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Saskatchewan is the middle province of Canada's three prairie provinces. It has an area of 651,900 km² (251,700 mi²) and a population of 985,386 (Saskatchewanians) as of July 1, 2006. Most of its population lives in the southern half of the province. The largest city is Saskatoon with a population of 235,800 (July 1, 2005), followed by the province's capital, Regina (population: 199,000, July 1, 2005). Other major cities (in order of size) include Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current, and North Battleford. See also List of communities in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is (approximately) a quadrilateral bounded on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the American states of Montana and North Dakota. Saskatchewan has the distinction of being the only Canadian province for which no borders correspond to physical geographic features. It is also one of only two provinces that are completely land-locked. The province's name comes from the Saskatchewan River, whose name comes from its Cree designation: kisiskāciwani-sīpiy (Cree syllabics: ᑭᓯᐢᑳᒋᐘᓂ ᓯᐱᐩ), meaning "swift flowing river".
Municipalities Ten largest municipalities by population Note that the list does not include Lloydminster, which has a total population of 23,632 but straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. As of 2001, only 7,840 people lived on the Saskatchewan side, which would make it Saskatchewan's 11th largest municipality. Economy Saskatchewan's economy is traditionally associated with agriculture; however, increasing diversification has meant that now agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting together make up only 6.8% of the province's GDP. Saskatchewan grows 45% of Canada's grain. Wheat is the most familiar crop, and perhaps the one stereotypically associated with the province, but other grains like canola, flax, rye, oats, peas, lentils, canary seed, and barley are also produced. Beef cattle production in the province is only exceeded by Alberta. Mining is also a major industry in the province, with Saskatchewan being the world leader in potash exports. In the northern part of the province, forestry is significant. Oil and Natural Gas production is also a very important part of Saskatchewan's economy. Oil and natural gas production is only exceeded by Alberta. Heavy crude is exctracted 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 completely in the western part of Saskatchewan from the Primrose Lake area through Lloydminster, Unity, Kindersley, Leader, and Maple Creek areas. Saskatchewan is also the world's most important supplier of uranium, and supplies much of the western world's supplies. The uranium industry is closely regulated by the provincial government which allows the government of Saskatchewan great latitude in setting world uranium prices. Saskatchewan's GDP in 2003 was approximately $32 billion (Canadian), with economic sectors breaking down in the following way: Important private-sector firms headquartered in Saskatchewan include the Hill family's Harvard Developments, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Concentra Financial Services, the steelmaker Ipsco (though its operational headquarters is in Lisle, a suburb of Chicago), farm implement manufacturer Brandt Industries, PotashCorp, and Cameco. Crown corporations include major Saskatchewan-based entities are SaskTel, SaskEnergy (the province's main supplier of natural gas), and SaskPower. Bombardier runs the NATO Flying Training Centre at 15 Wing, near Moose Jaw. Bombardier was awarded a long-term contract in the late 1990s for $2.8 billion from the federal government for the purchase of military aircraft and the running of the training facility. History Prior to European settlement, Saskatchewan was settled by Athabaskan, Algonquian, and Sioux tribes. The first European to enter Saskatchewan was Henry Kelsey in 1690, who travelled up the Saskatchewan River in hopes of trading fur with the province's indigenous peoples. The first permanent European settlement was a Hudson's Bay Company post at Cumberland House founded by Samuel Hearne in 1774. In the late 1850s and early 1860s, scientific expeditions led by John Palliser and Henry Youle Hind explored the prairie region of the province. In the 1870s, the Government of Canada formed the Northwest Territories to administer the vast territory between British Columbia and Manitoba. The government also entered into a series of numbered treaties with the indigenous peoples of the area, which serve as the basis of the relationship between "First Nations", as they are called today, and the Crown. Soon after, the First Nations were forced onto reserves. Settlement of the province started to take off as the Canadian Pacific Railway was built in the early 1880s, and the Canadian government divided up the land by the Dominion Land Survey and gave free land to any willing settlers. The North West Mounted Police set up several posts and forts across Saskatchewan including Fort Walsh in the Cypress Hills, and Wood Mountain Post in south central Saskatchewan near the American border. In 1876, following the Battle of Little Bighorn Lakota chief Sitting Bull led several thousand