-wing Keep Our Doctors movement, the doctors' union ran an effective communications campaign portraying the universal health care system as a communist scheme that would spread disease. The strike, which had become very unpopular because of the outrageous rhetoric of some of its leaders (one of them had called for bloodshed), finally ended after a few weeks, and universal health coverage was adopted by the whole country five years later.[62]
Distribution of Saskatchewan's 466 urban, 296 rural and 24 northern municipalities (2013)
Below the provincial level of government, Saskatchewan is divided into urban and rural municipalities. The Government of Saskatchewan's Ministry of Municipal Relations recognizes three general types of municipalities and seven sub-types – urban municipalities (cities,towns,villages andresort villages),rural municipalities and northern municipalities (northern towns, northern villages and northern hamlets).[65] The vast majority of the land mass of Northern Saskatchewan is within the unorganizedNorthern Saskatchewan Administration District. Cities are formed under the provincial authority ofThe Cities Act, which was enacted in 2002.[66] Towns, villages, resort villages and rural municipalities are formed under the authority ofThe Municipalities Act, enacted in 2005.[67] The three sub-types of northern municipalities are formed under the authority ofThe Northern Municipalities Act, enacted in 2010.[68]
In 2016, Saskatchewan's 774municipalities covered52.7% of the province's land mass and were home to94.8% of its population.[65][69][b]
These 774 municipalities arelocal government "creatures of provincial jurisdiction" withlegal personhood.[70] One of the key purposes of Saskatchewan's municipalities are "to provide services, facilities and other things that, in the opinion of council, are necessary or desirable for all or a part of the municipality".[70] Other purposes are to: "provide good government"; "develop and maintain a safe and viable community"; "foster economic, social and environmental well-being" and "provide wise stewardship of public assets."[70]
Transportation in Saskatchewan includes an infrastructure system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ferries, pipelines, trails, waterways and railway systems[71] serving a population of approximately 1,003,299 (according to 2007 estimates) inhabitants year-round.[72] The Saskatchewan Department of Highways and Transportation estimates 80% of traffic is carried on the 5,031-kilometre principal system of highways.[73]
TheMinistry of Highways and Infrastructure operates over 26,000 km (16,000 mi) of highways anddivided highways. There are also municipal roads which comprise different surfaces. Asphalt concrete pavements comprise almost 9,000 km (5,600 mi), granular pavement almost 5,000 km (3,100 mi), non structural or thin membrane surface TMS are close to 7,000 km (4,300 mi) and finally gravel highways make up over 5,600 km (3,500 mi) through the province. In the northern sector,ice roads which can only be navigated in the winter months comprise another approximately 150 km (93 mi) of travel.[74] In 2024, theGovernment of Canada provided Saskatchewan with a $6.1-million grant forshuttle buses serving remote communities.[75]
The firstCanadian transcontinental railway was constructed by theCanadian Pacific Railway (CPR) between 1881 and 1885.[77] After the great east–west transcontinental railway was built, north–south connector branch lines were established. The 1920s saw the largest rise in rail line track as the CPR andCanadian National Railway (CNR) fell into competition to provide rail service within ten kilometres. In the 1960s there were applications for abandonment of branch lines.[78] Today the only two passenger rail services in the province areThe Canadian andWinnipeg–Churchill train, both operated byVia Rail.The Canadian is a transcontinental service linking Toronto with Vancouver.
The main Saskatchewan waterways are theNorth Saskatchewan River orSouth Saskatchewan River routes. In total, there are 3,050 bridges maintained by the Department of Highways in Saskatchewan.[79] There are currently twelve ferry services operating in the province, all under the jurisdiction of the Department of Highways.
