CANADIAN RELOCATION
SASKATCHEWAN PROFILE

Saskatchewan: population: 1.13 million (2014); Area is 251,866 square miles (652,330 square km)

Saskatchewan, is bounded by Alberta to the west, Manitoba to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota to the south. The capital is Regina, in the central south.

The province was created by the Saskatchewan Act of 1905. It was assigned control of its own natural resources in 1930. Rule by various members of the Liberal Party was interrupted from 1944 to 1964, when the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation established the first avowedly socialist government on the North American continent. In 1962 it established the continent's first medical-care program, accompanied by a doctors' strike.

The Saskatchewan economy is traditionally based on extractive industries: oil, gas, and potash. Potash is found in a narrow band running diagonally across the province from west to east, while oil and gas are located in the south.

There are rich uranium deposits in the north. Salt, sodium sulfite, and a variety of clays are also found. Other important industries are furs and agriculture.

The grain belt, made up mainly of wheat but also including large acreages of barley, oats, and rapeseed (canola), lies between the southern border and the 54th parallel of latitude. Manufacturing has played a minor role.

Saskatchewan has always demanded a significant amount of government intervention, including a protective tariff, because of its dependence on external markets, a situation caused by the province's inability to consume its own chief products.

The transcontinental railroads were important in the settlement of Saskatchewan. They were built with federal support to carry settlers and supplies in and grain out. Freight by rail is still important, but passengers travel now by automobile, bus and airplane.

Saskatchewan's constitution is based on the Saskatchewan Act (of admission) of 1905. The provincial government consists Legislative Assembly, elected every five years. The premier, the leader of the majority party in the assembly, selects the Executive Council, which he heads. The province administers the judiciary, but all judges above the rank of magistrate are appointed by the federal government.

Most of the province is policed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under a provincial-federal contract. Saskatchewan has three main political parties: the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, advocating free enterprise and showing strength in rural areas, and the New Democrats, advocating democratic socialism and running strong in the cities.

Primary and secondary education is compulsory and free in public and provincially aided, religiously affiliated schools. Kindergarten is optional but nearly universally attended. Vocational and technical training is available at the secondary level. The University of Saskatchewan, established 1907, has large campuses at Regina and Saskatoon and also maintains the Institute of Northern Studies and the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies at Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Arts Board, established in 1959, supports drama, art, music, literature, and handicrafts programs, and the university has an art school at the Regina campus.

Saskatoon and Regina are noted for their art galleries, which include the works of Paul Kane, who in 1846 visited the region and sketched and painted the Cree Indians, buffalo, and pioneers. Both cities also have symphony orchestras and professional theatres.

Regina is the site of the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Museum. Saskatoon is the site of the Western Development Museum. Many of the towns and villages populated by descendants of German, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, and Scandinavian settlers have annual festivals with ethnic costumes, music, dance, and food.

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