About Saskatchewan
Land of Living Skies
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in western Canada, home to about 1.2 million people across a landscape that runs from wheat fields and grasslands in the south to boreal forest and tens of thousands of lakes in the north. Regina is the capital, Saskatoon the largest city. It is the traditional territory of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dene, Dakota, Nakota and Lakota peoples, and the homeland of the Métis. Big skies, long summer evenings, and famously friendly people make it an easy place to call home.
Saskatchewan sits in the middle of western Canada, bordered by Alberta to the west, Manitoba to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the American states of Montana and North Dakota to the south. It is one of only two landlocked Canadian provinces, and the only one whose borders are entirely surveyed lines rather than rivers or coasts.
- Region
- Western Canada
- Coordinates
- 52.9° N, 106.5° W
Fun facts about Saskatchewan
A few things that make the prairies worth a second look.
Saskatchewan is one of the world's largest potash producers
The province sits on a vast underground seam of potash — the mineral that fertilises much of the world's food supply — and ships it to farms across the globe.
Read more· Government of Saskatchewan→There are roughly 100,000 lakes and rivers
Most people picture flat wheat fields, but over half the province is boreal forest and water. Lac La Ronge alone has more than 1,000 islands.
Read more· Tourism Saskatchewan→Canada's universal healthcare started here
Saskatchewan introduced North America's first single-payer, government-funded hospital and medical insurance, and the rest of Canada followed.
Read more· Government of Saskatchewan→Every RCMP officer in Canada trains in Regina
Depot Division has been the training academy for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since 1885 — every red-serge Mountie passed through here.
Read more· RCMP Heritage Centre→Wanuskewin holds thousands of years of history
Just outside Saskatoon, this Northern Plains site has evidence of human gathering older than the Egyptian pyramids — and a returned herd of plains bison.
Read more· Wanuskewin Heritage Park→It's one of the sunniest provinces in Canada
Saskatchewan records more hours of sunshine per year than almost anywhere else in the country. Hence the licence plate: Land of Living Skies.
Read more· Tourism Saskatchewan→Its borders are entirely straight lines
Saskatchewan is a near-perfect trapezoid drawn by surveyors rather than geography — no coastline, no river boundaries, just latitude and longitude.
Read more· Government of Saskatchewan→