Saskatchewan

• The Land
• The History
• The People
• The Economy

The Land

Located in the prairie region of Canada, Saskatchewan is bordered by Manitoba, Alberta, the NorthwestTerritories and the United States, and is the only Canadian province with entirely man-made boundaries.The province is rectangular in shape and is 651 900 km2 in area. Half of it consists of forests, one-third ofcultivated lands, and one-eighth is covered with water.

The northern zone rests on a formation of Precambrian rock characteristic of the Canadian Shield. As aresult, there are numerous (over 100 000) lakes, rivers, bogs and rocky outcroppings.

The southern part of the province is relatively flat, with occasional valleys created by erosion from the glacialera. This prairie zone is where most of The People live.

Camel caravans might not seem out of place in certain parts of Saskatchewan. Athabasca Provincial Parkhas sand dunes 30 metres high and semi-arid vegetation. Nowhere else in the world are dunes found this farnorth.

The name Saskatchewan comes from the Cree word "kisiskatchewanisipi," which means "swift-flowing river." The province has four major rivers: the Assiniboine, the North Saskatchewan, the SouthSaskatchewan and the Churchill.

The whole province enjoys a hot, dry summer but the town of Estevan is the undisputed "sunshine capital"of Canada, enjoying 2 540 hours of sunshine per year.

The History

The first European explorers and trappers to visit Saskatchewan found established settlements of Aboriginalpeople. The Chipewyan Indians lived in the north; the Assiniboine inhabited the eastern plains, while thenomadic Blackfoot roamed the west. The territory of the Cree, who were long-time residents of the north,also extended southward to the plains.

The earliest explorer was Henry Kelsey, a Hudson's Bay Company agent, who in about 1690 followed theSaskatchewan River to the southern plains of Saskatchewan. On the heels of the trappers came fur-tradingcompanies and trading posts, which became the foundation of many present-day settlements.

For 200 years, the Hudson's Bay Company owned and administered the vast Northwest Territories.Realizing their agricultural potential and the opportunities for colonization, the Government of Canadaacquired the Territories in 1870. After the Dominion Lands Act of 1872, which encouraged homesteaders,and another Act to stimulate immigration, the new railway began bringing settlers in to farm these richlands.

In 1905, Saskatchewan separated from the Northwest Territories and was established as a province. Reginabecame the provincial capital. The years following were years of prosperity, until the 1929 economic crash,combined with a decade of drought and bad harvests, brought the lean years of the Great Depression to theprovince.

In 1944, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) became the first socialist government elected inNorth America. Its leader, Tommy Douglas, led the fight for public hospitalization and medicare, earningSaskatchewan the reputation as the "social laboratory of North America."

The recovery of the 1940s and 1950s saw The Economy, once dependent solely on agriculture, becomemore diversified with the development of oil, uranium, potash, coal and other minerals.

The People

The Métis, people of mixed European and Aboriginal descent, were among the first settlers, many of themhaving migrated from Manitoba. With land available at token prices, agriculture gradually replaced the furtrade. A major wave of immigration began in 1899 and continued until 1929.

Today, Saskatchewan's population stands at approximately 988 980. Saskatchewan is Canada's onlyprovince where the majority of the population is of neither British nor French background. The populationhas a variety of ethnic inheritances - German, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Amerindian, Dutch, Polish andRussian, as well as British, French and many other non-European origins.

Regina and Saskatoon are the two main cities and together have more than one-third of the total population.Named in recognition of Queen Victoria (Victoria Regina), the capital is the site of Wascana Centre, one ofthe world's largest urban parks. Saskatoon, which has a larger population, is bisected by the SouthSaskatchewan River.

The Economy

Saskatchewan has changed greatly since it became a province in 1905. Back then, agriculture was theonly industry, and it centred on wheat farming. Today, Saskatchewan produces over 54 percent of thewheat grown in Canada. Other crops include canola, rye, oats, barley and flaxseed. Saskatchewan is alsoa major producer of cattle and hogs. The average Saskatchewan farm is about 420 hectares in size.

Northern Saskatchewan's 350 000 km2 of forests are the province's most important renewable naturalresource. Softwoods (coniferous trees) are the focal point of forestry development.

Saskatchewan is also a province rich in minerals. Potash, uranium, coal, oil and natural gas are the leadingmineral resources. Saskatchewan's almost 19 000 active oil wells produce about 20 percent of Canada'stotal oil output. In addition, with an estimated two-thirds of the world's reserves, Saskatchewan is theleading exporter of potash.

Research and development is a growing business in Saskatchewan, as attested to by the inauguration ofSaskatoon's Innovation Centre and more recently, the construction of the Canadian Light Sourcesynchrotron, one of only a few such facilities in the world. The province's technological potential inagriculture, space technology and biotechnology is now recognized internationally.