Saskatoon - Community Overview

The two Gowen sites give evidence that hunting tribes were here 6,000 years ago. Stratified settlement sites at Tipperary Creek indicate regular winter habitation by First Nation Bands. The region was occupied primarily by Cree and Métis, with Sioux at Moose Woods.

Permanent settlement began when the area was chosen for a Temperance colony by a Toronto society. John Lake's survey party selected an east bank site in 1882 and the first settlers arrived in 1883. The legend states that an Aboriginal gave a handful of “Saskatoon” berries to John Lake. These berries grew wild along the river. John Lake named the site after the berries.

Extension of a railway from Regina in 1890 caused the commercial centre to shift to the flatter west bank. The new community appropriated the name Saskatoon, while the original settlement became Nutana. A third, Riverdale, arose south of the railway yards. All three incorporated as villages (1901-05) and in 1906 combined to form the city of Saskatoon. During the ensuing seven years, Saskatoon became a hub of western Canada's railway network and underwent a boom, becoming a major distribution centre and in 1907, gaining the provincial university. During the 1950s, a healthy farm economy and population shift from the countryside made Saskatoon one of Canada's fastest-growing cities. The opening of potash mines nearby, and of uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan, meant continuing expansion during the 1960s and 1970s.

Located on glacial deposits within the belt of a large river, Saskatoon has an attractively variable topography. The river is spanned by numerous bridges, including the Traffic Bridge (1907) and the 42nd-Street Bridge, which completes a ring road.

Saskatoon is the Hub City of Saskatchewan. It is a major educational and medical centre; the heart of the communications and transportation chains of the province. Saskatchewan is responsible for half the quantity Canada exports in wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed and canola, with Saskatoon in the heart of this market. The city is also a world leader in exporting uranium and potash.

Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan, is situated in rolling parklands, on the south bank of the Saskatchewan River. Located 347 km north of the American border, 170 km from the boundary of Alberta to the west, and 340 km from the Manitoba border to the east, Saskatoon is the largest city on the Yellowhead Highway from Winnipeg to Edmonton.

The present population numbers approximately 202,340. 

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