Saskatchewan, province in western Canada. Saskatchewan borders Manitoba on the east, Alberta on the west, the Northwest Territories on the north, and the states Montana and North Dakota on the south. Its name is derived from the Cree term for "swiftly flowing," which was first applied to the Saskatchewan River. Crossed by a vast belt of flat prairie land, Saskatchewan is, with Alberta and Manitoba, one of the Prairie provinces. Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan and Saskatoon is the largest city.
Until 1870 most of Saskatchewan was included in the vast Rupert's Land domain of the Hudson's Bay Company, which had a monopoly on the fur trade. Before 1880 the area was exploited mainly for furs. Only when the railroads came through the prairies in the 1880s did settlers begin coming to Saskatchewan in any numbers. These early pioneers settled the flatlands of central and southern Saskatchewan in scores of tiny railside townsites, strung out at eight-mile intervals along the railroad routes. Subsequently its excellent soils enabled Saskatchewan to become the outstanding wheat-growing province of Canada. Saskatchewan has also prospered with the discovery of petroleum, natural gas, coal, potash, and other valuable minerals.
Physical Geography
Saskatchewan is a long narrow swath of territory that stretches 1225 km (761 mi) from the 49th parallel of north latitude, the United States boundary, to the 60th parallel. In width the province varies from 632 km (393 mi) along the southern boundary to 446 km (277 mi) at the northern margin. It is the only Canadian province whose boundaries are drawn without reference to any natural feature. The area they circumscribe is 652,330 sq km (251,866 sq mi), of which 81,630 sq km (31,518 sq mi) are inland water. Saskatchewan ranks fifth in size among the provinces.
Natural Regions
Saskatchewan contains portions of two major physiographic divisions, or natural regions: the Canadian Shield in the north and the Interior Plains in the south.
The Canadian Shield, a rugged, rocky, glacier-scoured region, makes up about 40 percent of the surface area of the province. Its southern edge begins north of the Saskatchewan River at the Manitoba border and can be traced roughly west-northwest across the province, through Lac la Ronge to the Alberta boundary south of Lake Athabasca. The shield is a complex area of old rocks, which are the eroded roots of ancient mountain ranges. In more recent geologic time, great glaciers moved across the shield, modifying its surface. The result is a low rippled surface, dotted with lakes and poorly drained tracts of land. Bare rock is exposed in some places. In other places the bedrock is covered by materials left by the glaciers or by the meltwater from the ice masses.
South of the shield is a part of the Interior Plains, which is a great sedimentary basin that lies between the shield and the Rocky Mountains. The plains are underlaid by nearly horizontal rock strata. The surface, which slopes gently eastward, has been etched by rivers and modified by glacial ice to the point that it is far from uniform. Traditionally, three subdivisions of the plains, often called prairie levels, have been recognized within Saskatchewan.
To the east is the First Prairie Level, or Manitoba Lowland. A small section of it extends from Manitoba into eastern Saskatchewan, beginning at the margin of the shield and ending at a point south of the Saskatchewan River. In glacial times large portions of this lowland were submerged beneath the waters of prehistoric Lake Agassiz, and during the Ice Age a great delta was formed where the Saskatchewan River entered the lake. Vestiges of this ancient delta remain in the level and poorly drained lands on either side of the Saskatchewan River, around Cumberland House. This part of the Manitoba Lowland is commonly called the Saskatchewan Delta.
West of the Manitoba Lowland is the Second Prairie Level. Its boundary with the First Prairie Level is marked by a long broken cliff, called the Manitoba Escarpment, which faces east and rises several hundred feet above the lowland. It is breached by river lowlands and shows the effects of having been sculptured by the continental ice sheets. The Porcupine Hills and the Pasquia Hills are part of the Manitoba Escarpment. The plains, sweeping westward from this escarpment, strike the base of a second escarpment in central Saskatchewan. It is capped with material left by glaciers and forms a more or less continuous belt of hills, traceable from the U.S. border northwestward to a point not too far south of Lake Athabasca. The distinctive southern part of this escarpment, separating the Second and Third prairie levels, is called the Missouri Coteau. West of the coteau are the High Plains, or the Third Prairie Level. Geologically, this region is a continuation of the Great Plains of the United States.
