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25 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Saskatoon
I’m on my first ever visit to Saskatoon – the largest city in all of Saskatchewan. It’s become a vibrant, young city with a fantastic foodie scene.
Check out these additional 25 fun, weird and interesting facts about Saskatoon.
The view of Saskatoon taken from the old Railway Bridge
- Saskatoon is named after mis-sask-quah-toomina, the Cree Indian name for the local Saskatoon berry – a sweet, violet coloured berry that grows wild.
- The city of Saskatoon was established in 1883. It was incorporated in 1906.
- The Saskatoon area has been inhabited for between 5000 and 8000 years. There is evidence of buffalo kill sites, and teepee rings. Today approximately 9% of the cities population is native.
- Saskatoon has a number of nicknames – The Paris of the Prairies because of the bridges, POW - referring to potash, oil and wheat, after the natural resources the city and area is famous for and The Hub City – because Saskatoon has been the hub of Saskatchewan.
- Saskatoon has four sister cities – Cologne, Germany; Tampere, Finland; Shijiazhuang, China and Umeå, Sweden.
- According to the 2011 census, greater Saskatoon has a population of 260,600. It grew 11.4% in five years.
- In Saskatoon 12.1% of the population is over 65, less than the national average. The median age is 35. There are 50 people (in 2011) over the age of 100.
- The lowest temperature ever recorded in Saskatoon was -50 C in 1893. The coldest temperature with windchill ever recorded was -60.9 C.
- The highest temperature ever recorded was 40.6 C (105.1 F) on June 5, 1988.
- Saskatoon averages 2380.8 hours of sunshine per year.
- On the summer solstice the sun rises at 4:45 am and sets at 9:31 pm. On the winter solstice the sun rises at 9:13 am and sets at 4:56 pm.
- The only earthquake ever recorded in Saskatoon occurred on May 15, 1909. It lasted for about 30 seconds.
- Saskatoon lies on the South Saskatchewan River. That explains why there are seven bridges in the city.
- Sailor Dan – aka Dan Hicks is a local legend. His regular route is down Eighth Street to Broadway Avenue and back where he tries to sell his Sailor Dan original paintings.
- The Midtown Plaza Shopping Center is the largest shopping center in Saskatoon.
- There are more Tim Horton’s per capita than in any other city in Canada.
- Forget hamburgers. Drive thru for Baba’s Homestyle Perogies, probably the only perogie drive thru in Canada.
- Saskatoon has one of the highest number of restaurants per capita in Canada – and great ones with many of them embracing the farm to fork philosophy.
One of the locally run restaurants – Two Gun Quiche House
- Saskatoon has become a city of festivals. The PotashCorp Wintershines Festival is on right now featuring international ice carvers. Coming festivals include the Saskatoon Blues Festival, the Fringe Festival, the Jazz Festival, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan and the Children’s Festival.
Ice sculpture at the Wintershines Festival
- Famous and/or notable people from Saskatoon include Joni Mitchell (musician), Farley Mowat (author), Gordie Howe (former NHL player), John Diefenbaker (former Prime Minister of Canada), Ray Hnatyshyn (former Governor General of Canada), Yann Martel (author of Life of Pi – and the movie version won some Oscars), Jim Pattison (billionaire businessman) and Roy Romanow (former Premier of Saskatchewan).
- Saskatoon has been the subject of a number of songs. The Tragically Hip song – Wheat Kings – has a line in it – Sundown in the Paris of the Prairies – referring to Saskatoon. Johnny Cash co-wrote the song – The Girl from Saskatoon.
- Two universities call Saskatoon home – the University of Saskatchewan and the First Nations University of Canada.
- The world’s largest potash producer – PotashCorp – has corporate headquarters in Saskatoon. Almost two thirds of the world’s recoverable potash reserves are in the Saskatoon area.
- Saskatoon is a city of parks with over 870 hectares set aside.
- The Meewasin Valley Trail – listed by Reader’s Digest as one of the top 10 greatest hikes in Canada in the fall – extends for 60 kilometers along the east and west banks of the South Saskatchewan River. You can also cycle the trail.
A downtown section of the Meewasin Trail – in winter
Do you have any other fun, weird or interesting facts about Saskatoon that you’d like to share?
Other posts in my fun, weird and interesting facts series you might enjoy.
- 145 Weird, Fun and Interesting Facts About Canada
- Weird and Wonderful Facts About Vancouver
- 30 Fun, Weird & Interesting Facts About Victoria
- 26 Weird, Wonderful and Useful Facts About Edmonton
- 38 Fun and Interesting Facts About Calgary
- 26 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 50 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Toronto
- 28 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Yellowknife, NWT
- 35 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Ottawa
- 27 Fun, Interesting and Useful Facts About Quebec City
- 28 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Winnipeg
- 11 National Parks in Canada You Probably Haven’t Heard of
Leigh McAdam
HikeBikeTravel
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Photo credit: View of Saskatoon
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About Hike Bike TravelAvid world traveler. Craves adventure - & the odd wildly epic day. Gardener. Reader. Wine lover. Next big project - a book on 100 Canadian outdoor adventures.
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25 Responses to 25 Fun, Weird and Interesting Facts About Saskatoon
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About
I’ve been all over the world – to all continents but Antarctica and to a grand total of 53 countries. I’ve always got some sort of an adventure planned – even if it’s only a weekend. I thrive on change and travel provides that.
