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Saskatchewan is part of the Prairie region and is the only province with entirely artificial boundaries. It is bordered by the US to the south, the Northwest Territories to the north, and Manitoba and Alberta to the east and west respectively.
Transfer of Rupert's Land
The British Crown officially transferred Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to Canada. These lands comprise present-day Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southern Nunavut, and northern parts of Ontario and Québec.
Government and Politics Indigenous Peoples
Treaty No. 4
Treaty No. 4 was signed at Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask, with Cree, Saulteaux (Chippewa) and other First Nations.
Treaty No. 6 was signed at Carlton and at Fort Pitt with the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree and Assiniboine. It ceded an area of 120,000 sq. miles of the plains of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Western Provisional Districts
Land acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870 was divided into four administrative districts by the federal government: Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabasca and Saskatchewan. The districts, designed "for the convenience of settlers and for postal purposes," were roughly equal in size and natural resource distribution.
Capital of the North-West Territories Shifts
The capital of the North-West Territories (the future Alberta and Saskatchewan) shifted from Battleford to Pile O' Bones (Regina). Cree hunters harvested buffalo in the region and stacked the bones of their quarry in piles roughly 2 m tall by 12 m in diameter. The Cree believed that buffalo herds would return to visit these bones, and so named the area Oskana-Ka-asateki, "the place where bones are piled."
Battle of Duck Lake
Leif Crozier, with a force of 98 North-West Mounted Police, was routed by Métis under Gabriel Dumont at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, marking the outbreak of the North-West Resistance.
Frog Lake Incident
Wandering Spirit and other Cree in Chief Big Bear's band killed nine white men at Frog Lake, Sask, during the North-West Resistance.
Regina Incorporated
Regina, Sask, was incorporated as a city.
Sifton Resigns
Interior minister Clifford Sifton resigned from the federal Cabinet in a dispute over guarantees for separate schools in the Act making Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces of Canada.
Dominion Act
The Dominion Act created the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, effective September 1. Regina and Edmonton, respectively, became the capitals on July 20.
Alberta and Saskatchewan Become Provinces
Alberta and Saskatchewan entered Canada as the 8th and 9th provinces by two federal Acts which received royal assent on 20 July. Alberta's boundary with Saskatchewan was set at 110°, though Albertans wanted 107°. The Acts (Autonomy Bills) declared that the West was to have non-denominational schools.
Saskatchewan Women Get Vote
Saskatchewan women won the rights to vote and to hold provincial office.
Birth of Gordie Howe
Hockey player Gordon Howe was born at Floral, Sask.
Birth of Allen Sapp
Cree artist Allen Sapp, one of Canada's foremost Aboriginal painters, was born at Red Pheasant Reserve, Saskatchewan.
Birth of Philip Kives
Philip Kives, business executive who created K-tel International Inc, was born at Oungre, Sask.
Estevan Strike
Coal miners at Estevan, Sask, went on strike for union recognition. On September 29 three strikers were killed in a clash with the RCMP.
Liberals Win in Saskatchewan
The Liberals under James Garfield Gardiner won the Saskatchewan elections.
CCF Triumphs in Saskatchewan
The CCF won the Saskatchewan provincial election, with Thomas C. Douglas as premier. It was the first socialist government in North America.
Superstorm Hits Saskatchewan
An intense storm struck Buffalo Gap, Sask, pouring 250 mm of rain.
Tommy Douglas Leader of the NDP
Saskatchewan's Premier Tommy Douglas was elected national leader of the newly formed New Democratic Party.
First Medical Plan
The Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Bill, the first plan in North America providing universal coverage, was introduced in the Legislature. It received royal assent on 17 November 1961, to come into effect April 1 (later delayed to 1 July 1962).
Medicare in Effect: Doctors Strike
When the Saskatchewan Medicare Act came into force, most Saskatchewan doctors closed their offices. The Medical Care Insurance Commission brought doctors from out of province to meet the emergency.
The Liberals under W. Ross Thatcher won the Saskatchewan provincial election, displacing the CCF-NDP after 20 years.
Milgaard Arrested
Sixteen-year-old David Milgaard was arrested in Prince George, BC, for the murder of Gail Miller in Saskatchewan. He would be cleared by DNA evidence almost 30 years later, in 1997.
Government and Politics Resources and Environment
Grain Accepted for Tuition Payments
The government of Saskatchewan announced that feed grain would be accepted as payment for university tuition for children of farmers in the province. The program was to be limited to 200 students, with acceptance based on applicants' financial need.
NDP Recapture Saskatchewan
The NDP returned to power in Saskatchewan under the leadership of Allan Blakeney.