Rivers and Lakes
More than 12 percent of the surface area of Saskatchewan is covered by lakes and rivers. They are heavily concentrated in the northern half of the province, in the Canadian Shield. Of the thousands of lakes found here, the largest is Lake Athabasca, which is shared with Alberta. Second in size is Reindeer Lake, shared with Manitoba. Other large lakes include Wollaston, Cree, and Frobisher lakes and Lac la Ronge. Immediately south of the shield are a number of other sizable bodies of water, including Peter Pond, and Doré, Montreal, Primrose, and Cumberland lakes.
Most of the rivers of Saskatchewan flow eastward toward Hudson Bay. In the southeast the Qu'Appelle and Souris rivers feed into the Assiniboine-Red River system of Manitoba, which drains through Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. The central plains are crossed by the most important of the province's rivers, the Saskatchewan, whose northern and southern branches join east of Prince Albert. It also flows into Lake Winnipeg. The Churchill River system in Saskatchewan is actually a series of lakes connected by streams. The Churchill River drains the southern part of the Canadian Shield and adjacent parts of the Interior Plains. In southwestern Saskatchewan, the Frenchman River feeds southward into the Missouri River System. Northern Saskatchewan falls within the extensive Mackenzie river basin, which drains northward into the Arctic Ocean.
Climate
The climate of Saskatchewan is continental, with big seasonal variations in temperature. The interior location of the province and the great barrier zone of mountains to the west combine to seal Saskatchewan off from the moderating influences of both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Winters are cold. January temperature averages are low, even in the south. Regina, for example, has a January mean of -18° C (0° F), and the lowest temperature on record there is -50° C (-58° F). The lowest temperature averages are found in the northeast, where the January mean is about -28° C (-18° F) and winter readings sometimes sink to -57° C (-70° F). Summers are generally hot in southern Saskatchewan, and warm weather is experienced all the way to the 60th parallel. The July average at Regina is 19° C (66° F), and along the northeastern margins of the province it is about 14° C (58° F). A maximum of 43° C (110° F) has been recorded at Regina, and highs of more than 32° C (90° F) have been registered at Lake Athabasca.
Precipitation is relatively light, ranging from little more than 430 mm (17 in) per year near the Manitoba border to about 300 mm (about 12 in) in the southwest. Precipitation also diminishes northward, with less than 280 mm (11 in) normally recorded along the 60th parallel. More rain falls in summer, but it is concentrated during the harvest period of late summer. Winter snows are not heavy, but they appear to be because snow remains on the ground for long periods and drifting becomes a problem.
The length of the frost-free season varies within the province. In the southwest, particularly in the valley lands along the South Saskatchewan River, the frost-free period ranges from 150 to 160 days. Regina enjoys about 123 frost-free days, and Saskatoon has about 111. The far north has only from 85 to 95 frost-free days.
One important characteristic of Saskatchewan's climate is the great variability in temperature and precipitation from year to year, which is often critical for agriculture. The growing season is normally short, and any abbreviation of it may mean crop failure. Snows have been known to fall on ripening grain. Since rainfall is modest, drier-than-normal years may cause drought. In wet years there may be floods or fields may become waterlogged.
Soils
The soils of Saskatchewan vary greatly in character and productivity. The two primary categories are grassland soils and forest soils.
The soils associated with the grasslands tend to be of medium to high fertility. Deep black chernozem soils of high fertility are found in the areas of the tall-grass and mid-grass prairies. In the drier short-grass areas, the soils are lighter-colored, brown prairie soils. They are also fertile, but lack of precipitation limits their usefulness. Forest soils are generally low in fertility. The podzol soils, soils that are formed by moist climates and are associated with the coniferous forest, are deficient in nutrients. The mixed forest is usually underlain by gray wooded soil, also of limited fertility.
The parklands provide a transition in soils as well as in vegetation. Patches of gray wooded soils are interspersed with tracts of chernozem. Many areas have what is called degraded chernozem, a soil of grassland origin that has been modified to some degree by the invasion of trees into the region. Despite their name, the degraded chernozems are usually very productive. The vast swamplands between the Saskatchewan River and the Pasquia Hills, in eastern Saskatchewan, have potentially productive soils that require extensive draining before they can be used.
