Saskatoon
City
City of Saskatoon
From top, left to right: Central Saskatoon, the Delta Bessborough hotel, the University of Saskatchewan, Downtown from the Meewasin trail, and the Broadway Bridge.
Flag Coat of arms Logo
Nicknames:  "Paris of the Prairies", "Toontown", "S'toon", "Hub City", "POW City" (for potash, oil and wheat), "The City of Bridges", "YXE", "Saskabush"[1][2][3][4]
Saskatoon Location of Saskatoon in Canada Show map of Canada Saskatoon Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) Show map of Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 52°08′23″N 106°41′10″W / 52.13972°N 106.68611°W / 52.13972; -106.68611[5]
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Rural municipality	Corman Park
Establishment	1883
Incorporation	1906
Government
• Mayor	Charlie Clark
• Governing body	Saskatoon City Council
• MP	List of MPs Brad Redekopp (CPC) Corey Tochor (CPC) Kevin Waugh (CPC)
• MLAs	List of MLAs Jennifer Bowes (NDP) David Buckingham (SKP) Ken Cheveldayoff (SKP) Bronwyn Eyre (SKP) Marv Friesen (SKP) Lisa Lambert (SKP) Matt Love (NDP) Paul Merriman (SKP) Don Morgan (SKP) Nathaniel Teed (NDP) Vicki Mowat (NDP) Betty Nippi-Albright (NDP) Erika Ritchie (NDP) Gordon Wyant (SKP)
Area [6][7]
• Land	226.56 km2 (87.48 sq mi)
• Metro	5,864.48 km2 (2,264.29 sq mi)
Elevation [8]	481.5 m (1,579.7 ft)
Population  (2021)[6][7]
• City	266,141 (19th)
• Density	1,174.7/km2 (3,042/sq mi)
• Metro	317,480 (17th)
• Metro density	54.1/km2 (140/sq mi)
Demonym	Saskatonian
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (CST)
Forward sortation area	S7A – S7C, S7H – S7W
Area code(s)	306, 639, 474
Pronunciation	/ˌsæskəˈtuːn/
GDP (Saskatoon CMA)	CA$20.2 billion (2020)[9]
GDP per capita (Saskatoon CMA)	CA$64,447 (2016)
Website	www.saskatoon.ca

Saskatoon (/ˌsæskəˈtuːn/) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as the cultural and economic hub of central Saskatchewan since its founding in 1882 as a Temperance colony.^[10]

With a 2021 census population of 266,141, Saskatoon is the largest city in the province, and the 17th largest Census Metropolitan Area in Canada, with a 2021 census population of 317,480.

Saskatoon is home to the University of Saskatchewan, the Meewasin Valley Authority—which protects the South Saskatchewan River and provides for the city's popular riverbank park spaces—and Wanuskewin Heritage Park, a National Historic Site of Canada and UNESCO World Heritage applicant representing 6,000 years of First Nations history. The Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344, the most populous rural municipality in Saskatchewan, surrounds the city and contains many of the developments associated with it, including Wanuskewin. Saskatoon is named after the saskatoon berry, which is native to the region and is itself derived from the Cree misâskwatômina. The city has a significant Indigenous population and several urban Reserves. The city has nine river crossings and is nicknamed "Paris of the Prairies" and "Bridge City".

Historic neighbourhoods of Saskatoon include Nutana and Riversdale, which were separate towns before amalgamating with the town of Saskatoon and incorporating as a city in 1906. Nutana, Riversdale, their historic main streets of Broadway Avenue and 20th Street, as well as the downtown core and other central neighbourhoods are seeing significant reinvestment and redevelopment. Sutherland was a rail town beyond the University lands, annexed by the city in 1956.

Etymology

The name Saskatoon (in Cree: sâskwatôn ᓵᐢᑿᑑᐣ, "Saskatoon" or the locatives: misâskwatôminihk ᒥᓵᐢᑿᑑᒥᓂᕽ, lit: "at the saskatoon berry", misâskwatôminiskâhk ᒥᓵᐢᑿᑑᒥᓂᐢᑳᕽ, "at the place of many saskatoon berries", mînisihk ᒦᓂᓯᕽ "at the berry") comes from the Cree inanimate noun misâskwatômina ᒥᓵᐢᑿᑑᒥᓇ "saskatoon berries", which refers to the sweet, violet-coloured serviceberry that grows in the area.^[11] However, the exact origin of the naming of the settlement is unclear. Founder John Lake apparently told multiple stories, including the most famous, where in August, 1883 he was handed a handful of berries, told their name, and exclaimed, "Arise Saskatoon Queen of the North!" It is considered most likely that the name in fact derived from one already in use: manemesaskwatan, or "the place where willows are cut," referring to the Cree practice of cutting saskatoon berry willows for arrow shafts.^[12]

History

In 1882, the Toronto-based Temperance Colonization Society was granted 21 sections of land straddling the South Saskatchewan River, between what is now Warman and Dundurn. The aim of the group was to escape the liquor trade in Toronto and set up a "dry" community in the Prairie region. The following year settlers, led by John Neilson Lake, arrived on the site of what is now Saskatoon and established the first permanent settlement. The settlers travelled by railway from Ontario to Moose Jaw and then completed the final leg via horse-drawn cart, as the railway had yet to be completed to Saskatoon.^[13][14]

In 1885 the North-West Rebellion affected the tiny community in a variety of ways. Chief Whitecap and Charles Trottier passed through the present day University campus on their way to join Louis Riel's armed forces at Batoche, Saskatchewan. Following the fighting at the Battle of Fish Creek, and the Battle of Batoche, wounded Canadian soldiers convalesced at the Marr Residence which is today a historic site. A few died in care and were buried in the Pioneer Cemetery near the Exhibition Grounds.

