ABOUT SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatchewan is a prairie and boreal province in west-central Canada, the only province without natural borders. It has a total area of 651,900 square kilometres (251,700 sq mi), nearly 10 percent of which (59,366 square kilometres (22,900 sq mi)) is fresh water, composed mostly of rivers, reservoirs, and the province's 100,000 lakes.
Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the American states of Montana and North Dakota. As of December 2013, the population of Saskatchewan was estimated at 1,114,170. Residents primarily live in the southern prairie half of the province, while the northern
boreal half is mostly forested and sparsely populated. Of the total population, roughly half live in either the province's largest city, Saskatoon, or the provincial capital, Regina. Other notable cities include Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current, North Battleford, and the border city Lloydminster (partially within Alberta).
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Saskatchewan is a landlocked province with large distances to moderating bodies of waters. Saskatchewan has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups, and first explored by Europeans in 1690 and settled in 1774. It became a province in 1905, and in the early 20th century the province became known as a stronghold for Canadian democratic socialism; North America's first social-democratic government was elected in 1944. The province's economy is based on agriculture, mining, and energy. Saskatchewan's current premier is Brad Wall and its lieutenant-governor is Vaughn Solomon Schofield.
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In 1992, the federal and provincial governments signed a historic land claim agreement with First Nations in Saskatchewan. The First Nations received compensation and were permitted to buy land on the open market for the tribes; they have acquired about 3,079 square kilometres (761,000 acres; 1,189 sq mi), now reserve lands. Some First Nations have used their settlement to invest in urban areas, including Saskatoon.
The first education on the prairies took place within the family groups of the First Nation and early fur trading settlers. There were only a few missionary or trading post schools established in Rupert's Land – later known as the North West Territories.
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The first 76 North-West Territories school districts and the first Board of Education meeting formed in 1886. The pioneering boom formed ethnic bloc settlements. Communities were seeking education for their children similar to the schools of their home land. Log cabins, and dwellings were constructed for the assembly of the community, school, church, dances and meetings.
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The prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and the success of farmers in proving up on their homesteads helped provide funding to standardize education. Text books, normal schools for educating teachers, formal school curricula and state of the art school house architectural plans provided continuity throughout the province. English as the school language helped to provide economic stability, because one community could communicate with another and goods could be traded and sold in a common language.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders Canadian football team are the province's professional football franchise, and are extremely popular across Saskatchewan. The team's fans are also found to congregate on game days throughout Canada, and collectively they are known as "Rider Nation".
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The province's other major sport franchise is the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League. In their first year of competition, 2016, the Rush won both their Division Title and the League Championship.
Hockey is the most popular sport in the province. More than 490
NHL players have been born in Saskatchewan, the highest per capita output of any Canadian province, U.S. state, or European country. Notable NHL figures born in Saskatchewan include Keith Allen, Gordie Howe, Bryan Trottier, Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies, Fern Flaman, Bert Olmstead, Harry Watson, Elmer Lach, Max Bentley, Sid Abel, Doug Bentley, Eddie Shore, Clint Smith, Bryan Hextall, Johnny Bower, Emile Francis, Glenn Hall, Chuck Rayner, Brad McCrimmon, Patrick Marleau, Dave Manson, Theo Fleury, Terry Harper, Wade Redden, Brian Propp, Scott Hartnell, Ryan Getzlaf, and Chris Kunitz. Saskatchewan does not have an NHL or minor professional franchise, but five teams in the junior Western Hockey League are located in the province: the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos.
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In 2015, Budweiser honoured Saskatchewan for their abundance of hockey players by sculpting a 12-foot-tall hockey player monument in ice for Saskatchewan’s capital city of Regina. The company then filmed this frozen monument for a national television commercial, thanking the province for creating so many goal scorers throughout hockey’s history. Budweiser also gifted the “hockey player” province a trophy made of white birch—Saskatchewan’s provincial tree—which bears the name of every pro player in history. Sitting atop the trophy was a golden Budweiser Red Light, synched to every current Saskatchewan player in the pros. This trophy can currently be seen at Victoria Bar in Regina.
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