Plant Life
Although Saskatchewan is one of the Prairie provinces, only a little more than one-fourth of its area was true prairie in its natural state. Tall-grass prairies were found southwest of an irregular boundary that could be drawn across the province approximately through Regina and Saskatoon. Farther southwest, because of decreasing precipitation, the tall grasses gave way to shorter ones, and beyond Swift Current true short-grass prairie prevailed. The original grasslands of Saskatchewan were either completely destroyed in the process of human settlement of the land or have been considerably altered through many years of livestock grazing.
North of the prairies was a zone of transition between the grasslands and the forests, called the parklands or aspen grove belt. This zone varied from about 90 to 160 km (60 to 100 mi) in width. Within it, patches of trees, or bluffs, occurred in a mixture with tracts of tall grasses. The parklands have been an important area of settlement, and settlers have removed most of its original vegetative cover. Aspen groves still cover some lands that have not proved agriculturally productive.
The remainder of the province was, and largely remains, forested land, known as the boreal forest. Here are found coniferous trees, notably spruce and pine, and such deciduous trees as aspen, poplar, and birch. In poorly drained areas are extensive tracts of muskeg, swampy land in which sphagnum moss and other water-tolerant plants grow. The southern boundary of the boreal forest is an irregular line connecting Kamsack, Prince Albert, and the Alberta border. South of that line is a zone of mixed forest in which aspen and birch are abundant but conifers are also present. In the northeast is a subarctic zone, which forms a transition between the boreal forest and the tundra.
Animal Life
Animals that have survived from the days of the open range are the antelope, now protected, and the badger, now rare. The coyote still inhabits the open prairie, and the timber wolf roams the region farther north. The most common of the wild mammals on the prairie are the ground squirrel, or gopher, and the jackrabbit. In the northern timberland there is a variety of animals, including the muskrat, mink, weasel, beaver, black bear, and skunk. In the forest region there are moose, elk, and deer. Farther north, the caribou is common.
The lakes, sloughs, and swamps of Saskatchewan attract a vast number of water birds and waders. Birds include the Hungarian partridge, sharp-tailed grouse or prairie chicken, and pheasant on the prairie; the ruffed grouse in wooded country; the ptarmigan in the far north; and the Canada goose and a wide variety of ducks throughout the province. In addition there are the western and horned grebe, common loon, great blue heron, sandhill crane, and several species of hawk.
Fish include the common whitefish, tullibee, pickerel, yellow perch, black bass, and lake trout. The grayling is found in the far north.
Conservation
Saskatchewan has few environmental problems. The main ones are habitat loss, management of hazardous materials, especially agricultural pesticides; water pollution, fertilizer and pesticide runoff; and soil degradation caused by erosion, salt saturation, and loss of soil nutrients. The federal government enforces federal regulations dealing with certain kinds of air and water pollution. The ministry of the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management is responsible for provincial environmental programs. Its activities include the enforcement of strict regulations for the collection, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, and the operation of provincial park systems and renewable resources and wildlife management programs.
Economic Activities
The economy of Saskatchewan has always been based on primary products. The first one was fur, for which the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company competed from 1774 to 1821. With the coming of the railroad in the later l9th century, the development of agriculture began. From about 1880 to 1930 there was a rapid expansion of agriculture, based mainly on wheat. The depression and drought of the 1930s brought the province's economy to a virtual standstill. However, an improvement in the yield and prices of grain began during World War II (1939-1945). Soon the province was undergoing an economic recovery. In the 1950s economic growth was spurred by oil, natural gas, uranium, and potash mining. By the 1960s a well-developed mining industry and high agriculture production had brought about economic stability.
Agriculture
The raising of field crops is the leading type of farming in Saskatchewan, and wheat is the most important field crop. In 1991 there were some 60,840 farms in Saskatchewan. Farmland and ranchland occupied 26.8 million hectares (66 million acres), of which about three-fourths was cropland. Almost one-half of the farms and ranches were wheat farms. In 1993 the total farm cash receipts totaled C(Canadian)$4.5 billion. Slightly more than one-half of that income came from sales of crops. About three-fifths of the income from crop sales came from sales of wheat.
