Estevan is the eighth-largest city in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

, Canada. It is approximately north of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

. The

Souris River The Souris River (; french: rivière Souris) or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S., a calque of its French name) is a river in central North America. It is about in length and drains about . It rises in the Yellow Grass Mar ...

runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the

Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5 The Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 1 and Division No. 1. Located in the southeast portion of the province, it surrou ...

History

The first

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

s in what was to become Estevan arrived in 1892, along with the expansion of 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 Canad ...

. It was incorporated as a village in 1899, and later became a town in 1906. On March 1, 1957, Estevan acquired the status of a city, which, in Saskatchewan terms, is any community of 5,000 or more. The name origin is attributed to George Stephen's registered telegraphic address, ''Estevan''. George Stephen was the first President of the Canadian Pacific Railway from 1881 to 1888.

World War I military unit

On December 22, 1915, the

152nd (Weyburn-Estevan) Battalion, CEF The 152nd Battalion, CEF, was a unit of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. It was authorized on 22 December 1915, recruiting in Weyburn and Estevan, Saskatchewan, and embarked for Great Britain on 3 October 1916, where its perso ...

was authorised and recruited men from the area before departing to Great Britain on October 3, 1916.

1931 riot

Estevan was the site of the notorious Estevan riot in 1931. Although most of the strikers were from nearby Bienfait, the strike is associated with Estevan because it was in this city the demonstrators were met by members of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

. After the subsequent riot, which lasted 45 minutes, three strikers lay dead. It was later proven the three miners had been killed by the RCMP. The miners had been organised by the Workers' Unity League.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Estevan 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 major industries in Estevan are

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

, power generation at nearby Boundary Dam Power Station and Shand Power Station, oil and gas, and agriculture.

Arts and culture

Museums and galleries

The city of Estevan has two museums, one of which is primarily a gallery. The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, formerly the Estevan National Exhibition Centre, was founded in 1978. The Estevan Art Gallery is a free public gallery that showcases contemporary art. The Gallery's permanent collection includes woodblock-print works by Andrew King. The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, EAGM, also features the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

Wood End Post Historical Site, NWMP Museum. This museum is in a house which is the oldest-known North-West Mounted Police Detachment Post in Saskatchewan and holds a collection related to the North-West Mounted Police and the 1874

March West The March West was the initial journey of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) to the Canadian prairies, made between July 8 and October 9, 1874. It was the result of the force being deployed to what is now southern Alberta in response to the Cy ...

from Roche Percée to Estevan. The Souris Valley Museum, SVM, is a local and regional history museum focused on human development and daily life within south-east Saskatchewan. It was founded in 2001, primarily from the collection of Stan Durr. The museum provides an engaging depiction of the social and cultural influences and economic development of south-east Saskatchewan. The collection includes the Schneller Schoolhouse, a Threshing Cook Car, a Homesteader Shack, two of Estevan's original Firetrucks, and a Heritage Mining Display.

Arts council

The Estevan Arts Council, founded in 1967, is a non-profit organisation that offers art classes and workshops, adjudicates art shows, hosts concerts, and provides a youth art scholarships through the work of volunteers and community donations and grants.

Sports

Affinity Place is a 2,650 seat Multi-Purpose Entertainment and Sports Facility that was built to supplement the two other ageing ice surfaces in Estevan, the Civic Auditorium and Lignite Miners Centre. It opened on 15 April 2011. Affinity Place is home to the Estevan Bruins, a junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

team playing in the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years ...

(SJHL), and the Midget AAA Estevan Bears. Affinity Place also has a

Racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase v ...

court, swimming pool, and a gym. Right next to Affinity Place is the Estevan Curling Club. The nine-team Saskota Baseball League has two teams in Estevan, the Southeast Diamondbacks and the Estevan Tap House Wolves. A former Estevan team, the Estevan Bears, played in the Big 6 Hockey League. They won the Lincoln Trophy three straight years from 1985 to 1987. CJSL AM 1150 broadcasts many Big 6 hockey games.

Climate

Estevan has a

humid continental climate 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, nota ...

'' Dfb'') It falls into the NRC Plant Hardiness Zone 4a. Estevan's climate is characterized by cold, long, and dry winters with warm, short and, relatively humid summers. The mean temperature in January, the coldest month, is . The precipitation in winter is chiefly snow, averaging . The spring is a short transitional season, with a mean temperature of and of precipitation, with significant snowfall in April. The summer is usually warm (the mean average high temperature is (average high in July, the warmest month, is and humid ( of total precipitation). Autumn, as spring, is transitional, being warm in September and cooler in October and November. At this time of the year, the average temperature is and the total precipitation is . Estevan is the sunniest city year-round in Canada, and it is also the city with the clearest skies year round in Canada. The highest temperature ever recorded in Estevan was on 5 July 1936, and 5 July 1937. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 11 January 1916, and 16 February 1936.