A town charter for the west side of the river was obtained in 1903, and this settlement adopted the name Saskatoon; the original townsite, which became a village that year, was renamed Nutana. In 1906 Saskatoon became a city with a population of 4,500, which included the communities of Saskatoon, Riversdale and Nutana. In 1955, a newly established community west of the city, Montgomery Place, was annexed, followed by the neighbouring town of Sutherland in 1956.^[15] Saskatoon serves as regional center for the northern prairies and for central and northern Saskatchewan.^[16]

Geography

Saskatoon lies on a long belt of rich, potassic chernozem in middle-southern Saskatchewan and is found in the aspen parkland biome. The lack of surrounding mountainous topography gives the city a relatively flat grid, though the city does sprawl over a few hills and into a few valleys. The lowest point in the city is the river, while the highest point is in the Sutherland-College Park area.^[17] Saskatoon, on a cross-section from west to east, has a general decline in elevation above sea level heading towards the river, and on the east bank of the river, the terrain is mostly level until outside the city, where it begins to decrease in elevation again.

Saskatoon is divided into east and west sides by the South Saskatchewan River. It is then divided into Suburban Development Areas (SDA) which are composed of neighbourhoods.^[18] Street addresses are demarcated into north and south (for avenues aligned in those directions) and similar east and west (for streets aligned in those directions). West of the river, the demarcation line for north and south addresses is 22nd Street, while east and west are divided by Idylwyld Drive (north of 20th Street) and Avenue A (south of 20th). On the east side, in order to line up with 22nd/Idylwyld, Lorne Avenue demarcates east and west while Aird Street, a minor residential road, marks the north–south boundary, except in the Sutherland community where a separate east/west demarcation takes place with Central Avenue as the boundary (there is, however, no separate north–south divide). As a result of the unusual demarcation on the east side, few streets there actually carry a "North" or "West" designation, and only a few streets in Sutherland are demarcated "East" and "West".

A second major water feature aside from the river is the Hudson Bay Slough, a remnant of a glacier-formed body of water that at one time dominated the northern end of the city. Industrial development has resulted in most of the slough being drained, however a large remnant has been preserved off Avenue C as part of RCAF Memorial Park, and another portion remains intact within the Hudson Bay Industrial area. Several residential communities also feature "man-made lakes," with Lakeview (developed from the early 1980s) being the first.

Pike Lake and Blackstrap Provincial Parks are both approximately 40 km (25 mi) south of the city on Highway 60 and Highway 11, respectively. Batoche, a national historic site associated with the North-West Rebellion of 1885, is 90 km (56 mi) north of the city. Both Blackstrap and Batoche are popular destinations for school field trips.

Climate

Saskatoon experiences a borderline cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk) to humid continental climate (Dfb), with typically warm summers and long, cold winters. Climate data from University of Saskatchewan, in the inner city meets semi-arid criteria. This is due to slightly higher average annual temperature and slightly lower average annual precipitation than the Airport, on the city's northwest periphery.

The city has four distinct seasons and is in plant hardiness zone 3b.^[19] Saskatoon has a dry climate and sees 352.3 mm (13.87 in) of precipitation per year on average, with the summer being the wettest season. Saskatoon is sunnier than average in Canada as a result, averaging 2,350.4 hours of bright sunshine annually. The extreme temperatures are typically accompanied by below average levels of humidity. Thunderstorms are common in the summer months and can be severe with torrential rain, hail, high winds, intense lightning and, on occasion, tornadoes. The frost-free growing season lasts from May 21 to September 15,^[20] but due to Saskatoon's northerly location, damaging frosts have occurred as late as June 14^[21] and again as early as August. The average daytime high temperature peaks at 25.8 °C (78.4 °F) from July 31 to August 8.^[22][23]

The "Blizzard of 2007" was described by many residents as the worst they had seen and paralyzed the city with its low visibility, extreme cold and large volume of snow.^[24] Winds rose to over 90 km/h (56 mph) and an estimated 25 cm (9.8 in) of snow fell throughout the day.^[25] Many area residents took refuge overnight at area work places, shopping centres, hospitals and the university.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Saskatoon was 41.5 °C (106.7 °F) on 6 June 1988.^[26] The lowest temperature ever recorded was −50.0 °C (−58.0 °F) on 1 February 1893.^[27]