Saskatchewan

The Land



Located in the prairie region of Canada, Saskatchewan is bordered by Manitoba,
Alberta, the Northwest Territories 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 of cultivated lands, and one-eighth is covered with
water.

The northern zone rests on a formation of
Precambrian rock characteristic of the Canadian Shield. As a result, 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 glacial
era. 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 Park has sand dunes 30
metres high and semi-arid vegetation. Nowhere else in the world are dunes found
this far north.

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 South Saskatchewan 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 Aboriginal people. The Chipewyan Indians lived in
the north; the Assiniboine inhabited the eastern plains, while the nomadic
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 the Saskatchewan River
to the southern plains of Saskatchewan. On the heels of the trappers came
fur-trading companies 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 Canada
acquired 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 rich lands.

In 1905, Saskatchewan separated from the
Northwest Territories and was established as a province. Regina became 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 the province.

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

The recovery of the 1940s and 1950s saw the
economy, once dependent solely on agriculture, become more 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 them having migrated from Manitoba. With land
available at token prices, agriculture gradually replaced the fur trade. A
major wave of immigration began in 1899 and continued until 1929.

Today, Saskatchewan's population stands at
approximately 1 024 000. Saskatchewan is Canada's only province where the
majority of the population is of neither British nor French background. The
population has a variety of ethnic inheritances - German, Ukrainian,
Scandinavian, Amerindian, Dutch, Polish and Russian, 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 of the world's largest urban parks. Saskatoon, which has a
larger population, is bisected by the South Saskatchewan River.

The Economy



Saskatchewan has changed greatly since it became a province in 1905. Back then,
agriculture was the only industry, and it centred on wheat farming. Today,
Saskatchewan produces over 54 percent of the wheat grown in Canada. Other crops
include canola, rye, oats, barley and flaxseed. Saskatchewan is also a 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 natural resource.
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 leading mineral
resources. Saskatchewan's almost 19 000 active oil wells produce about 20
percent of Canada's total oil output. In addition, with an estimated two-thirds
of the world's reserves, Saskatchewan is the leading exporter of potash.

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