REGINA — There were big celebrations when Saskatchewan was incorporated into the Dominion of Canada on Sept. 1, 1905, with the governor general and prime minister in attendance during festivities in the new capital of Regina.
The celebratory demonstrations that were held “will go down in history as one of the milestones in the life of Saskatchewan, and well it may, for never before within the confines of the Northwest country has there been witnessed such enthusiasm,” reported the weekly Regina Standard, preserved on microfilm in the Moose Jaw Public Library’s archives.
A massive parade featuring 30 groups made its way through the fledgling capital city on that day 120 years ago, with banners flying that said, “Northwest Forever,” “Saskatchewan,” “The World’s Granary,” and “God Save the King.”
Saskatchewan's beginnings
The land that would become Saskatchewan had been part of the North-West Territories ever since King Charles II issued a charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1670. The charter granted the company ownership and exclusive trading rights to a vast area known as Rupert’s Land.
After the creation of Manitoba in 1870, the federal government acquired the rest of Rupert’s Land from the HBC that same year. Rupert’s Land represented roughly one-third of what is now Canada and stretched from western Ontario to Alberta and to the northern territories.
Moose Jaw and Regina were both founded in 1882, while both were incorporated as cities in 1903. Battleford was made the initial capital of the North-West Territories in 1877, before that title went to Regina in 1883.
'Magnificent' parade
During the celebrations in Regina on Sept. 1, 1905, “an immense crowd” thronged all over the city, especially on South Railway. Governor General Sir Gilbert Parker, Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier, and other dignitaries witnessed the parade “and made favourable comment upon its length and magnificence,” the Regina Standard reported.
The crowd and the vice-regal party later travelled to the fairgrounds, where 1,000 soldiers put on a display on foot and on horseback. The crowd appreciated the performance, evidenced by the loud applause it gave after every action.
Afterward, people spent the afternoon playing games and attending other events at the fairgrounds, while in the evening, people gathered in Victoria Park to witness the Hand Fireworks Company light up the night sky.
“The display started off with aerial artillery of shells, which caused some alarm among the more timid people,” the Standard said. Fire balloons were later released, while “prismatic lights” illuminated the ground, followed by rockets, shells and coloured fireworks.
A state ball was held as the grand finale for the entire day-long celebration.
“The electrical illuminations of the city were on a scale never before attempted in the West. Thousands upon thousands of small candle-power lamps were put up, and fixtures were erected for thousands more … ,” the Standard added.
Who would lead?
As for who would lead the new province, Lt.-Gov. Amédée Forget decided that it wouldn’t be Sir Frederick William Haultain, who had served as the first minister of a non-partisan government in pre-Saskatchewan since 1897. Instead, Forget chose Thomas Walter Scott, who was an influential journalist and owner of the Regina Leader and the Moose Jaw Times.
Three reasons why Forget rejected Haultain were because of the latter’s opposition to the division of the Territories into two provinces, the denial of natural resources, and provisions for Catholic school education, which caused the federal government to mistrust him.
As the federal Liberal member for Assiniboia West in 1900 and 1904, Scott participated in the autonomy debates. In 1905, he became leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and was asked to form the first provincial government.
A few months later, on Dec. 13, 1905, the province’s first election was held. Scott and the Liberals ran on the slogan of Peace, Progress and Prosperity. The Liberals took 16 seats, while Haultain’s Provincial Rights Party won nine.
Under Scott’s leadership, the party also won the elections of 1908 and 1912. Ill health forced him to resign in October 1916, and he retired from public life.
An editorial in the Standard said that Confederation was completed with the admission of Saskatchewan and Alberta as provinces into the young Dominion, which was 38 years old in 1905. The article also reflected on the history of Rupert’s Land and the development of the North-West Territories, which it described as part of the United Kingdom’s efforts for “empire building.”
The article noted that in 1874, there were 1,376 homesteads in the province, and by 1904, that had grown to 26,513. Meanwhile, the province’s population in 1905 was roughly 91,000 — although a year later, it had grown by 182.4 per cent to 257,763 people.
By 1911, the province had the third-largest population in Canada, with roughly 500,000 people.
Meanwhile, the provincial government adopted the current flag on Sept. 22, 1969, after holding a contest. The winning flag was designed by teacher Anthony Drake.