Gallery

File:20161210 151014 v3.jpg, A downtown street in the winter File:Water and ice (4956918050).jpg, Water tower and ice rink File:Water and ice and rocks (4956918012).jpg, Water tower and curling rink File:The law court in Estevan (4967281723).jpg, The law court File:DP8 6384.jpg, Highway 47 going into Estevan

Local media

Newspapers

* ''The Estevan Mercury'', the newspaper in Estevan since 1903, provides weekly distribution to every household in the City free of charge. The newspaper also provides up-to-date news via online editorial copy and local videos. It also has as free TMC newspaper circulated throughout southeast Saskatchewan to over 9,000 homes; the ''Southeast Trader Express''. * ''Pipeline News, Saskatchewan Petroleum Monthly'' newspaper is also based out of Estevan. Southeast Saskatchewan has a significant amount of oil production, and the Pipeline News' main office is situated locally to report on these matters. * ''Estevan Lifestyles'' is a free circulation weekly publication that shares the stories of the people in the Estevan area and the southeast corner of Saskatchewan. The publication also publishes ''NewsBreak'', a daily coffee paper geared towards lighter reading.Estevan Lifestyles
Sasklifestyles.com. Retrieved on 2015-12-13.

Radio

* CJSL AM 1150, CHSN-FM 102.3, and CKSE-FM 106.1 all broadcast from studios on 5th Street in Estevan. *The news website DiscoverEstevan.com is also run by the radio station offering local news, weather, and sports. All are owned by Golden West Broadcasting.

Notable residents

* Blair Atcheynum,

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) player * Dave Batters, politician *

Dennis Cooley Dennis Cooley (born 1944) is a Canadian writer of poetry and criticism, a retired university professor, and a vital figure in the evolution of the prairie long poem. He was raised on a farm near the small city of Estevan, Saskatchewan in Canada, ...

, poet * Kimbi Daniels, hockey player *

Ana Egge Ana G. Egge (born September 20, 1976, in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a Canadian/American musician and songwriter. Egge grew up the daughter of a teacher and a wheat farmer in Ambrose, North Dakota, and later moved to Silver City, New ...

, folk singer/songwriter * Mina Forsyth, artist * Eric Grimson, computer scientist, educator * Chris Henderson, musician *

Howard Hilstrom Howard E. Hilstrom (born 18 March 1947) was a Canadian politician, rancher and police officer. Hilstrom served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. His career has included ranching and law enforcement. He was electe ...

, politician * Andrew David Irvine, playwright *

Tanner Jeannot Tanner Jeannot (born May 29, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jeannot is known as "The Oxbow Ox" in recognition of his physical play and his hometown of Oxbo ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player for

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

* Todd Kerns, musician * Ross King, author *

Bill Knight William George Knight (born October 24, 1947) is a former senior executive and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. Knight was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan. A teacher by profession, Knight was first elected as a New Dem ...

, politician * Ed Komarnicki, politician * Greg Lawrence, politician * Eli Mandel, poet * Fred Mandel, session musician *

Punch McLean Ernest V. "Punch" McLean (born November 3, 1932) is a Canadian retired ice hockey coach. He led the New Westminster Bruins to four consecutive President's Cup titles, and won consecutive 1977 and 1978 Memorial Cup championships. After his 16 se ...

, hockey coach *

Gerald McLellan Gerald Peter McLellan (1932-2009) was an Ombudsman in the Province of Saskatchewan,Speers Funeral ChapelMemorial Notice - Gerald Peter McLellan Retrieved 2016-10-20. notable during his tenure for his report on the collapse of the Principal Group ...

, Saskatchewan ombudsman *

Al Nicholson Allan Douglas Nicholson (April 26, 1936 – December 9, 1978) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger. Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, he played in 19 games for the Boston Bruins during the 1955–56 and 1956–57 seasons and recorded one assist. ...

, hockey player * Derrick Pouliot, NHL player *

Arnold Richardson Arnold W. Richardson (born October 2, 1928) is a Canadian curler. He played third for the "World famous Richardsons", which won four Briers and four World Curling Championships. The team consisted of two brothers (skip Ernie and Garnet and ...

, curler * Andy Shauf, musician * Kim Thorson, lawyer and politician *

Blaine Thurier Blaine Thurier (born 1967) is a Canadian musician and film producer. He plays synthesizer with the Canadian indie pop supergroup The New Pornographers. His videos for The New Pornographers have been critically well received. Thurier has written ...

, musician and film producer *

Galen Wahlmeier Galen Wahlmeier (February 19, 1934 – July 26, 2018) was a Canadian football player who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He won the Grey Cup with them in 1966. He played college football at University of Kansas. In 1985, he was in a mo ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL) player and mayor

References

Notes

External links

* * {{Authority control 1892 establishments in Canada Cities in Saskatchewan Mining communities in Saskatchewan Populated places established in 1892