Saskatchewan

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Saskatchewan
Flag of Saskatchewan Coat of arms of Saskatchewan
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires
(Latin: "The Strength of Many Peoples")
Map of Canada with Saskatchewan highlighted
Capital Regina
Largest city Saskatoon
Official languages English (de facto)
Government
Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart
Premier Brad Wall (Saskatchewan Party)
Federal representation in Canadian Parliament
House seats 14
Senate seats 6
Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province))
Area  Ranked 7th
Total 651,900 km² (251,700 sq mi)
Land 591,670 km² (228,445 sq mi)
Water (%) 59,366 km² (22,921 sq mi) (9.1%)
Population  Ranked 6th
Total (2007) 1,003,299 (est.)[1]
Density 1.67/km² (4.3/sq mi)
GDP  Ranked 5th
Total (2006) C$45.051 billion[2]
Per capita C$45,718 (5th)
Abbreviations
Postal SK
ISO 3166-2 CA-SK
Time zone UTC−6 (no Daylight saving time) Lloydminster and vicinity: UTC−7 and does observe DST
Postal code prefix S
Flower Western Red Lily
Tree Paper Birch
Bird Sharp-tailed Grouse
Web site www.gov.sk.ca
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Saskatchewan (IPA: /səˈskætʃəwən/) is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres (227,134.67 sq mi) and a population of 1,003,299 (according to 2007 estimates), mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 202,340 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 179,246 live in the provincial capital, Regina. Other major cities, in order of size, are Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current, and North Battleford. The province's name comes from the Saskatchewan River, whose name comes from its Cree designation: kisiskāciwani-sīpiy, meaning "swift flowing river".[3]

Contents

From a great scale, Saskatchewan appears to be a quadrilateral. However, due to its size, the 49th parallel boundary and the 60th northern border appear curved. Additionally, the eastern boundary of the province is partially crooked rather than following a line of longitude, as correction lines were devised by surveyors prior to the homestead program (1880–1928). Saskatchewan is bounded on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. 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 land-locked, the other being Alberta.

Saskatchewan contains two major natural regions: the Canadian Shield in the north and the Interior Plains in the south. Northern Saskatchewan is mostly covered by boreal forest except for The Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes, the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58°, adjacent to the southern shore of Lake Athabasca. Southern Saskatchewan contains another area with sand dunes known as the "Great Sand Hills" covering over 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi). The Cypress Hills, located in the southwestern corner of Saskatchewan and Killdeer Badlands (Grasslands National Park) are areas of the province that remained unglaciated during the last glaciation period. The province's highest point, 1,468 metres (4,816 ft) is located in the Cypress Hills. The lowest point, 213 metres (700 ft) is the shore of Lake Athabasca in the far north. The province has nine distinct drainage basins [2] [3] made up of various rivers and watersheds draining into the Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay, and Gulf of Mexico.

Saskatchewan lies far from any significant body of water. This, combined with its northerly latitude gives it a cold summer type humid continental climate (Köppen type Dfb) in the central and most of the eastern part, drying off to a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen type BSk) in the southern and southwestern part of the province. The northern parts of Saskatchewan - from about La Ronge northward - have a subarctic climate (Koppen Dfc). Summers can be very hot, with temperatures sometimes above 32°C (90°F) during the day, and humidity decreasing from northeast to southwest. Warm southern winds blow from the United States during much of July and August. While winters can be bitterly cold, with high temperatures not breaking −17°C (0°F) for weeks at a time, warm chinook winds often blow from the west, bringing periods of mild weather. Annual precipitation averages from 12 to 18 inches annually across the province, with the bulk of rain falling in June, July, and August. [4]

Ten largest municipalities by population

Municipality 1996 2001 2006
Saskatoon 193,653 196,861 202,340
Regina 180,404 178,225 179,246
Prince Albert 34,777 34,291 34,138
Moose Jaw 32,973 32,131 32,132
Yorkton 15,154 15,107 15,038
Swift Current 14,890 14,821 14,946
North Battleford 14,051 13,692 13,190
Estevan 10,752 10,242 10,084
Weyburn 9,723 9,534 9,433
Corman Park 7,142 8,043 8,349

Note that the list does not include Lloydminster, which has a total population of 24,028 but straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. As of 2006, only 8,118 people lived on the Saskatchewan side, which would make it Saskatchewan's 11th largest municipality. All of the listed communities are considered cities by the province, with the exception of Corman Park, which is a rural municipality. Municipalities in the province with a population of 5,000 or more receive official city status.

