Ten Random Facts About Saskatchewan

The province that is easy to draw and hard to spell

In 2006, and again from 2013 to 2017, I lived in Saskatchewan. I lived in three locations, North Battleford, Gull Lake and Regina. Overall, I loved Saskatchewan. While many consider it just a flat place simply to drive through, there is immense beauty in the province.

There are also some very cool facts. Today, I thought we could explore some of those facts.

Saskatchewan, seen as flat land, actually has the highest point between Banff and Quebec. Lookout Point in the Cypress Hills is 1,392 metres, which actually puts it just a few metres higher than Banff, Alberta.

Saskatchewan has over 100,000 lakes, including Manitou Lake, which about half as salty as The Dead Sea. The deepest lake is Reindeer Lake at 219 metres. Reindeer Lake was created by a meteorite about 140 million years ago.

Mustard is a big part of Saskatchewan and the province actually accounts for 75 per cent of all the mustard produced in Canada. 

If you want to drive on a road in Canada, there is no better place than Saskatchewan. The province has more roads than any other province, about 250,000 kilometres of road surface. That is enough to circle the entire Earth at the equator many times. 

For the hockey fan in all of us, Saskatchewan is the place to be. The province produces more NHL hockey players per capita than any other province. About 17 players from Saskatchewan are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, including Mr. Hockey himself Gordie Howe. Other NHL players from Saskatchewan in the Hall of Fame include Johnny Bower, Sid Abel, Elmer Lach, Eddie Shore and Glenn Hall. Related to that, the two players with the most games played in NHL history, Gordie Howe and Patrick Marleau, are both from Saskatchewan. Combined they have 3,546 games.

Among provinces and territories in Canada, Saskatchewan is the only one with man-made borders surrounding it. What this means is that the borders do not follow aspects of the terrain like Alberta does, or is bordered by water like nearly every other province. Saskatchewan is bordered by Alberta to the west, the US to the south, Manitoba to the east and the Northwest Territories to the north. 

Saskatchewan is the home of Medicare, which would become universal health care in Canada. It was started by Premier Tommy Douglas during his time as premier from 1944 to 1961. Douglas, who born in Scotland but raised in Saskatchewan, was chosen as the greatest Canadian in history.

The stereotypical image of Saskatchewan is one of large fields of canola and wheat. In actuality, 50 per cent of Saskatchewan (mostly in the north) is covered by forest. Over 300 forestry companies actually operate within the province. 

Unlike most other places in North America, Saskatchewan does not have Daylight Saving Time. During the spring and summer, the province is in the same time zone as Alberta. During the fall and winter, it is in the same time zone as Manitoba. 

Saskatchewan was once home to the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada. Yellow Grass recorded +45C in July of 1937. That was beaten in a single day by half a dozen communities in B.C. in 2021.