Saskatchewan normally devotes more than half of its cropland to wheat. Most of the wheat is grown in the prairies and adjacent parklands. Barley is an important secondary grain, particularly in the parklands. Oats and rye are minor grain crops. A variety of feed and fodder crops, including hay, and two cash crops of some importance, rapeseed and flaxseed, are grown.
Livestock raising is important in Saskatchewan, accounting for more than 40 percent of agricultural sales. Beef cattle predominate, but hogs have increased in importance because of growing urban markets domestically and internationally. Cattle were brought into southwestern Saskatchewan from the Great Plains of the United States in the 1880s. Since then, livestock raising has become associated with grain farming in all agricultural areas of the province.
Saskatchewan's wheat farmers depend upon selling their vast output of grain on the world market. Huge amounts of wheat are exported to such countries as the United States, Mexico, South Korea, Iran, Brazil, Japan, and China. Most of the province's grain is shipped through Winnipeg and the Great Lakes. Some wheat is also sent by rail to the port of Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson Bay.
Irrigation projects in Saskatchewan have been limited mainly to irrigating lands for the production of feed for the ranches of the southwest. The South Saskatchewan River Project, completed in the late 1960s, increased the land area available for the cultivation of grain and fodder crops. The project centers on the great bend of the South Saskatchewan River, northwest of Moose Jaw. It consists of two large dams, Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River and the Qu'Appelle River Dam, and their reservoir, Diefenbaker Lake. The reservoir and dams also provide flood control for the lower Saskatchewan River and electric power and water supply for the towns and industries of that region.
Fisheries
Commercial fishing is carried out on a small scale in Saskatchewan's lakes and rivers. The main fish caught are whitefish, pickerel, pike, and trout.
Furs
By value, the principal species of the fur trade in Saskatchewan were beaver, mink, muskrat, coyote, marten, and fisher.
Forestry
Saskatchewan has about 288,000 sq km (111,065 sq mi) of forestland; about 42 percent of this is suitable for regular harvest. Of the province's lumber shipments, almost all is softwood; the principal species were spruce and jack pine. Wood processing is important at Hudson Bay, Glaslyn, Big River, and Meadow Lake. There is a pulp and paper mill at Prince Albert.
Mining
Saskatchewan ranks fourth among the provinces in non-renewable resource production in Canada. Non-renewable resources include all minerals, oil, and natural gas. Uranium and other metallic minerals are produced from the Precambrian Shield in northern Saskatchewan. Potash, coal, and other industrial minerals are produced in southern Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan is the largest uranium producing jurisdiction in the world, with 28 percent of world production and 93 percent of Canadian production in 1994. Uranium is currently produced from three mines in the province and is sold to utilities in North America, Europe, and the Far East. Two gold mines operate in Saskatchewan.
Potash is used primarily in fertilizers and about 25 percent of the world production comes from Saskatchewan. Potash is the largest mining sector in the province and is produced from 10 mines spread across southern Saskatchewan. It is sold within Canada and to the United States, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and countries in Southeast Asia. Other minerals produced in Saskatchewan include salt, sodium sulfate, calcium chloride, and clays.
Saskatchewan is the second largest oil producing province in Canada. Heavy and light crude oil are produced from the Lloydminster, Kindersley-Kerrobert, Swift Current, and Weyburn-Estevan areas. Crude oil is sold within the province and to buyers in Alberta, eastern Canada, and the United States. The province is the third largest natural gas producing province in Canada. The main producing areas and reserves are along the western boundary of Saskatchewan, in the Beacon Hill, Kindersley, and Hatton areas. The natural gas is sold within the province and to buyers in eastern Canada and the United States.
Manufacturing
Industry has developed slowly in Saskatchewan, and it is much less important than farming or mining. In 1993 the province's manufacturing concerns generated C$3.8 billion in income. Food processing has long been the main industry, and it accounted for about one-third of the manufacturing income in 1993. Especially important are slaughtering and meatpacking and the production of beer, soft drinks, and animal feed. Other major products include newspapers and magazines, agricultural implements, agricultural chemicals, commercial printed materials, ready-mix concrete, and machine shop products. Regina and Saskatoon are the principal manufacturing centers.
Electricity
The government-owned Saskatchewan Power Corporation generates the electricity used in the province and has a monopoly over the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. A few large industrial consumers generate electricity for their own use. About 70 percent of the province's electricity is produced by three coal-fired plants in southeastern Saskatchewan, 25 percent by hydroelectric power plants in central and northeastern Saskatchewan, and 5 percent by natural gas plants in west central Saskatchewan.