Saskatchewan Hijacking
Naim Djemal hijacked an aircraft over Saskatchewan, assaulted a stewardess and ordered the pilot to fly to Cyprus. He was apprehended in Saskatoon.
Saskatchewan Takes Over Potash
Saskatchewan passed legislation to take over the potash industry.
Grasslands National Park Established
Grasslands National Park was established. It is situated in the southwestern Saskatchewan Prairies on the Canada–US border.
Conservatives Win Saskatchewan
Grant Devine's PC's won the general election in Saskatchewan.
Milgaard Award
The Saskatchewan government awarded David Milgaard $10 million in compensation for his wrongful conviction for murder and 23 years of imprisonment. Milgaard was cleared by DNA evidence in 1997.
Saskatchewan NDP Re-elected
The Saskatchewan NDP government, led by Premier Roy Romanow, was narrowly re-elected to a minority position, with 29 seats to the Saskatchewan Party's 26 and 3 Liberals.
Freshwater Protest
BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Québec rejected a national accord that would have prohibited the export of fresh water.
Romanow Resigns
Roy Romanow stepped down as premier of Saskatchewan.
Court Upholds Latimer Sentence
The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the 10-year sentence imposed by Saskatchewan Court of Appeal on Robert Latimer for the mercy killing of his disabled daughter. A jury had handed down a lighter sentence.
Government and Politics Indigenous Peoples People
Perry Bellegarde Elected National Chief
Perry Bellegarde, former chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and Saskatchewan regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), was elected national chief of the AFN.
Right to Strike Upheld by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Canada decided that the right to strike was constitutionally protected under the freedom of association clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The ruling struck down a Saskatchewan law that allowed government to prevent workers in essential services from striking.
Government and Politics People
Saskatchewan's GeoMemorial Program
Saskatchewan's GeoMemorial Program honoured eight fallen soldiers. The program names geographic locations after people whose sacrifices have "bettered our province and nation." The new place names in northern Saskatchewan include: Goddard Lake, named for Captain Nichola Goddard; and Lang Bay, named for journalist Michelle Lang. Both were killed in Afghanistan.
Death of Allen Sapp
Cree artist Allen Sapp, one of Canada's foremost Aboriginal painters, died in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, at age 87.
Saskatchewan Party Re-elected
The Saskatchewan Party won a third majority in the 2016 provincial election, giving Brad Wall a third consecutive term as premier. The election was a harsh defeat for Saskatchewan's NDP Opposition, whose leader, Cam Broten, lost his own seat.
Death of Philip Kives
Entrepreneur and TV pitchman Philip Kives died in Winnipeg, Manitoba, at age 87. Born in 1929 on a farm near Oungre, Saskatchewan, Kives showed a natural talent for sales in his youth. He worked for several years as a travelling salesman before founding K-Tel International in the early 1960s. The company marketed everything from kitchen gadgets to compilation records, and became profitable under the leadership of Kives, who personally pitched products on K-Tel infomercials and even claimed to have invented this form of advertising.
Death of Gordie Howe
Twenty-one-time National Hockey League all-star Gordie Howe — known to generations of fans as "Mr. Hockey" — died in Sylvania, Ohio, at age 88. The Floral, Saskatchewan native played for 32 seasons in the major leagues, including 26 years in the NHL — 25 of these with the Detroit Red Wings. Few players have come close to matching his overall proficiency, and none his longevity.
Andrew Scheer Elected Conservative Leader
Andrew Scheer, the 38-year-old MP for Regina-Qu'Appelle and former Speaker of the House of Commons, was voted the new leader of the Conservative Party, succeeding former prime minister Stephen Harper in the role.
Death of Kenny Shields
Kenny Shields, lead singer of the hard-rock band Streetheart, died in Winnipeg, Manitoba, at age 69. Streetheart formed in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1976, and soon relocated to Winnipeg, becoming a fixture of the city's music scene. The band performed and recorded until the mid-1980s, enjoying significant popularity in Canada and winning a Juno Award. Shields later went on to perform under his own name was inducted, with Streetheart, into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2003.
Energy East Pipeline Project Cancelled
TransCanada announced that it had cancelled plans to build the Energy East pipeline, which would have carried crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Québec and New Brunswick. From there, oil would have been exported to other countries. The company cited changing market conditions and delays in assessments carried out by the National Energy Board as reasons for its decision. The project's supporters, including premiers Rachel Notley and Brad Wall, expressed disappointment and criticized the federal government's approach to the review process. Energy East's opponents, including municipalities in Québec and Indigenous communities along the proposed path of the pipeline, hailed it as a victory.
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Indigenous Suffrage