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leighmcadamtravels at gmail dot com
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Food Recipes and Restaurants
Surprising Saskatoon: A City of Great Restaurants
TweetSaskatoon took me aback. I figured since it was a prairie city, seemingly in the middle of nowhere – that there would be a backwoods feel to the whole food scene. But was I ever wrong. Saskatoon is a city of great restaurants. Within an hour of landing I was enjoying a fantastic lunch at Souleio’s on [...]
A drive through perogie stand is awesome! Saskatoon sounds like a quirky place!
Jennifer recently posted..Snorkeling Silfra: Our Coldest Adventure Yet
@Jennifer There is a big Ukrainian population here which helps to explain the appeal of a drive thru perogie restaurant.
Love the Two Gun Quiche House! For some reason, I’m always interested in sister cities, too. Lot of fun facts & cool pic of Saskatoon from the bridge.
Cathy Sweeney recently posted..When is Tequila Not Tequila?
Never heard of Saskatoon and I only use potash for cookies. What a great lot I’ve got to learn:)
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@Mette Don’t worry – most Canadians don’t know much about Saskatoon either. That’s part of the reason for my series is to educate them. Now about that potash in your cookies – I am wondering if we are talking about the same thing. I’d like to see that recipe.
It’s funny, I’m Canadian, but Saskatoon – actually Saskatchewan in general is one of those areas that I really don’t know much about. I really hope the drive-thru perogie thing catches on in the rest of the country because that is pure brilliance.
Jessica recently posted..A Little Love for Puglia
@Jessica I met some locals last night and they said the same thing about the drive thru perogie place. I’m sensing a business opportunity.
First time i heard about Saskatoon but with this list it looks great ^^
Rincevent @art & insolite recently posted..Elle empoisonne son sexe pour tuer son mari
Great list! Only, Sailor Dan’s artwork are drawings, not paintings.
Years ago there was a little place on 20th Street in Saskatoon called the ‘O & O Drive-In’ that had drive-thru perogies and cabbage rolls.It’s long gone now but glad to read someone’s carrying on the tradition !
@Harley There seems to be a love affair with perogies in the city. Thanks for the little bit of history.
Now I officially know 25 things about Saskatoon compared to the zero I knew when I woke up this morning. This looks like a great series.
santafetraveler recently posted..Meet the Travel Bloggers: Backpacking Travel Blog
@Billie I sure learned a lot about my short stay in Saskatoon too. It’s not a city even Canadians could tell you a lot about.
Wow I had no idea so many famous people – Joni Mitchell, Gordie Howe, Farley Mowat, Ray Hnatyshyn, John Diefenbaker, etc., were from Saskatoon or that the majority of the population is so young. We rarely hear much about Saskatoon but it sounds like an interesting place to visit.
InsideJourneys recently posted..Jamaicans Respond to the VW Superbowl Ad with a Video of Their Own
@Saskatoon I think Saskatoon really shines in the summer because there is a lot going on by the river. It’s quite a crop of well known people out of Saskatoon isn’t it. They showed me a bar where they turned down Joni Mitchell singing – one of those decisions I’m sure someone regrets big time.
I always enjoy reading this series, and I really didn’t know much about Saskatoon, even though I go there once I year. I do remember working at a retail store at the Edmonton Airport and a lady told me Saskatoon was called The City of Bridges. I have no idea if that’s an official nickname or not.
Oh and to add the songs about Saskatoon there’s always “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” by The Guess Who. It was a standard family road trip rule that we played that song at least once on our drive there.
Alouise recently posted..Road Trip Memories 20 – Face to Face with the Ogopogo
@Alouise Thanks for the wonderful piece of trivia. Saskatoon is also called the City of Bridges – with seven in total. Would have been fun listening to a family full of singers belting out Running Back to Saskatoon.
Living about twenty minutes from Saskatoon my entire life, I can vouch for its quirkiness. Its a homey place, for sure. I never feel nervous walking at night, people are quick to wave you into a lane in traffic, and I think we have five camera lights. In summer, there is salsa dancing by the river, free ice cream for kids everywhere, and random fireworks “competitions.” Truly a great city
@Hailey What an upbeat comment you’ve left and thanks for the added insight into the city.
Overall, a great article, but I don’t understand why everyone thinks “Sailor Dan” is so great.
His “original paintings”? You mean the two ink drawings that he does over and over and over?
Oh, and it’s so quaint the way he digs through the garbage and leaves trash all over for overworked restaurant staff to pick up. And how he creeps out the paying patrons of those same restaurants, panhandling and smoking other people’s used cigarette butts from the ground around the doors?
Yeah, “local legend”, about that…
@Kelly I can appreciate that panhandling is a pain to deal with and obviously I don’t live with the results. But after my recent trip to Colombia I am much more open minded about people who don’t quite fit into society and feel like we need to learn how to deal with them in a compassionate manner. A little local colour is not necessarily all bad.
I lived in Saskatoon for 25 years and still learned a few new things from reading your list. Great post, thanks!
@Sam Thanks for taking the time to read it and if you have anything you’d like to share I’d love to hear more.
The ice sculpture is really beautiful
and it might not be a big deal to keep this intact all the time (as the temperature is that cold).
@Mellisa It warmed up on the weekend I was there so some of the finer parts of the ice sculptures did start to melt.