Saskatchewan's economy is 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, with only Alberta exceeding the province in overall production. 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 the Primrose Lake area through Lloydminster, Unity, Kindersley, Leader, and around Maple Creek areas.

Saskatchewan is also the world's largest supplier of uranium and potash and supplies much of the western world. 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 2006 was approximately C$45.051 billion, with economic sectors breaking down in the following way:

 % Sector
17.1 finance, insurance, real estate, leasing
13.0 mining, petroleum
11.9 education, health, social services
11.7 wholesale and retail trade
9.1 transportation, communications, utilities
7.7 manufacturing
6.8 agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting
6.5 business services
5.8 government services
5.1 construction
5.3 other

A list of the top 100 companies includes The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Federated Cooperatives Ltd. and IPSCO.

Crown corporations include major Saskatchewan-based entities are, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), 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.

Prior to European settlement, Saskatchewan was populated by various indigenous peoples of North America including members of the Athabaskan, Algonquian, Atsina, Cree, Saulteaux 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.

A seminal event in the history of what was to become Western Canada was the 1874 "March West" of the federal government's new North-West Mounted Police. Despite poor equipment and lack of provisions, the men on the march persevered and established a federal presence in the new territory. Historians have argued that had this expedition been unsuccessful, then the expansionist U.S. would have been sorely tempted to expand into the political vacuum. And even had it not, then the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway would have been delayed or taken a different, more northerly route, stunting the early growth of towns like Brandon, Regina, Medicine Hat and Calgary — had these existed at all. Failure to construct the railway could also have forced British Columbia to join the United States.

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 Resistance 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 ¼ mi² 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 ranchers' 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 honourable and legitimate way; and to suggest to parliament legislation to meet changing conditions and requirements.

Its farming equivalent, the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association, was the dominant political force in the province until the 1920s and had close ties with the governing Liberal party.

In the late 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan imported from the U.S. and Ontario, gained brief popularity in WASP nativist circles in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The province had the dubious distinction of having the largest per-capita membership in the KKK of any political jurisdiction in North America. The Klan, briefly allied with the provincial Conservative party because of their mutual dislike for Premier James G. "Jimmy" Gardiner and his Liberals (who ferociously fought the Klan) enjoyed about two years of prominence, then disappeared, the victim of widespread political and media opposition, plus scandals involving their own funds.

In 1970, the first annual Canadian Western Agribition was held in Regina. This farm industry trade show, with a heavy emphasis on livestock, is rated as one of the five top livestock shows in North America, along with those in Houston, Denver, Louisville and Toronto.

Saskatchewan has the same form of government[4] as the other Canadian provinces with a Lieutenant-Governor (who is the representative of the Crown in Right of Saskatchewan), 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 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.

Provincial politics in Saskatchewan is dominated by the centre-left New Democrats and the centre-right Saskatchewan Party. Numerous smaller political parties also run candidates in provincial elections, including the Liberal Party, the Green Party and the Progressive Conservative Party, but none are currently represented in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. After 16 years of New Democratic governments under premiers Roy Romanow and Lorne Calvert, the recent 2007 provincial election was won by the Saskatchewan Party under Brad Wall.

Federally, the province has been a stronghold of the New Democratic Party, although recent elections have been dominated by the Conservative Party. Of the 14 federal constituencies in Saskatchewan, 12 were won by members of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2006, and 13 of 14 were won by Conservatives in 2004, while the federal NDP has been shut out of the province for two consecutive elections. Since the resignation of Gary Merasty from the House of Commons, the only Liberal MP in the province is former Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.

Politically, the province is characterized by a dramatic urban-rural split — the federal and provincial NDP dominate in the cities, while the Saskatchewan Party and the federal Conservatives are stronger in the rural parts of the province. While both Saskatoon and Regina (Saskatchewan's largest cities) are roughly twice the population of an urban riding in Canada, both are split into multiple ridings that blend them with rural communities.

Saskatchewan's flag was officially dedicated on September 22, 1969. The flag features the Armorial Bearing (Coat-of-Arms) in the upper quarter nearest the staff, with the floral emblem, the Prairie Lily, in the fly. The upper green half of the flag represents the northern Saskatchewan forest lands, while the gold lower half symbolizes the southern prairie wheat fields. A province-wide competition was held to design the flag, and drew over 4,000 entries. The winning design was by by Anthony Drake, then living in Hodgeville.

The Saskatchewan Centennial Coin.
The Saskatchewan Centennial Coin.

