The province of Saskatchewan is the third westernmost province in Canada. It is a prairie province which covers an area of 588,726 square kilometres or 227,100 square miles. The province of Alberta forms the border towards the west, the province of Manitoba lies to the east, the Northwest Territories are the northern border and the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota are on the south.
The population of the province is roughly 1,053,960, based on the most current statistics. The majority of the provinces people live within Southern Saskatchewan. Roughly 257,300 inhabitants reside in Saskatoon that is likewise the biggest city of the province. The capital city is Regina and approximately 210,000 people reside there. Among the other major cities are Jaw, Moose, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Swift Current and Yorkton.
People from Europe initially settled within the area in the year 1774seventeen seventy four, while the region of Saskatchewan was initially explored during the year 1690. Various indigenous tribes have colonized the area for a long time before European settlement. In the year 1905, Saskatchewan became a province. Brad Wall is the existing premier and the lieutenant-governor is Gordon Barnhart. Agriculture, mining and energy are the major businesses.
The province's name comes from the Saskatchewan River. In the Cree language the river was designated kisiska-ciwani-si-piy which means swift flowing river.
The province's economy is mostly dependent upon agriculture, even if the last few decades has seen much diversification into different areas. The more traditional industries of forestry, fishing, hunting and agriculture now only combine for 6.8% of the GDP of the province. A large part of the nation's grain is grown by Saskatchewan. The most common crop being wheat and this is often associated with the province in the form of wheat sheafs depicted on the coat of arms of Saskatchewan. The province produces various grains like flax, oats, rye, canola, peas, canary seed and barley.
The production of beef cattle within the province of Saskatchewan is another flourishing business and is only exceeded by the province of Alberta. Mining is one more huge trade and Saskatchewan is the largest exporter of potash and uranium. Forestry is another important industry that is predominant within the province's northern part.
Natural gas and oil production are also important parts of the economy of the province with oil being the bigger business. In overall production of oil, only Alberta exceeds the province. Within the Lloydminister-Kerrobert-Kindersley areas, heavy crude is extracted. Light crude is likewise found within the Kindersley-Swift Current areas along with the Weyburn-Estevan fields. From the Primrose Lake region through Lloydminister, Kindersley, Leader, Unity and Maple Creek regions and most of the entire western section of the province of Saskatchewan, natural gas is abundant.
Crown corporations noted within Saskatchewan comprise SaskEnergy, that is the main supplier of natural gas within the province, SGI or also known as Saskatchewan Government Insurance, SaskTel and SaskPower. The NATO Flying Training Centre at 15 Wing, close to Moose Jaw is run by Bombardier. In the latter part of the 1990s, Bombardier was awarded a long-term contract for $2.8 billion from the federal government for the purchase of military aircraft and running of the facility.
Since 1929, SaskPower has been the principal supplier of electricity in the province. They manage over $4.5 billion in assets and serve more than four hundred fifty one thousand clients. SaskPower is a big employer who has nearly 2500 full-time permanent employees located in 71 cities.