one of the three Prairie provinces of Canada, bounded on the N by the Northwest Territories, on the E by Manitoba, on the S by the states of North Dakota and Montana, and on the W by Alberta.

Saskatchewan entered the Canadian Confederation on Sept. 1, 1905, along with Alberta as the eighth and ninth provinces. Called Canada's Breadbasket, Saskatchewan contains one of the major wheat-producing areas in the world. By the early 1990s, mining had also become an important sector of the economy as a result of exploitation of the province's large reserves of petroleum, natural gas, and uranium. The name of the province is taken from the Saskatchewan R., which was named by the Cree Indians and means “fast flowing.”

LAND AND RESOURCES

Saskatchewan, with an area of 652,330 sq km (251,865 sq mi), is the fifth largest province of Canada; approximately 1.4% of the land area is owned by the federal government. The province is nearly rectangular in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 1220 km (about 758 mi) from N to S and about 630 km (about 391 mi) from E to W. Elevations range from 213 m (700 ft) in the Lake Athabasca lowland of the NW to 1468 m (4816 ft) in the Cypress Hills of the SW. Most of the province lies about 365 to 610 m (about 1200 to 2000 ft) above sea level.

Physical Geography.

The Canadian Shield, which covers most of the N third of Saskatchewan, is a rolling land with abundant lakes and rivers. Bedrock, consisting of ancient volcanic and metamorphic rocks, lies at or close to the ground surface. Soils are thin and rocky and provide no potential for agriculture.

The S two-thirds of the province is a plains region with a flat to gently rolling terrain. This region is covered in most places by glacial deposits that vary greatly, from sandy or stony soils to those of silt and clay. The NE portion, the Manitoba Plain, is an area of marshes and lakes and has rocky soils. It is separated on the W and S from the Saskatchewan Plain by a broken, hilly band known as the Manitoba Escarpment. Forests are found in the N part of the Saskatchewan Plain, and in the S are the province's richest soils. The Missouri Coteau separates this region from the hillier Alberta Plain, to the SW. In the SW are the Cypress Hills, forested bedrock uplands rising to more than 1400 m (more than 4600 ft).

Rivers and Lakes.

The Canadian Shield area has vast water resources; its largest lakes—such as Athabasca, Wollaston, and Reindeer—cover many thousands of square kilometers. Drainage here, by numerous short rivers, is to Hudson Bay or the Arctic Ocean. The S has fewer lakes, and the only large river is the Saskatchewan, fed mainly by streams flowing from the Rocky Mts. and the foothills of S Alberta. Much of the area drains E to Hudson Bay, although the extreme SW drains into the Mississippi Basin, and several large areas are drained internally. Shorter streams are intermittent, and the smaller towns and farms rely on groundwater supplies. Gardiner Dam (which impounds Lake Diefenbaker), is a large water-storage facility on the South Saskatchewan R.

Climate.

Saskatchewan has a cold continental climate. In the S, however, summers are warm enough for grain farming. The average annual temperature ranges from about –8.3° C (about 17° F) in the NE to about 3.3° C (about 38° F) in the SW. The recorded temperature has ranged from –56.7° C (–70.1° F) in 1983, at Prince Albert, to 45° C (113° F) in 1937, at Midale. The average annual precipitation is only about 381 mm (about 15 in), most of it falling in spring and summer and thus coinciding with the crop-growing season. Winter snowfall is comparatively light. Summer rain often comes in localized thunderstorms, which sometimes bring damaging hail; tornadoes occur occasionally. Drought is sometimes a problem, as is springtime flooding from snowmelt runoff after winters with above-average snowfall.

Plants and Animals.

The natural grasslands of S Saskatchewan have mostly been plowed for farming. The N half, however, is largely covered by boreal forest, or taiga. Its dominant species are spruce and pine. The central region has a mixed forest of conifers, aspen and poplar grading southward into the aspen parkland—mixed deciduous trees and grassland—at the N edge of the grasslands proper. About two-fifths of the province's land area is forest-covered.

Among Saskatchewan's large mammals are moose, caribou, black bear, and gray wolf in the forests; white-tailed deer, which are especially numerous in the agricultural S; and pronghorn, which range the SW. Squirrel, gopher, and rabbit are abundant. Waterfowl are especially plentiful; the ponds of the glaciated grasslands and aspen parkland provide an excellent breeding habitat for ducks, geese, and loons. Various species of frogs and toads are found here; reptiles include the prairie rattlesnake, which is restricted to the SW. Fish abound in the province's lakes and streams and include whitefish, lake trout, walleye, pike, and grayling.

