Saskatchewan is a Prairie province in the centre of Canada, a broad rectangle of land running from the United States border north to the edge of the Arctic. Often pictured as the flattest and most quintessential of the prairies, it is a land of vast wheat fields and enormous skies in the south, giving way to lakes and forest in the north. Home to around 1.2 million people, it is one of the world's great producers of grain and of minerals such as potash and uranium.

Saskatchewan's history runs from the Indigenous buffalo hunters of the plains, through the fur trade and the Métis resistance, to the great wheat boom that filled the prairie with farms and created a new province in 1905.

For thousands of years the plains of Saskatchewan were home to Indigenous nations, among them the Cree, Saulteaux, and Dakota, who lived by following the immense herds of bison. From the late seventeenth century European fur traders reached the region, the explorer Henry Kelsey being among the first to see the great buffalo herds of the western plains.

An artist's imagining of the explorer Henry Kelsey seeing the buffalo on the western plains in the 1690s, among the first Europeans to do so. For thousands of years the herds sustained the Indigenous nations of the region.
An artist's imagining of the explorer Henry Kelsey seeing the buffalo on the western plains in the 1690s, among the first Europeans to do so. For thousands of years the herds sustained the Indigenous nations of the region.Credit: Charles William Jefferys (Public domain).

As settlers pushed west, the Métis, a people of mixed Indigenous and European descent, fought to defend their land and way of life. Their struggle culminated in the North-West Resistance of 1885, led by Louis Riel, which ended in defeat at the Battle of Batoche, a decisive and still-debated moment in the history of the Canadian West.

A print of the Battle of Batoche in 1885, the decisive clash of the North-West Resistance, in which Métis and their allies under Louis Riel were defeated by Canadian forces. It remains a defining and contested event in the region's history.
A print of the Battle of Batoche in 1885, the decisive clash of the North-West Resistance, in which Métis and their allies under Louis Riel were defeated by Canadian forces. It remains a defining and contested event in the region's history.Credit: Seargent Grundy (Public domain).

At the turn of the twentieth century the Canadian government drew settlers to the prairies with the promise of free farmland, and immigrants poured in from Europe to break the sod and plant wheat. The population grew so fast that in 1905 the region became the province of Saskatchewan, its identity bound up with the grain that made it famous.

An advertisement of 1898 promoting free land in the Canadian wheat belt. Campaigns like this drew a flood of settlers from Europe to the prairies of Saskatchewan around the turn of the twentieth century.
An advertisement of 1898 promoting free land in the Canadian wheat belt. Campaigns like this drew a flood of settlers from Europe to the prairies of Saskatchewan around the turn of the twentieth century.Credit: John Wilson Bengough Work for hire Toronto Globe (Life time: 1851-1923) (Public domain).
A banquet in 1905 celebrating the creation of the new province of Saskatchewan. The wheat boom had filled the prairie with farms and towns so quickly that a new province was carved out to govern them.
A banquet in 1905 celebrating the creation of the new province of Saskatchewan. The wheat boom had filled the prairie with farms and towns so quickly that a new province was carved out to govern them.Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author (Public domain).

Saskatchewan is a land of two halves. The south is classic prairie, some of the flattest and most fertile farmland in the world, an expanse of grain fields and grassland under vast skies, dotted with grain elevators and small towns. The north, by contrast, is part of the rocky Canadian Shield, a wilder country of forests, lakes, and rivers with rich mineral deposits. The climate is sharply continental, with hot summers and long, bitterly cold winters, and it is one of the sunniest parts of Canada.

A topographic map of Saskatchewan, showing the flat farmland of the south giving way to the lakes and forests of the Canadian Shield in the north.
A topographic map of Saskatchewan, showing the flat farmland of the south giving way to the lakes and forests of the Canadian Shield in the north.Credit: Awmcphee (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The Cypress Hills in the southwest, an upland of forest rising above the surrounding plains and the highest point in Saskatchewan. It is a rare break in a province famous for its flatness.
The Cypress Hills in the southwest, an upland of forest rising above the surrounding plains and the highest point in Saskatchewan. It is a rare break in a province famous for its flatness.Credit: User:Tundraski (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Saskatchewan is governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected Legislative Assembly that sits in the capital, Regina, and a premier who leads the government, while a lieutenant governor represents the Crown. As of 2026 the premier is Scott Moe, leader of the Saskatchewan Party, in power since 2018 and re-elected in 2024, and the lieutenant governor is Bernadette McIntyre. Like its neighbour Alberta, Saskatchewan has a strong tradition of defending provincial interests, especially over its resources.

The Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina, the provincial capital, completed in 1912. Set in parkland by a lake, its domed halls are the seat of the province's Legislative Assembly.
The Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina, the provincial capital, completed in 1912. Set in parkland by a lake, its domed halls are the seat of the province's Legislative Assembly.Credit: Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0).
Scott Moe, premier of Saskatchewan since 2018 and leader of the Saskatchewan Party, re-elected in 2024. The premier leads the government in Regina.
Scott Moe, premier of Saskatchewan since 2018 and leader of the Saskatchewan Party, re-elected in 2024. The premier leads the government in Regina.Credit: Office of EPA Administrator (Public domain).

Saskatchewan is a resource powerhouse. Its prairies make it one of the world's great exporters of wheat, canola, and other crops, the mainstay of the province since the settlement era, alongside cattle ranching. Beneath the land lies immense mineral wealth: Saskatchewan is the world's largest producer of potash, a vital fertiliser, and a major producer of uranium, along with oil and gas. This combination of farming and mining gives the province an economy tied closely to feeding and fuelling the world.

A field of wheat ripening under the prairie sky. Saskatchewan's vast grain fields make it one of the world's great producers of wheat and canola, the foundation of the province since the settlement era.
A field of wheat ripening under the prairie sky. Saskatchewan's vast grain fields make it one of the world's great producers of wheat and canola, the foundation of the province since the settlement era.Credit: kallerna (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Potash, the potassium-rich mineral used as fertiliser. Saskatchewan holds the world's largest reserves and is its leading producer, one of the pillars of the province's resource economy.
Potash, the potassium-rich mineral used as fertiliser. Saskatchewan holds the world's largest reserves and is its leading producer, one of the pillars of the province's resource economy.Credit: Unknown (Public domain).

Saskatchewan's culture is rooted in the land and in the tight-knit communities of the prairie, shaped by the many peoples who came to farm it, from Ukrainians and Germans to Scandinavians and others, and by a large and growing Indigenous and Métis population. The province is the birthplace of important Canadian institutions, from universal public health care, pioneered here in the 1960s, to the training depot of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Regina, and it prizes a spirit of community and cooperation forged in a demanding climate.

Cadets of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the training academy, Depot Division, in Regina. The famous force has trained its recruits in the Saskatchewan capital for well over a century.
Cadets of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the training academy, Depot Division, in Regina. The famous force has trained its recruits in the Saskatchewan capital for well over a century.Credit: Brian Dell (Public domain).

Saskatchewan has a population of around 1.2 million people, most of them living in the southern half of the province. The two largest cities are Saskatoon, on the South Saskatchewan River, and the capital, Regina, with the rest of the population spread across farming towns and villages and, in the north, small and often remote communities. Descended from waves of settlers and home to one of the largest Indigenous populations by share of any province, Saskatchewan is a diverse society with deep prairie roots.