Biggar is a town in central

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 ...

, Canada. It is located on Highway 14, west of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, the province's most populous city. Biggar has become well known for its unusual town slogan, an Olympic athlete, and a world-record deer. The town was featured on American morning newsmagazine ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'' in February 2010 as part of an ongoing Canadian-oriented segment during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

History

Biggar was incorporated as a village in 1909. It was named after William Hodgins Biggar, general counsel of the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) railway which had come through the area in 1908. Prior to that, the major means of transportation was via the nearby Swift Current-Battleford Trail. The

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...

(GTP) made Biggar a divisional point on its line, building a large station and roundhouse. The population grew as Biggar became a home terminal where train crews were changed.McLennan, David (2008), ''Our Towns: Saskatchewan communities from Abbey to Zenon Park'', Canadian Plains Research Center, p. 32-33, In 1911 Biggar was incorporated as a town. Settlement continued and the population increased to greater than 2,000 by the mid-1920s, peaking at 2,755 in 1966. According to the 2011 census, Biggar is now home to 2,161 people. The town is known for its slogan " New York is big, but this is Biggar." It was created in 1914 by a survey crew who painted it onto a town sign as a drunken prank. According to The Biggar Museum and Gallery, the graffiti remained unchanged until 1954 when the slogan was officially adopted.

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 ...

, Biggar 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.

Economy

The Biggar railway station was constructed in 1909–1910 and is serviced by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

with

The Canadian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

serving the station twice a week. Biggar's prosperity was directly tied to the railway for many years. Up to 500 local people were at one time employed by Canadian National Railway (CN), which took over the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP). That number has now dropped to under 200. As the railway industry has decreased, Biggar has shifted its economy to agriculture and related industries. Biggar is home to Prairie Malt Limited, a large barley processing plant. The malthouse has an annual capacity of 220,000 metric tonnes. Malt is a primary ingredient in

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

. Prairie Malt employs approximately 70 full-time employees. It creates significant spin-off employment among local trucking firms such as Biggar Transport, with a fleet of over 50 trucks. The Town of Biggar lists more than 150 businesses and services on its website. These include a manufacturer of petroleum and hazardous material containment tanks, a sodium sulphate plant, a large greenhouse and a variety of financial, farm and health services.

Education

Two school divisions operate in Biggar. ;Current schools The public school is Biggar Central 2000, a kindergarten to grade twelve school a part of Sun West School Division.

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) is Saskatchewan's largest Catholic school division and the third largest school system in the province. Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools has approximately 20,000 students in 50 schools located in Sask ...

operates St. Gabriel School, a Catholic kindergarten to grade nine school. Great Plains College offers post-secondary certificates and diplomas in nursing, emergency medical technician, electrician and truck driving. ;Former schools * Biggar's original classroom was on the second floor of the Biggar Hotel (2 Jan 1910 – May 1910) while Biggar Public School was being built. * Biggar Public School was built in 1910, and was demolished in 1962. * Thornton School was built in 1924, demolished in 1972.

Parks and recreation

Biggar has several recreational facilities and parks in and around town. There's an ice rink, curling rink, ball diamonds, and aquatic centre. About one kilometre north of town is Biggar & District Regional Park, which has a campground and golf course.

Notable People

* Boushie, Colton – Biggar was the nearest urban community to the

death of Colten Boushie Colten Boushie (October 31, 1993 – August 9, 2016) was a 22-year-old Indigenous man of the Cree people, Cree Red Pheasant First Nation who was fatally shot on a rural Saskatchewan farm by its owner, Gerald Stanley. Stanley stood trial for sec ...

on 6 August 2016, when the man of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation was fatally shot on a farm. * Coldwell, James (Major) Biggar elected

Major James Coldwell Major James William Coldwell (December 2, 1888 – August 25, 1974), usually known as M. J. Coldwell, was a Canadian democratic socialist politician, and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party from 1942 to 1960. Bor ...

, the leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, as their Member of Parliament from 1935 to 1958. He was noted as the person that fought for and won old-age pensions, as well as other social democratic reforms in both the William Lyon Mackenzie-King and Louis St. Laurent governments. * Cutler, David – Longtime Edmonton Eskimos kicker

Dave Cutler David Neil Cutler Sr. (born March 13, 1942) is an American software engineer. He developed several computer operating systems, namely Microsoft's Windows NT, and Digital Equipment Corporation's RSX-11M, VAXELN, and VMS. Personal history Cu ...

was born in Biggar. * Hanson, Milo – The town is home to the world-famous "Hanson Buck." Milo Hanson is a Biggar-area farmer and hunter who in 1993 shot a white-tailed deer that was awarded the Boone and Crockett Club world's record. Hanson reported that after the award was made public, he received hundreds of calls from journalists, photographers and artists wanting to tell the story. His record remains unbeaten. * Schmirler, Sandra – Biggar is the hometown of

Sandra Schmirler Sandra Marie Schmirler, (June 11, 1963 – March 2, 2000) was a Canadian curler who captured three Canadian Curling Championships (Scott Tournament of Hearts) and three World Curling Championships. Schmirler also skipped (captained) her Cana ...

, a 1998

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist and three-time world champion in women's curling. Schmirler died in 2000 at the age of 36 of cancer. Her funeral was broadcast nationally by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

and TSN, a first for a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

athlete. Biggar honoured Schmirler's contributions to sport and her hometown by constructing the Sandra Schmirler Olympic Gold Park, which houses a gazebo, playground, memorial and wall of fame.CBC Sports. 200-08-06. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
/ref> * Weekes, Randall (Randy) Percival – Canadian politician. Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly (1999 – ) Born in Biggar (1956).

Government

Biggar's current mayor is Jim Rickwood. The Town of Biggar is located within the

Rural Municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipalities in Canada, a type of municipal status in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, ...

of Biggar #347. Provincially, Biggar is represented by MLA

Randy Weekes Randall Percival Weekes (born 1956) is a Canadian provincial politician. He is the Saskatchewan Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the constituency of Biggar-Sask Valley, after first being elected in 1999. When the Sa ...

of the Saskatchewan Party. Federally the town is within the riding of

Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, whose current MP is

Kelly Block Kelly Block (born November 30, 1961) is a Canadian politician representing the electoral district of Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek since 2015. She was first elected in the 2008 Canadian federal election to serve as the Member of Parliament for ...

of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Climate

Biggar experiences a

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

''). The highest temperature ever recorded in Biggar was on 4 July 1937, 24 June 1941, and 6 August 1949. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 February 1936.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Biggar No. 347, Saskatchewan Towns in Saskatchewan