In 2005, Saskatchewan celebrated its centennial. To honour it the Royal Canadian Mint issued a commemorative five-dollar coin depicting Canada's wheat fields as well as a circulation 25-cent coin of a similar design. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Regina, Saskatoon and Lumsden, and Saskatchewan native Joni Mitchell issued an album in Saskatchewan's honour.

According to the 2001 Canadian census,[5] the largest ethnic group in Saskatchewan is German (28.6%), followed by English (24.5%), Scottish (17.9%), Irish (14.5%), Ukrainian (12.6%), French (11.4%), First Nations (10.6%), Norwegian (6.3%), Polish (5.3%), Métis (4.2%), Dutch (3.3%), and Swedish (3.1%) - although about a quarter of all respondents also identified their ethnicity as "Canadian."

Saskatchewan's population since 1901
Saskatchewan's population since 1901
Year Population Five-year
% change
Ten-year
% change
Rank among
provinces
1901 91,279 n/a n/a 8
1911 492,432 n/a 439.5 3
1921 757,510 n/a 53.8 3
1931 921,785 n/a 21.7 3
1941 895,992 n/a -2.8 3
1951 831,728 n/a -7.2 5
1956 880,665 5.9 n/a 5
1961 925,181 5.1 11.2 5
1966 955,344 3.3 8.5 6
1971 926,242 -3.0 0.1 6
1976 921,325 -0.5 3.6 6
1981 968,313 5.1 4.5 6
1986 1,009,613 4.3 9.6 6
1991 988,928 -2.0 2.1 6
1996 976,615 -1.2 -3.3 6
2001 978,933 0.2 -1.0 6
2006 985,386 0.7 0.9 6

Source: Statistics Canada.[5][6]

Fiscal Year Population* Public Debt** Pers. Inc. Tax Revenue Corp. Inc./Cap. Tax Revenue Sales tax Revenue Oil Revenue Total NR Revenue Canada H/S Transfer Revenue Equalization Revenue Health Expense
2007 990,212 11,034,644 1,668,538 1,067,459 1,079,794*** 1,318,852 1,694,252 1,040,374 12,273 3,202,965
2006 988,980 11,133,595 1,447,905 918,279 1,112,350 1,124,952 1,721,100 958,314 88,672 2,990,625
2005 994,551 11,464,234 1,329,081 638,968 985,079 906,938 1,474,191 715,138 581,570 2,773,961
2004 xxx,xxx 11,940,337 1,245,763 682,052 854,480 774,488 1,140,962 750,558 41,284 2,515,823
2003 xxx,xxx 11,710,616 1,429,757 557,360 813,932 862,318 1,243,649 668,211 -9,215 2,342,835
2002 xxx,xxx 11,429,158 1,196,410 508,542 770,984 555,337 903,044 608,908 492,017 2,199,723

The Tabulated Data covers the previous fiscal year (e.g. 2007 covers April 1, 2006 - March 31, 2007). All data is in $1,000s.

* This value reflects the estimated population at the beginning of the Fiscal Year.

** This value reflects the debt of all Government Service Organizations as well as Crown Corporations.

*** The Provincial Sales Tax was reduced from 7% to 5% effective October 28, 2006.

Source: Government of Saskatchewan.[7]

The first education on the prairies was learned within the family group of the first nation or early fur trading family settlers. There were only a few missionary or trading post schools established in Rupert's Land later known as the North West Territories.

1886 sees the formation of the first 76 North West Territories school districts and the first Board of Education meeting. The immigration boom forms ethnic bloc settlements. Communities are seeking education for their children similar to the schools of their home land. Log cabins, and dwellings are constructed for the assembly of the community, school, church, dances and meetings.

The roaring twenties and established farmers who have successfully proved up on their homesteads helps provide funding to standardize education. Text books, normal schools for formally educated teachers, school curricula, state of the art school house architectural plans, provide continuity throughout the province. English as the school language helps to provide economic stability as now one community can communicate with another, and goods can be traded and sold in a common language. The number of one-room school house districts across Saskatchewan totalled approximately 5,000 at the height of the one-room school house educational system in the late 1940s.

Following World War II, the transition from many one room school houses 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 that the farmer can successfully manage more than a quarter section of land, so there is a shift from family farms and subsistence crops to cash crops grown on many sections of land. There is no more need for communities every 10 to 16 kilometres (6-10 mi) apart or within a horse and buggy ride. This evolution is still continuing and under analysis in the spring of 2007 with another 50 rural consolidated schools now facing imminent closing.[8][9]

School vouchers have been newly proposed as a means of allowing competition between rural schools and making the operation of co-operative schools practicable in rural areas.

