Bienfait is a town in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

on Highway 18 that is 14 km (9 miles) east of

Estevan Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History The ...

. It is 30 km northwest of the town of

North Portal North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, which is next to the Canadian-American border and is also 10 km south of Estevan. It is surrounded by the RM of Coalfields. For services, Bienfait has one school and a gas station. There is also a curling rink and an

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

, which is where the Bienfait Coalers of the

Big 6 Hockey League The Big 6 Hockey League is a senior men's ice hockey league in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. There are currently nine teams in the league. The league began in 1959-1960 with four teams, the Bienfait Coalers, Frobisher Flyers, Glen Ewen ...

play. The Coalers have won the Lincoln Trophy 15 times, which is the most of any team. The Bienfait Museum is in the old CPR Station on the east end of town. The original location for the station was on the CPR line on the north side of town.

History

Bienfait was incorporated as the Village of Bienfait on April 16, 1912. It became a town on March 1, 1957, and was named by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

after Antoine Charles Bienfait, a banker with Adolphe Boissevain & Company of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

since the firm had been involved in the sale of Canadian Pacific shares in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 1931, striking coal miners marched from Bienfait to nearby Estevan, which resulted in the

Estevan Riot The Estevan riot, also known as the Black Tuesday Riot, was a confrontation between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and striking coal miners from nearby Bienfait, Saskatchewan which took place in Estevan, Saskatchewan on September 29, 1931. T ...

Train/Caboose Lot

On the north side of town on Railway Avenue at the head of Main Street, sits a Manitoba & Saskatchewan Coal Company (M&S) Locomotive #3522, which is on the

Canadian Register of Historic Places The Canadian Register of Historic Places (CRHP; french: Le Répertoire canadien des lieux patrimoniaux), also known as Canada's Historic Places, is an online directory of historic sites in Canada which have been formally recognized for their her ...

. The M&S Locomotive was built in 1907 and used to transport coal from the mines to Bienfait to market until 1968. It was one of the last commercially-functioning steam engines in Canada. The town of Bienfait acquired the locomotive in 1968 and the caboose in 2000. The caboose is an old

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

caboose. This site was added to the

list of historic places in Saskatchewan This article is a list of historic places in the province of Saskatchewan entered on the Canadian Register of Historic Places, whether they are federal, provincial, or municipal. List of historic places ...

on 28 March 2002.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Bienfait had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Gallery

File:M&S Locomotive.jpg, M&S Locomotive in Bienfait File:Main Street Bienfait looking north.png, Main Street Bienfait, looking north with the locomotive at the end of the road File:M&S Locomotive plaque.jpg, M&S Locomotive plaque

References

* {{Coord, 49.150, N, 102.800, W, display=title, type:city_region:CA_source:GNS-enwiki Coalfields No. 4, Saskatchewan Towns in Saskatchewan Division No. 1, Saskatchewan

History

Train/Caboose Lot

Demographics

Gallery

See also

References