Saskatchewan (1905)

In 1904–5 debates about the future of the North-West Territories centred on three issues: whether the region between Manitoba and British Columbia should constitute one province or be divided in two; whether public lands and resources should fall under federal or provincial jurisdiction; and whether minority religious groups, including Roman Catholics, should have separate schools in the area. The newspaperman and politician Thomas Walter SCOTT sided with Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid LAURIER:

“[He] supported the formation of Alberta and Saskatchewan, with federal rights and legislated protection for separate schools....

“On 16 Aug. 1905, at a convention in Regina, the 37-year-old Scott was unanimously chosen leader of the provincial Liberal Party. In his acceptance speech he promised he would provide open and clean government. Saskatchewan formally came into existence on 1 September.

“Scott quickly began the work of governing. Sworn in on the 12th, his cabinet consisted of himself, William Richard Motherwell* (provincial secretary and minister of agriculture), James Alexander Calder* (treasurer and minister of education), and John Henderson Lamont (attorney general). The electoral boundaries of 25 ridings were set by the federal government, and Scott picked 13 December for the first election. Running on the optimistic slogan of ‘Peace, Progress, and Prosperity’ – peace with Ottawa, progress in the development of the province, and prosperity for its people – he campaigned tirelessly that fall.”

At the same time, the federal government also created the province of Alberta from the southwest portion of the North-West Territories [see Alberta (1905)].

To learn more about the creation of the province of Saskatchewan, consult the following biographies.