Transportation
During the fur-trade era, transportation was almost exclusively by water. Steamboat traffic on the Saskatchewan River was very common during the late 19th century until railroad construction began. Today, Saskatchewan has an efficient system of transportation based on extensive east-west road and railroad routes and supplemented by many north-south spurs. In 1990 Saskatchewan had about 3700 km (about 2300 mi) of operated mainline railroad track, run by the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways. There are approximately 250,000 km (approximately 155,000 mi) of public highways and urban and rural roads. A 653-km (406-mi) portion of the Trans-Canada Highway spans southern Saskatchewan from the Alberta border near Maple Creek in the west through Regina to the Manitoba border just east of Moosomin. Regina and Saskatoon are served by Air Canada's transcontinental flights. Small private airlines link the major cities and operate to remote communities of the north.
Trade
Aside from the larger cities, Saskatchewan's urban communities with their grain elevators, general stores, and service stations are predominantly shipping and trading centers for the farm population. A notable feature of merchandising is the existence of cooperatives engaged in retail business.
The People of Saskatchewan
Population Patterns
Among the provinces, Saskatchewan ranks sixth in population. The 1991 census figure was 988,928. The province has an average density of 2 persons per sq km (5 per sq mi). Population density is greatest in the parklands and along the margin of the prairies. The ancestors of a great majority of Saskatchewan's inhabitants came from the British Isles, Germany, the Ukraine, Scandinavia, and the United States.
By 1931 the population of Saskatchewan had reached 921,785. A severe drought and the deep economic depression in the 1930s prompted many people to leave the province to look for jobs elsewhere. Within the province many people moved from the prairie dust bowl northward into the southern margins of the forested regions. Subsequently these poorer woodlands were also abandoned, and there was further migration from the province. The population grew slowly in the 1950s, and it stagnated in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976 the population was almost exactly the same as it had been in 1931. The censuses of 1981 and 1986 showed increases in population. However, the population declined at the end of the 1980s and was less than one million in 1991.
There has been a marked shift of people from farms to towns and cities. By 1991 the rural population had decreased to 37 percent, down from 57 percent in 1961. Some 63 percent lived in cities of more than 5000 inhabitants. Saskatoon and Regina, the largest cities, are the leading trade centers. Saskatoon had 186,058 inhabitants in 1991, and Regina, the capital, 179,178. Prince Albert, with 34,181 inhabitants, is the northernmost city of any size. Moose Jaw, a railroad center, had 33,593 people. Although mining is a major industry in northern Saskatchewan, only very few people permanently reside in this area. In 1991 there were 102,700 indigenous peoples, including Indians, Inuit, and Métis.
Religion
The leading religious denominations are the United Church of Canada and the Roman Catholic church. The Lutheran, Anglican, Mennonite, and Eastern Orthodox churches also have large memberships.
Education and Cultural Life
Education
Schools in Saskatchewan, except independent schools, are operated by autonomous boards of education. The Department of Education provides operating and capital grants to these boards. The other main source of revenue for boards of education is property tax. The Department of Education also provides academic standards and curriculum for all schools, including independent ones. All schools operated by boards of education are public, except those operated by Roman Catholic boards of education.
Higher Education
There are two universities in the province: the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, and the University of Regina. There are also 31 private vocational schools, 9 community colleges, and 12 Bible colleges.
Libraries
There are two municipal libraries and eight regional libraries in Saskatchewan. These receive grants administered by the Provincial Library in Regina, which also provides a central reference library and traveling libraries. Among the special libraries are those at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Library in Saskatoon, and the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Library in Regina.
Museums
Wildlife, First Nations, and earth science exhibits are housed in the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina. Regina Depot, one of the training colleges of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has a museum relating to the history of the force. Materials of the homestead era are on display at the Western Development Museum, which has branches in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, and North Battleford. The Battleford, Batoche, and Fort Walsh national historic parks have museum collections. The major art museums are the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina and the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon.