  • Saskatchewan's licence plate depicts three stalks of wheat and bears the slogan "Land of Living Skies."
  • Saskatchewan's heraldic shield contains a red lion on a yellow field, reversing the conventional heraldic colours, indicating the prairie fires of this region during the pre-settlement North-West Territories.
  • In 1885, post-Confederation Canada's first "naval battle" was fought in Saskatchewan, when a steamship engaged the Métis at Batoche in the North-West Rebellion.[10]
  • Journalist Peter Gzowski, who got his start in Moose Jaw, called it "the most Canadian of provinces."[11]

The most famous representations of Saskatchewan in modern popular culture come from the popular Canadian television sitcoms Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie, both of which are set in small towns. The novels of W. O. Mitchell, Sinclair Ross, Michael Helm and Gail Bowen are also frequently set in Saskatchewan.

Museums and galleries
Artist-Run centres
Artists

Police agencies
Correctional facilities

  • Archer, John H. Saskatchewan: A History. Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books, 1980. 422 pp.
  • Bennett, John W. and Kohl, Seena B. Settling the Canadian-American West, 1890-1915: Pioneer Adaptation and Community Building. An Anthropological History. U. of Nebraska Pr., 1995. 311 pp.
  • Bocking, D. H., ed. Pages from the Past: Essays on Saskatchewan History. Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books, 1979. 299 pp.
  • LaPointe, Richard and Tessier, Lucille. The Francophones of Saskatchewan: A History. Regina: U. of Regina, Campion Coll., 1988. 329 pp.
  • Lipset, Seymour M. Agrarian Socialism: The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in Saskatchewan: A Study in Political Sociology, University of California Press, 1950
  • Martin, Robin Shades of Right: Nativist and Fascist Politics in Canada, 1920-1940, University of Toronto Press, 1992
  • Smith, Dennis. Rogue Tory: The Life and Legend of John G. Diefenbaker. Toronto: Macfarlane Walter & Ross, 1995. 702 pp.
  • Smith, David E., ed. Building a Province: A History of Saskatchewan in Documents. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1993. 443 pp.
  • Bill Waiser. Saskatchewan: A New History (2006)

  1. ^ Canada's population estimates 2007-12-19. Statistics Canada. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  2. ^ Statistics Canada Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory
  3. ^ Name Source from the Government of Canada
  4. ^ Government of Saskatchewan. official page. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
  5. ^ The history of Saskatchewan's population from Statistics Canada
  6. ^ Canada's population. Statistics Canada. Last accessed September 28, 2006.
  7. ^ Public Accounts of Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Last accessed June 25, 2007.
  8. ^ Warren, Jeremy. in Saskatoon Star Phoenix: More than 50 rural schools facing closure, says Wall. Saskatoon Star Phoenix newspaper Wednesday March 14, 2007, p.A4. 
  9. ^ Saskatchewan Gen Web - One Room School Project - Evolution URL accessed March 20, 2007
  10. ^ Batoche by Dave Yanko
  11. ^ [1]

Find more information on Saskatchewan by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
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Learning resources from Wikiversity
Flag of Saskatchewan
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Sports teams based in Saskatchewan
Baseball WMBL: Melville MillionairesMoose Jaw ExpressRegina Red SoxSaskatoon Yellow JacketsSwift Current IndiansWeyburn BeaversYorkton Cardinals
Football CFL: Saskatchewan Roughriders, CJFL: Regina ThunderSaskatoon Hilltops
Hockey WHL: Moose Jaw WarriorsPrince Albert RaidersRegina PatsSaskatoon BladesSwift Current Broncos, AJHL: Lloydminster Bobcats, SJHL: Battlefords North StarsEstevan BruinsFlin Flon BombersHumboldt BroncosKindersley KlippersLa Ronge Ice WolvesMelfort MustangsMelville MillionairesNipawin HawksNotre Dame HoundsWeyburn Red WingsYorkton Terriers, WWHL: Saskatchewan Prairie Ice
Soccer CMISL: Saskatoon Accelerators
Lacrosse RMLL: Saskatchewan SWAT
Rugby Union RCSL: Saskatchewan Prairie Fire, NWL: Saskatchewan Rugby Union
Ringette NRL: Saskatoon Wild
Canadian Interuniversity Sport University Of Regina Cougars, University Of Regina Rams (football), University Of Saskatchewan Huskies

Coordinates: 55°7′N 106°3′W / 55.117, -106.05 (Saskatchewan)

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