Airlines offering service to Saskatchewan areAir Canada,WestJet,Delta Air Lines,Transwest Air,Sunwing Airlines, Norcanair Airlines, La Ronge Aviation Services Ltd, La Loche Airways, Osprey Wings Ltd, Buffalo Narrows Airways Ltd, Île-à-la-Crosse Airways Ltd, Voyage Air,Pronto Airways, Venture Air Ltd, Pelican Narrows Air Service, Jackson Air Services Ltd, and Northern Dene Airways Ltd.[81]
TheGovernment of Canada agreed to contribute $20 million for two new interchanges inSaskatoon. One of them being at theHighway 219/Lorne Avenue intersection with Circle Drive, the other at the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge (Idylwyld Freeway) and Circle Drive. This is part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative to improve access to the CNR's intermodal freight terminal thereby increasing Asia-Pacific trade. Also, the Government of Canada will contribute $27 million to Regina to construct a CPR intermodal facility and improve infrastructure transportation to the facility from both national highway networks,Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway andHighway 11, Louis Riel Trail. This also is part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative to improve access to the CPR terminal and increase Asia-Pacific trade.[82]
A leading writer from Saskatchewan isW. O. Mitchell (1914–1998), born inWeyburn. His best-loved novel isWho Has Seen the Wind (1947), which portrays life on theCanadian Prairies and sold almost a million copies in Canada.[83] As a broadcaster, he is known for his radio seriesJake and the Kid, which aired onCBC Radio between 1950 and 1956 and was also about life on the Prairies.
TheSaskatchewan Roughriders are the province's professionalCanadian football team playing in theCanadian Football League, and are based in Regina but popular across Saskatchewan. The team's fans are also found to congregate on game days throughout Canada, and collectively they are known as "Rider Nation". The Roughriders are one of the oldest professional sports teams and community-owned franchises in North America and have won fourGrey Cup championships. The province also boasts successful women's football teams. TheSaskatoon Valkyries and theRegina Riot are the only two teams to win championships in theWestern Women's Canadian Football League since it began play in 2011.
The official tartan of Saskatchewan, created in 1961
Theflag of Saskatchewan was officially adopted on September 22, 1969.[91] The flag features theprovincial shield in the upper quarter nearest the staff, with thefloral emblem, thePrairie lily, in the fly. The upper green (inforest green) half of the flag represents the northern Saskatchewan forest lands, while the golden lower half of the flag symbolizes the southernpwheat fields and prairies. A province-wide competition was held to design the flag, and drew over 4,000 entries. The winning design was by Anthony Drake, then living inHodgeville.[92]
In 2005, Saskatchewan Environment held a province-wide vote to recognize Saskatchewan's centennial year, receiving more than 10,000 online and mail-in votes from the public. Thewalleye was the overwhelming favourite of the six native fish species nominated for the designation, receiving more than half the votes cast.[93] Other species in the running were thelake sturgeon,lake trout,lake whitefish,northern pike andyellow perch.
Saskatchewan's other symbols include the tartan, the licence plate, and the provincial flower. Saskatchewan's officialtartan was registered with the Court ofLord Lyon King of Arms inScotland in 1961. It has seven colours: gold, brown, green, red, yellow, white and black. The provincial licence plates display the slogan "Land of Living Skies". The provincial flower of Saskatchewan is thewestern red lily.
In 2005, Saskatchewan celebrated its centennial. To honour it, theRoyal Canadian Mint issued a commemorative five-dollar coin depicting Canada's wheat fields as well as a circulation25-cent coin of a similar design. Queen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip visitedRegina,Saskatoon, andLumsden, and the Saskatchewan-rearedJoni Mitchell issued an album in Saskatchewan's honour.
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^James M. Pitsula,For All We Have and Are: Regina and the Experience of the Great War (U of Manitoba Press, 2008), p 280.online reviewArchived April 10, 2021, at theWayback Machine
^Lubomyr Luciuk,In Fear of the Barbed Wire Fence: Canada's First National Internment Operations and the Ukrainian Canadians, 1914–1920 (Kingston: Kashtan Press, 2001).
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