Communications
Soon after the first settlers reached Saskatchewan, many frontier newspapers appeared, the first in Battleford in 1878. Among the early journalists was Nicholas Davin, editor of Regina's first newspaper and author of several books written in the late 1880s. In 1991 there were five daily newspapers and many weeklies. There were also 24 AM radio stations, 9 FM radio stations, including one French station, and 13 television stations, including one French station.
Arts
The development of art, music, drama, literature, and handicrafts has been encouraged by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, which was established in 1948. The province's two universities offer a number of music and drama programs. Regina and Saskatoon have symphony orchestras.
Recreation and Places to Visit
Recreation in Saskatchewan centers mainly on water sports and fishing. A chain of lakes on the Qu'Appelle River and Madge, Kenosee, and Carlyle lakes are among the most popular areas in the south. The northern wilderness draws increasing numbers of visitors to Lac la Ronge, Île-à-la-Crosse, and a vast network of lesser-known lakes. Visitors can fish for pike, pickerel, whitefish, lake trout, and perch. An abundance of wildlife, particularly in the forested regions, provides hunting in season for deer, antelope, moose, and elk. Also hunted are geese and ducks in the swamps and lakes, game birds in the prairies, and caribou in the north. During the long cold winters the frozen lakes are used for ice hockey and curling, Saskatchewan's most popular sports.
National Parks
Prince Albert National Park, north of the city of Prince Albert, covers 3874 sq km (1496 sq mi) of lakes and forests. The undeveloped Grasslands National Park is located in the southwestern prairies near the U.S.-Canadian border.
Provincial Parks
Most of Saskatchewan's 34 provincial parks are in wooded uplands, such as Moose Mountain, Duck Mountain, and the Cypress Hills, or around lakes, such as the parks around Greenwater Lake and Lac La Ronge. Katepwa, Crooked Lake, and Echo Valley provincial parks, east of Regina, and Buffalo Pond, west of Regina, are all in the beautiful Qu'Appelle river valley. Facilities for winter sports are provided at Cypress Hills, Greenwater Lake, and Moose Mountain.
Other Places to Visit
National historic parks or sites have been established at Fort Battleford and Fort Walsh, posts of the old Northwest Mounted Police, and at Batoche, the site associated with Riel's Rebellion in 1885. More than 140 historic sites have been marked by national, provincial, and local agencies.
Annual Events
Agricultural fairs and exhibitions are held in many cities and towns, the largest being the exhibitions in Saskatoon in July and in Regina in June. The Canadian Western Agribition is held at Regina in November.
Government
Saskatchewan is represented in the Canadian Parliament by 14 elected representatives in the House of Commons and by six senators who are appointed by the federal government.
Executive
The Crown is represented by the lieutenant governor, who is appointed by the federal government. Real power is vested in the premier and cabinet. The premier is the leader of the majority party or coalition in the one-chamber legislature. The premier and cabinet serve as long as they retain the support of a majority of the legislature.
Legislative
Saskatchewan's legislature is a unicameral body known as the Legislative Assembly. It is composed of 58 elected members. A general election must be held at least every five years; an election can be held sooner if the legislature is dissolved before its term is completed.
Judicial
Saskatchewan has two higher courts, the justices of which are appointed by the federal government. The court of appeal, with a chief justice and eight justices, hears all appeals from the lower courts. The court of queen's bench, with a chief justice and some 30 justices, is a trial court for criminal and civil cases. Its justices also deal with bankruptcies and estates. There is also a system of provincial courts, with judges appointed by the provincial government. The provincial courts hear criminal and civil cases, as well as family and juvenile cases.
Local Government
Councils composed of elected mayors and council members govern the 12 cities, 145 towns, and approximately 360 villages in Saskatchewan. There are 298 large rural municipalities with elected councils. In sparsely settled areas in the north the provincial government administers 10 northern settlements. In addition, there are 2 northern towns, 13 northern villages, and 13 northern hamlets that are governed by elected majors and councils.
History
Indigenous Peoples
Saskatchewan's earliest inhabitants can be divided into three distinct language families, located roughly within three major geographical regions of the province. The Canadian Shield region in northern Saskatchewan was the home of ethnic groups that spoke Athapaskan: the Chipewyan, the Beaver, and the Slavey. Groups of the Algonquian linguistic family, the forest and plains Cree and the Blackfoot, were located in the Interior Plains, in the central region drained by the Saskatchewan River. Assiniboine and Gros Ventres of the Siouan family lived on the extreme southern plains. Several bands of Sioux migrated to Saskatchewan from the United States in the early 1870s.