Mineral Resources.

The principal mineral resources of Saskatchewan are petroleum, natural gas, potash, and coal, all of which are found in the sedimentary rocks of the S; and uranium, copper, zinc, gold, silver, and other metallic minerals found in the Canadian Shield region. The province of Saskatchewan is Canada's second largest producer of crude oil, after the province of Alberta, and has abundant coal suitable for thermal power generation. Potash from S central Saskatchewan has contributed a substantial share of the province's total mineral production in recent decades.        A.H.P., ALEXANDER H. PAUL, M.S., Ph.D.

POPULATION

According to the 2001 census, Saskatchewan had 978,933 inhabitants, a decline of 1.1% from 1996. The population expanded by a factor of ten during the first three decades of the 20th century but experienced very limited growth from the early 1930s to the 1996 census, when the province had a population of 990,237, or an increase of 0.1% over 1991. The overall population density in 2001 was 2 persons per sq km (about 4 per sq mi); most of the population, however, was concentrated in the S half of the province. English was the lone mother tongue of 84% of the people; about 2% had French as their only native language. Some 86,250 North American Indians lived in Saskatchewan, about half of them on reserves. The 2001 census also counted about 44,555 Métis (persons of mixed aboriginal and European origin), and 280 Inuit. About 5% of the population was born outside Canada; many of these were from Great Britain, the U.S., and Poland. The principal religious groups included the Roman Catholic church (with a membership of 286,815 in 2001), the United Church of Canada (187,450), the Lutheran church (78,520), and the Anglican church (65,740). Some 64.3% of all the residents of Saskatchewan lived in areas defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural areas. Saskatoon and Regina (the capital) are, by far, the biggest metropolitan areas, together accounting for more than 40 percent of the provincial population. Prince Albert and Moose Jaw are the only other large cities.

EDUCATION AND CULTURAL ACTIVITY

Because Saskatchewan has vast, sparsely settled areas, many of the important educational and cultural facilities in the province are concentrated in its two major cities, Saskatoon and Regina.

Education.

In 1884 the Canadian government initiated a system of public education in Saskatchewan. In the early 1990s the province had 957 public and separate (tax-supported but operated by religious groups) elementary and secondary schools with a total enrollment of some 207,500 students. Saskatchewan had four institutions of higher education, with a total enrollment of about 26,600 students. Prominent among these institutions are the University of Saskatchewan (1907), in Saskatoon, the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the province, and the University of Regina (1974), in Regina.

Cultural Institutions.

Regina is the home of the Saskatchewan Centre, including the Jubilee Theatre and Hanbidge Hall; the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (1906); the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Centennial Museum; the Mackenzie Art Gallery (1936); and the Saskatchewan Science Centre (1989). The Mendel Art Gallery and Civic Conservatory (1964) and the Ukrainian Museum of Canada (1953) are in Saskatoon. Also of note is the Western Development Museum (1949), with branches in Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Saskatoon, and Yorkton. Regina and Saskatoon have symphony orchestras.

Historical Sites.

For the most part, the historical points of interest in Saskatchewan commemorate the early pioneers who came to trade or settle in the province. Among these are Fort Walsh National Historic Site, an early Northwest Mounted Police post, in Maple Creek; Fort Battleford National Historic Site, containing restored structures from the mid-19th century, in Battleford; Batoche National Historic Site, in Rosthern; and Fort Espérance National Historic Site, near Regina. Also of interest are Wanuskewin Heritage Park, celebrating the culture of the northern Plains Indians, in Saskatoon; Sukanen Ship, Pioneer Village, and Museum, south of Moose Jaw; and Fort Qu'Appelle, near Regina.

Sports and Recreation.

Saskatchewan's Prince Albert National Park, provincial parks, forests, lakes, and rivers offer ideal conditions for fishing, hunting, boating, swimming, camping, golfing, ice hockey, skiing, and curling. The Qu'Appelle Valley region is also popular for outdoor recreational activities.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, a major league Canadian football team, is based in Regina, and several Saskatchewan cities have teams in the Western Hockey League.

Communications.

