Saskatchewan (province)

A

Population Patterns

Among the provinces, Saskatchewan ranks sixth in population, with a population of 978,933 at the 2001 national census. This figure represented a decrease of 1 percent from the 1991 figure of 988,928. The province has an average density of 1.7 persons per sq km (4.3 per sq mi). Population density is greatest in the parklands and along the margin of the prairies. The population of Saskatchewan is of mixed ethnic origin. More than 40 percent of inhabitants trace their ancestry to the British Isles. The next largest ethnic groups claim German, French, Ukrainian, American Indian, Métis (people of mixed indigenous and European ancestry), and Scandinavian ancestry.

Indigenous peoples, mainly Cree, Assiniboine, and Chipewyan account for a significant share of Saskatchewan’s population. At the time of the 2006 census, they constituted 14.9 percent of the population. Indigenous peoples live mainly in the north and on more than 100 reserves throughout the province.

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 work 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 population increases. However, the population declined at the end of the 1980s and was less than 1 million by 1991.

There has been a marked shift of people from farms to towns and cities. Some 64 percent lived in cities of more than 5,000 inhabitants in 2001, up from 43 percent in 1961.

---

---

B

Principal Cities

Saskatoon and Regina, the largest cities, are the leading trade centers. Saskatoon had 202,340 inhabitants in 2006, and Regina, the capital, 179,246. Prince Albert, with 34,138 inhabitants, is the northernmost city of any significant size. Very few people permanently reside in northern Saskatchewan, where mining is a major industry. Moose Jaw, a railroad center, had 32,132 people.

C

Religion

The leading religious denominations in Saskatchewan are the United Church of Canada and the Roman Catholic Church. The Lutheran, Anglican, Mennonite, and Eastern Orthodox churches also have large memberships.

V

Education and Cultural Life

A

Education

Public schools in Saskatchewan are nondenominational and are administered by autonomous boards of education. The ministry of education provides about half the cost of education through operating and capital grants to these boards. Local property taxes are the other main source of revenue for the boards. Citizens, however, may elect to pay their taxes to support separate elementary and secondary schools that have religious affiliations, although most parents send their children to public schools. The ministry of education provides academic standards and curriculum for all schools, including those with religious affiliations. The federal government funds schools on First Nations reserves throughout the province. These aboriginal schools are administered by local tribes.

A

1

Higher Education

There are two major public universities in the province: the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, and the University of Regina. The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST), the premier vocational institution in the province, has four campuses and offers courses in business, agriculture, health and science, technology, and many other fields. There are also nine community colleges, with campuses throughout Saskatchewan, and numerous Bible colleges.

The provincial and federal governments also support instructional institutions that specialize in the education of indigenous peoples. The First Nations University of Canada (called the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College until 2003) is the only fully accredited aboriginal university of Canada. The Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research, a part of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, supports aboriginal studies and cultural renewal.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain