Economy of Saskatchewan
Various grains, livestock, oil and gas, potash, uranium, wood and their spin off industries fuel the economy.
[9][10] The Dominion Lands Act was passed in 1872 to encourage an agricultural settlement for a united British North America.
[11] The completion of the train link between eastern Canada through the District of Assiniboia in 1885, the development of the high-yielding and early-maturing Marquis strain of wheat and establishment of an import market in the United Kingdom supplied the first impetus for economic development and supported population settlement.
The enlistment quota from Saskatchewan to the Canadian Expeditionary Force as the pre-requisite was for British subjects, and several ethnic bloc settlements were immigrants from Europe.
[5][11] The Great Depression combined the 1929 stock market crash with the drought years of the 1930s causing devastating effects on the economy of Saskatchewan.
The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration PFRA established a work relief program developing community pastures, water and irrigation projects.
[14] Approximately 250,000 people left the provinces during the era of the Dirty Thirties when Saskatchewan became a virtual dust bowl.
[15] World War II also held Saskatchewan's economy back, as overseas markets for wheat were virtually eliminated.
[18] The farm and agricultural component is still a significant part of the economy the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP), has been "the world's largest grain-handling co-operative".
[19] The SWP, now named Vittera, is no longer the major industrial component provincially ranking eighth largest.
[24] Since 1996 and 2001 census showed that livestock numbers have increased to record levels cattle: up by 4.4%, pigs by 26.4%, and sheep by 46.
Modern diversification has meant that now agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting together make up only 6.8% of the province's GDP.
[24] A third innovation place research park has earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award at the Prince Albert location named Forest Centre.
[31] Mining is also a major industry in the province, with Saskatchewan being the world leader in potash and uranium exports.
Oil and natural gas found beneath the prairie, prove to be one of the province's most important minerals.
[5] The Paleoproterozoic greenstone belt around Flin Flon, in the northeast, is mined for copper, gold, and zinc.
[33] In the early twentieth century lignite coal for power and heating was Saskatchewan's chief mineral.
[34] Potash mining began in the 1950s[6] near Saskatoon and Esterhazy, and Canada is currently a leading producer of the mineral.
The Saskatchewan annual production from fisheries, fur farming and trapping rank below the forestry sector in provincial economy.
[16] A list of the top 100 companies includes The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Federated Cooperatives Ltd. and IPSCO.
Major Saskatchewan-based Crown corporations are Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), SaskTel, SaskEnergy (the province's main supplier of natural gas), and SaskPower.
Bombardier was awarded a long-term contract in the late 1990s for $2.8 billion from the federal government for the purchase of military aircraft and the running of the training facility.