In the late 1980s Saskatchewan had 18 commercial AM radio stations, 8 commercial FM stations and 15 commercial television stations. CKCK in Regina and CHAB in Moose Jaw, the province's first radio stations, began operation in 1922. The first commercial television stations in Saskatchewan, CKCK in Regina and CFQC in Saskatoon, went on the air in 1954. The Saskatchewan Herald, the first newspaper printed in the province, was initially published in Battleford in 1878. In the early 1990s Saskatchewan had four daily newspapers with a total daily circulation of about 146,400. The dailies were the Leader-Post, in Regina; the Star-Phoenix, in Saskatoon; the Times-Herald, in Moose Jaw; and the Daily Herald, in Prince Albert.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Saskatchewan has a parliamentary form of government.

Executive.

The chief executive of Saskatchewan is a lieutenant governor, who is appointed to a 5-year term by the Canadian governor-general in council. The lieutenant governor, representing the British crown, holds a position that is largely honorary. The premier, a member of the Legislative Assembly and most often the leader of the majority party, is the actual head of the provincial government and presides over the executive council (cabinet). In addition to the premier, the executive council includes the deputy premier, attorney general, minister of finance, minister of labor, minister of energy and mines, minister of agriculture and food, minister of education, and about ten other officials. Executive councillors are chosen by the premier from among the members of the majority party in the Legislative Assembly.

Legislature.

The unicameral Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly contains 58 seats, including those of the premier and the executive councillors. Members of the legislature are popularly elected to terms of up to five years. On the advice of the premier, however, the lieutenant governor may call for an election before the 5-year term has been completed. The premier and members of the executive council must resign their posts if they lose the support of a majority of the Legislative Assembly.

Judiciary.

Saskatchewan's highest tribunals are the court of appeal, with a chief justice and eight other judges, and the court of queen's bench. Judges of these courts are appointed by the governor-general in council and may serve until 75 years of age. It also has a system of provincial courts. The Unified Family Court sits in Saskatoon.

Local Government.

In the early 1990s Saskatchewan had 13 cities, 146 towns, 325 villages, and 298 rural municipalities. All cities were governed under the mayor-council system.

National Representation.

Saskatchewan is represented in the Canadian Parliament by 6 senators appointed by the governor-general in council and by 14 members of the House of Commons, who are popularly elected to terms of up to five years.

Politics.

During its first 66 years as a province, Saskatchewan was governed by the Liberal party (1905–29, 1934–44, and 1964–71), the Conservative party (1929–34), and the socialist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; 1944–64). The New Democratic party (NDP), the successor to the CCF, won a majority in 1971 and retained it in the elections of 1975 and 1978. The Progressive Conservatives captured a huge majority in the provincial legislature in 1982 but won a less impressive mandate in 1986. The NDP was restored to power in 1991 and reelected in 1995. Founded in 1997, the conservative Saskatchewan party outpolled the NDP by about 40% to 39% in the election of September 1999, but the NDP captured 29 of 58 seats to form a minority government; the Saskatchewan party won 26 seats and the Liberals 3. The NDP formed a fourth consecutive government after winning 30 of 58 seats in the November 2003 balloting.

The Conservative Party of Canada dominated the federal elections of January 2006, winning 12 of the province's 14 seats in the House of Commons.

ECONOMY

Saskatchewan's economy has always been based on the exploitation of natural resources. Fur trapping was superseded in the late 19th century by agriculture, particularly grain production. The S part of the province is one of the world's most important grain-growing regions, and agriculture remains a major sector of the economy. Since the 1950s, when petroleum was discovered, mineral production has grown rapidly and is now a very valuable sector of the economy. The exploitation of vast potash reserves, beginning in the '60s, added greatly to the value of mining output. A larger portion of the labor force is in primary activities than in any other Canadian province. Aside from the processing of agricultural products, manufacturing is of limited importance.

Agriculture.

Farming accounts for about 12% of the annual gross domestic product in Saskatchewan. The province has some 60,800 farms, which average 442 ha (1091 acres) in size. Grain production is by far the most important agricultural activity. The leading crops are wheat (totaling nearly 58% of the Canadian output), canola, barley, flaxseed, and rye. Other crops include lentils, oats, potatoes, and mustard seed. Grain farming is concentrated on the fertile soil belts found in the S third of the province. After wheat, beef cattle is Saskatchewan's most important agricultural product.

Forestry.

Although about two-fifths of Saskatchewan is forested, the economically accessible forests constitute only 6% of the Canadian total. Consequently, the forestry industry is of minor importance to the economy. In the late 1980s Saskatchewan's timber cut was about 3.7 million cu m (about 130.7 million cu ft) annually. Principal commercial species are poplar, pine, and spruce.