Exploration
The presence of fur-bearing animals first attracted Europeans to the plains and rugged northland of the interior of North America. The Hudson's Bay Company had, by its charter of 1670, secured rights to all lands drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay. In the beginning the company relied on the indigenous peoples to bring the furs out to the posts on the shores of the great bay. In 1690 Henry Kelsey of the Hudson's Bay Company traveled into the interior to encourage this trade, becoming the first white man to enter the Saskatchewan territory. By the mid-18th century, however, French traders based at Montréal had penetrated the interior by the Great Lakes route, and the resulting competition forced the Hudson's Bay Company to extend its operations inland. In 1754, in direct response to the French challenge, Anthony Henday traveled into the plains area, and in 1774 Samuel Hearne built a Hudson's Bay Company post at Cumberland House, which was the first permanent European settlement in the area of present-day Saskatchewan.
The fur traders quickly adapted and by the early l9th century they had explored the western domain. A vast network of lakes and rivers gave them access to the fur territory of the north. The Saskatchewan river system carried them through the central region to the foothills of the mountains, and the Qu'Appelle and Assiniboine rivers took them to the southern plains. By the 1850s, however, the fur trade had declined and the agricultural possibilities of the plains were being seriously examined. The British government sent Captain John Palliser to the west for this purpose in 1857, and another expedition under J. S. Dawson and H. Y. Hind was sent by the Canadian government the following year. In 1870 the Dominion of Canada acquired the vast region of Rupert's Land and the Northwestern Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company. This area, which included present-day Saskatchewan, was renamed the Northwest Territories.
Settlement
By the last quarter of the l9th century the era of the fur trade had ended, and the period of western settlement began. After 1878 the Canadian government fostered settlement in the west because of the danger that the advancing wave of settlement in the United States would sweep north into the unoccupied Canadian prairies. To prevent the Americans from driving a wedge between British possessions east and west of the central plains, it was decided to unite the eastern provinces with British Columbia by means of a transcontinental railroad. The railroad was also intended as a means of transporting settlers into the west and later of shipping farm products eastward. Construction began in 1872, but the Canadian Pacific Railroad was not completed until 1885.
Settlers also came to the Northwest Territories because of government policies that gave free land to people who were willing to settle it and offered incentives to companies who would move to the territories. These companies were responsible for bringing in groups of English, German, Swedish, and Hungarian settlers.
Riel's Rebellion
In 1874 and 1876 most of the native peoples of the Northwest Territories sold their lands to the Canadian government and accepted reservation life. However, the métis, people of mixed North American Indian and European ancestry, were displeased with the encroachment of the settlers. They also objected to the wasteful slaughter of buffalo, which resulted in the virtual annihilation of the herds by 1878. Following a serious crop failure in 1883, the métis of Saskatchewan united under the leadership of Louis Riel and began to seek self-government. Negotiation toward settling the métis' demands proved futile, and some of the métis rose in armed rebellion in 1885. The revolt was quickly suppressed, and the Canadian government made no serious efforts to solve the problems of the dissatisfied people.
Thereafter, settlement was a slow but steady process. By 1891 the population of the Northwest Territories, excluding indigenous peoples and métis, was 51,000. The population increased more rapidly in the last years of the century, as settlers from eastern Canada, Europe, and the United States flooded into "the last best West." By 1901 the territorial population was 158,940, and in 1905 it exceeded 400,000.
Saskatchewan Province
The foundations for self-government in the Northwest Territories were developed during the latter decades of the l9th century. A provision was made in 1883 for the creation of municipal governments in the more heavily populated areas. The territories were represented in the Canadian House of Commons for the first time in 1887 and in the Senate in 1888, the same year that the northwest council became a fully elective legislative assembly. In 1905 Saskatchewan was granted provincial status. In the first provincial election, Saskatchewan chose a Liberal government.