of his people to Wood Mountain. Wood Mountain Reserve was founded in 1914. Many Métis people, who had not been signatories to a treaty, had moved to the Saskatchewan Rivers district north of present-day Saskatoon following the Red 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 by Louis Riel, staged the North-West Rebellion and declared a provisional government. They were defeated by a Canadian militia brought to the prairies by the new Canadian Pacific Railway. Riel surrendered and was convicted of treason in a packed Regina courtroom. He was hanged on November 16, 1885. As more settlers came to the prairies on the railway, the population grew, and Saskatchewan became a province on September 1, 1905; inauguration day was held September 4. The Homestead Act permitted settlers to acquire ¼mi² of land to homestead and offered an additional quarter upon establishing a homestead. Immigration peaked in 1910 and in spite of the initial difficulties of frontier life, distance from towns, sod homes, and backbreaking labour, a prosperous agrarian society was established. In 1913, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association was established as Saskatchewan's first agricultural organization. (See Logo Here) Three objectives were laid out at the founding convention in 1913 have served as a guide: to watch over legislation; to forward the interests of the Stock Growers in every honorable and legitimate way; and to suggest to parliament legislation to meet changing conditions and requirements. In 1970, the first annual Canadian Western Agribition was held in Regina. Politics Saskatchewan has the same form of government as the other Canadian provinces with a Lieutenant-Governor (who is the representative of the Crown), premier, and a unicameral legislature. For many years, Saskatchewan has been one of Canada's more left-leaning provinces, reflecting many of its citizens' feelings of alienation from the interests of large capital. In 1944 Tommy Douglas became premier of the first avowedly socialist regional government in North America. Most of his MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) represented rural and small-town ridings. Under his CCF Cooperative Commonwealth Federation government, Saskatchewan became the first province to have Medicare, billed at the time as government-funded mandatory universal medical insurance. In 1961, Douglas left provincial politics to become the first leader of the federal New Democratic Party. During most of the postwar period, the CCF and its successor, the Saskatchewan New Democrats have dominated provincial politics with Douglas, Allan Blakeney, and Roy Romanow all serving long periods as premier and becoming national figures. Urbanization since the Second World War has altered the provincial economy away from its agricultural basis, and there has been a steady migration from farms to cities and towns. There was a corresponding shift in the NDP's focus from rural to urban concerns, so that the NDP gradually became the voice of cities and towns. The Saskatchewan Liberal Party was the province's main centrist party for several decades early in Saskatchewan's existence, ruling from 1905–29 and from 1934–44. It regained power in 1964, but became insignificant following the defeat of Ross Thatcher's Liberal government in 1971. The Progressive Conservatives led by Grant Devine gradually replaced the Liberals as the NDP's main rival and soundly defeated the New Democrats in 1982's "Monday Night Massacre". But the Conservatives' popularity plummeted after running up large deficits and being closely aligned with the Mulroney-led federal PC government in 1991. Many PC MLAs, including some cabinet ministers, were convicted for misappropriation of public funds, and the PC Party itself went into suspension, though it has recently announced its intention to run a full slate in the next provincial election. Today, the official opposition in the province is the Saskatchewan Party, a new party built since 1997 out of the remains of the Tories and former Liberals and even a few New Democrats frustrated by the NDP's inability to "grow" the economy and population. The current premier of Saskatchewan is New Democrat Lorne Calvert, whose government was re-elected in the 2003 election with a slim majority -- the NDP won 30 seats in the 58-seat Legislative Assembly, while the Saskatchewan Party won the remaining 28 seats. Most NDP MLAs represent cities and towns while most SP MLAs represent rural ridings. Despite the NDP's three long stretches as the provincial government, the province leans more to the right in federal politics. Of the 14 federal constituencies in Saskatchewan, 12 are currently member of the Conservative Party of Canada. While the province has a slim majority NDP provincial government, the federal NDP has been shut out of the province for two consecutive elections. The only Liberal MPs are former Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and Gary Merasty, whose election win brought allegations over possible election fraud. Centennial celebrations
Population of Saskatchewan since 1901
Miscellany Museums and galleries Artist-Run centres Individual artists Police agencies Correctional facilities
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