Fishing.

The annual income from commercial fishing in Saskatchewan is relatively small. Most fishing takes place in the lakes and rivers of the N half of the province. Whitefish, pickerel, and lake trout are the principal commercial species. Fish culture is becoming increasingly important in the S part of the province, where artificial and natural lakes are used by farmers to supply their own needs.

Mining.

Saskatchewan's mining industry has grown considerably since the 1960s. Petroleum, potash, uranium, natural gas, and coal are the main products. Potash, of which the province is one of the world's largest producers, is extracted in the vicinity of Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, and Esterhazy. More than 80% of the total Canadian production of uranium is mined in the province. Saskatchewan also produces small quantities of antimony, copper, and gold.

Manufacturing.

Enterprises engaged in manufacturing employ about 25,000 workers; the sector accounts for about 6% of the annual gross domestic product in the province. Saskatchewan's principal manufactures include foods and beverages, chemicals, fabricated metal goods, electrical and electronic items, printed materials, machinery, and wood products. Manufacturing is concentrated in the two main urban areas of Regina and Saskatoon, which together claim most of the manufacturing employment.

Tourism.

Each year more than 1.6 million visitors contribute more than Can.$780 million to the Saskatchewan economy. The province's lakes, streams, and forests attract numerous hikers and sports enthusiasts. One of the main attractions is Prince Albert National Park, which contains many lakes and much woodland. In addition, Saskatchewan maintains a system of 31 provincial wilderness areas, recreation parks, and historic sites.

Transportation.

Regina and Saskatoon are important hubs in a network of 194,325 km (120,748 mi) of highways and roads, of which about 9% is paved. The surface transport network is most dense in the S. Saskatchewan has about 3715 km (about 2310 mi) of mainline railroad track. The railroad network is especially concentrated in grain-producing areas; wheat is still the dominant rail cargo, followed by phosphates and other grains. Attempts to phase out uneconomical lines have generated considerable opposition. Air traffic in the province centers on Regina and Saskatoon.

Energy.

Electricity generating plants in Saskatchewan have a total capacity of about 2.8 million kw and produce some 13.6 billion kwh of electricity yearly. About 69% of the power output derives from conventional steam-powered generators; hydroelectric-plants provide almost all the remaining 31%. Although gas-turbine and internal-combustion engines account for 5% of capacity, they supply less than 1% of the power. Saskatchewan both imports and exports electricity to other provinces and to the U.S.        M.A.M., MALCOLM A. MICKLEWRIGHT, Ph.D.

HISTORY

The prehistory of the region comprising present-day Saskatchewan is largely unknown, but archaeological research indicates the presence of nomadic plains dwellers as early as 1400 bc. Like the Indians of historic times, the plains dwellers were hunters, not agriculturalists.

Exploration and Settlement.

The first European known to have entered the area was the British explorer Henry Kelsey (1670?–1729?), who in 1690 visited parts of the region on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Co. Kelsey, as well as later French and English traders and explorers of the 18th century, encountered a number of North American Indian tribes, including the Ojibwa or Chippewa, a caribou-hunting people of the far north; the Wood Cree, moose, caribou, and deer hunters living in the mixed-wood belt; and the Assiniboin and Plains Cree, buffalohunting tribes of the south. The tribes provided furs and food supplies for the widely scattered trading posts located in the forest and park belts. These posts were built by the French, beginning in the 1750s, and by the British, operating through the Hudson's Bay Co., in the 1770s. Following the Treaty of Paris of 1763, all trading was controlled by the Hudson's Bay Co. In 1870, when the company sold its territories to Canada, the area became part of the Northwest Territories.

Expansion and Rebellion.

During the years from 1870 to 1905, the so-called territorial period, the southern part of the prairie region was the scene of much activity, notably the negotiation of treaties with the Indians, the extension of land surveys, the building of Northwest Mounted Police posts (see Royal Canadian Mounted Police), the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), the arrival of farmers from eastern Canada, the U.S., Great Britain, and continental Europe, and the founding of many urban centers. Almost all the agricultural land was planted with wheat. In May 1885 the federal militia crushed a brief uprising (see Northwest Rebellions) of Indians and Métis (Canadians of French and Indian blood); the uprising, which was led by a Métis, Louis David Riel, grew out of the rebels' long-standing fear (dating from the sale of the Saskatchewan region to Canada in 1870) that the national government intended to appropriate and distribute to white farm settlers land that the Métis and Indians considered theirs by squatters' rights.