Saskatchewan assumed its place as a province of the Dominion of Canada in a period of prosperity. Continued immigration increased the population to 750,000 people by 1914. Wheat acreage increased more than five times, railway mileage rose four times, and the number of cities in the province increased from three to seven. The most significant developments in the province concerned agriculture. Early in the century, Sir Charles E. Saunders had developed Marquis wheat, an early-maturing, hard-spring variety that, because of its excellent milling qualities, was known as the wheat that made Saskatchewan famous. The province's agriculture was further aided by the introduction of the gasoline tractor and by the establishment of a college of agriculture at Saskatoon.
Growth of Cooperative Farming
The farmers of Saskatchewan soon saw the advantages of organizing and forming cooperatives, businesses owned by the farmers, allowing them to retain control over their products. The first major farmers' organization was the Territorial Grain Grower's Association, founded by William Motherwell in 1901. In 1911 the farmer-owned Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company was formed to combat the unfair practices of privately owned grain elevators.
A slight recession in 1913, followed by World War I, poor crops, and a serious blight of wheat rust, slowed the process of cooperative development. These conditions were further aggravated in the early 1920s by the nation's painful readjustment to a peacetime economy. Saskatchewan farmers organized under the National Progressive Party, and in 1921 the party won 15 of the province's 16 seats in the federal House of Commons. The Progressives held the balance of power in the House of Commons from 1921 to 1926. Their strength waned thereafter, and farmers turned again to economic cooperation.
In 1924 Saskatchewan farmers were still convinced that the system of wheat marketing left the farmer at the mercy of the grain elevators, the large milling concerns, and the speculator. They organized a marketing cooperative, the Saskatchewan Cooperative Wheat Producers Limited, popularly known as the Wheat Pool. Marketing organizations for other farm products were formed on the cooperative principle, and local consumer cooperatives were consolidated and expanded. The combine, a machine for harvesting grain, became a familiar sight by the late 1920s, and research was undertaken to produce better varieties of early-maturing, rust-resistant wheat. By the end of the decade prosperity had returned. The 1928 wheat crop exceeded that of any previous year.
Depression
The worldwide economic depression of the 1930s coincided in Saskatchewan with a prolonged drought. The price of agricultural products declined drastically. In 1937, the worst of the drought years, the wheat yield fell from a long-term average of 15 bushels per acre to a meager 2.7. Grasshoppers, rust, drifting topsoil, and weeds wrought further havoc. Many families trekked north to pioneer once again on the fringe of the parklands. Immigration practically ceased, and the population declined by almost 26,000 between 1931 and 1941.
In response to the crisis, the provincial government undertook relief and youth-training programs. New cultivation methods were developed, reclamation projects were instituted, and cooperative enterprises were further extended. A new political party, called the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), emerged and pledged to replace the capitalist system with a planned economy. In 1937 heavy rains caused prices to rise slowly. Conservation and reclamation projects improved conditions somewhat. In 1939, however, before the province had fully recovered from the ravages of the "dirty 30s," World War II began.
Social Democratic Reforms
The social impatience bred by long years of depression, drought, and war was reflected in the provincial election of 1944. The Liberals were defeated by the socialist CCF under the leadership of T. C. Douglas. The CCF paid particular attention to welfare measures and public ownership of production during its 20 years in office. In 1947 it introduced government-sponsored hospital insurance, and in 1962 it inaugurated a universal and compulsory system of medical-care insurance.
Late 20th Century
In 1964 the Liberals were returned to power. W. Ross Thatcher, who became premier, sought to attract industry to the province. In 1971, however, the Liberals were ousted by the New Democratic Party (NDP), the successor to the CCF, and Allan Blakeney became premier. For 11 years the NDP carried out an extensive program of reform. In 1982, for the first time in the history of Saskatchewan, the Progressive Conservatives won the provincial elections. Grant Devine became premier. The Progressive Conservatives were reelected in 1986, winning most of the rural vote while the NDP captured most of the urban vote.
At the start of the 1990s, Saskatchewan enjoyed a reasonably prosperous economy as a result of a boom in the natural gas industry and decent wheat harvests. Continuing a trend of the late 1980s, however, the population was declining as many younger people left the province. The population drain was attributed to such factors as the general decline in rural population and a steady decrease in farm employment. In 1991 the population fell below one million. In 1991 the NDP returned to power and Roy Romanow became premier. In 1996 the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was scheduled to become a public company, selling shares to stockholders and ending its history as a cooperative.