Provincial Status.

Following the completion of the CPR in 1885, large numbers of farmers and other settlers poured into Saskatchewan, and the demand grew steadily for a provincial government. The demand was finally met by the Canadian Parliament, which in 1905 separated Saskatchewan from the Northwest Territories and made the former a province.

The period from 1905 to 1914 was marked by the influx of thousands of immigrants of varied origin, the expansion of transport facilities, a great increase in agricultural production, and the establishment of educational and other governmental institutions. Because the province had no large cities or concentrations of industry, the outlook and aspirations of the agricultural community were dominant in its political and social life. One of the chief phenomena of the period was the growth of producer and consumer cooperatives.

During World War I, Saskatchewan made substantial contributions, both in people and in materials, to the Allied effort. The period was also one of social and political ferment, for the difficulties encountered normally in the assimilation of various immigrant groups were exacerbated by the tensions that arose as a result of world war.

The 1920s were years of adjustment to the newly discovered limitations inherent in a one-crop economy. The difficulties encountered by farmers trying to market their wheat crops led to the organization in 1923 of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, one of the largest grain-marketing cooperatives in the world. The economic crisis also posed a continuing threat to the dominance of the Liberal party, which had controlled the government since 1905.

During the 1930s the provincial economy collapsed, owing largely to the ravages of drought; the resultant sharp decline in farm income brought hardship, disillusionment, and political unrest. The efforts of local cooperatives and an extensive system of agricultural relief provided by the federal government only partly alleviated the problems of these depression years. Neither the Conservative party, which held office from 1929 to 1934, nor the Liberal party, which regained power in 1934, proved able to satisfy the farmers' demands for a more secure economic and social future. In the elections of 1944 the CCF, which promised a social democracy, won sufficient seats to form the first socialist government in North America. The CCF, led first by T. C. Douglas (1904–86) and then by Woodrow Lloyd (1913–72), remained the dominant political party until the 1960s.

World War II and After.

The World War II period was marked by agricultural prosperity and increased farm mechanization; at the same time, however, a large exodus took place to the industrial centers of eastern Canada and the Pacific coast. After the war, interest was taken in the encouragement of industrialization and the exploitation of nonagricultural resources in order to stem the population loss and provide a more balanced economy. Government aid led to the acquisition of woolen and lumber mills, leather tanneries, shoe and box factories, a printing company, and transportation companies. Agricultural income rose in Saskatchewan during the postwar era, but the province experienced difficulties in the marketing of wheat, which was the main crop, and in the decline in the rural population, resulting, in part, from mechanization and larger farms. In 1962 the provincial government instituted Canada's first compulsory medical-care plan, which caused doctors, fearing state control, to go on strike.

In the June 1964 provincial elections, the Liberal party came to power with a promise to free Saskatchewan of the economic stagnation that the socialist CCF had apparently engendered. The Liberals' failure to relieve this stagnation contributed much to the victory of the resurgent NDP, under Allan E. Blakeney (1925–    ), in 1971. By the mid-1970s the worldwide demand for wheat invigorated the whole economy, creating a new prosperity that even the galloping inflation of the times could not endanger. As a result, the tide of emigration from the province was reduced. The Blakeney government embarked on a program of agricultural support and economic control designed to husband the land and resources of the province. In 1982, and again in 1986, the NDP was defeated by the Progressive Conservatives, led by Grant Devine (1944–    ). His commitment to a program of reduced government and privatization threatened the province's social democratic legacy and provoked considerable political controversy.

The NDP, led by Roy Romanow (1939–    ), returned to power in 1991 and won reelection four years later. Large numbers of rural voters, angered by low commodity prices and other economic problems, turned to the newly organized Saskatchewan party in the elections of September 1999, but Romanow remained in office as head of a minority government. In October 2000 he announced his intention to resign as soon as an NDP convention could choose a successor; three months later the party selected Lorne Calvert (1952–    ), who was sworn in as premier of Saskatchewan in February 2001. Calvert retained his office after the NDP won a slim majority in the elections of November 2003. A ruling by the court of queen's bench, uncontested by the federal and provincial governments, legalized same-sex marriage in the province in November 2004.     Rev. by P.R., PAUL FREDERIC WILLIAM RUTHERFORD, M.A., Ph.D.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, section 1113. Manitoba.