Swift Current is the fifth largest city in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

. It is situated along the

Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

west of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

, and east of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Swift Current grew 6.8% between 2011 and 2016, ending up at 16,604 residents. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Swift Current No. 137.

History

Swift Current's history began with Swift Current Creek which originates at Cypress Hills and traverses of

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and empties into the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

. The creek was a camp for

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

for centuries. The name of the creek comes from the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

, who called the South Saskatchewan River meaning "it flows swiftly".

Fur traders The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

found the creek on their westward treks in the 1800s, and called it "rivière au Courant" (lit: "river of the current"). Henri Julien, an artist travelling with 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 ...

expedition in 1874, referred to it as "Du Courant", and Commissioner George French used "Strong Current Creek" in his diary. While it took another decade before being officially recorded, the area has always been known as "Swift Current". The settlement of Swift Current was established in 1883, after the

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

surveyed a railway line as far as Swift Current Creek. In 1882, initial grading and track preparation commenced, with the first settlers arriving in the spring of 1883. During the early part of its settlement, the economy was based almost exclusively on serving the new railway buildings and employees. There was also a significant ranching operation known as the "76" ranches. It included 10 ranches raising

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and stretched from Swift Current to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. The ranch located at Swift Current dealt with sheep. At one point there were upwards of 20,000 sheep grazing on the present day Kinetic Grounds. The head shepherd was John Oman, originally from Scotland. He donated land to build Oman School in 1913. Other early industries included gathering

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

bones for use in fertilizer manufacturing, the making of bone china and sugar refining. Métis residents also ran a successful

Red River ox cart The Red River cart is a large two-wheeled cart made entirely of non-metallic materials. Often drawn by oxen, though also by horses or mules, these carts were used throughout most of the 19th century in the fur trade and in westward expansion i ...

"freighting" business along the

Swift Current-Battleford Trail The 190 mile long (300 km) Swift Current-Battleford Trail was an important late-19th century transportation and communications link between settlements of Swift Current and Battleford - the result of a brisk trade, in buffalo bones which ...

Battleford Battleford ( 2011 population 4,065) is a small town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the City of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords" b ...

until the late 1880s. During the Riel Rebellion of 1885, Swift Current became a major military base and troop mustering area due to its proximity to Battleford but this was only for a short time. On February 4, 1904, the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

became a village and then a town on March 15, 1907, when a

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

indicated a population of 550. Swift Current became incorporated as a city on January 15, 1914, with Frank E. West being the mayor at the time. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the United Kingdom was considered an unsuitable site for training pilots. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan identified the Canadian Prairies, with their clear weather and great distance from enemy territory, as an ideal alternative. In 1941, the Number 39 Service Training Flying School was constructed east of Swift Current, hosting over one thousand servicemen at all times until its closure in March 1944. Today, the facility is maintained as the Swift Current Airport, and was taken over by the city of Swift Current from

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

in 1996. Airport services were then contracted out. There have been recent (2005–2006) plans to expand and revitalize the airport alongside the rural municipalities surrounding Swift Current. Oil was discovered at Fosterton in 1952, thirty miles northwest of the city. This first well continued to pump oil for over 40 years. Since then, with almost 4,000 wells completed in the area, the Shaunavon Formation has yielded 500 million barrels in total production. Swift Current is affectionately known as "Speedy Creek", a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

ous play on words. This phrase occurs in the name of many local businesses and organizations. As the primary service centre for most of Southwestern Saskatchewan, its name is also frequently contracted to "Swift" or "Swifty".

Landmarks

Swift Current is home to Saskatchewan's oldest operating theatre: the Lyric Theatre, built in 1912 at a cost of $50,000 is the "crown jewel" of Swift Current's historical downtown buildings, with instantly recognizable advertisements painted on the north and south sides of the building dating back to the early 1920s. The building has served many functions over the years: at first it housed glamorous

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performances by traveling companies, was later converted into a movie theatre and, in the mid-1980s, a bar and nightclub. A volunteer non-profit group (Southwest Cultural Development Group) purchased the facility in 2005 and is raising money for its preservation while staging cultural events, such as a mock

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

annually in July, since 2008, open mic nights throughout the year, and administering rentals of the building. The current musician in residence is Al Hudec. Swift Current's tallest commercial building is the EI Wood Building, located downtown. The longest running business in Swift Current is the Imperial Hotel, also known as "The Big Eye" due to the large eye painted on the side. It was built in 1903 and was used as evidence that Swift Current should be granted village status. The owner, R.H. Corbett of Medicine Hat, needed the designation to obtain a liquor licence. The Swift Current railway station has been designated a historic railway station in 1991. The

Court House A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English- ...

is also a designated historical building. Swift Current is located at the start of the historic Swift Current-Battleford Trail, the remnants of which can still be seen today at the Battleford Trail Ruts Heritage Site.

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 ...

, Swift Current 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.

Climate

Swift Current experiences 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 freezing ...

(

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 ...

'') that does not fall far from being classified as

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(Köppen ''

BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...

''). Winters are long, dry, and cold, while summers are short, warm, and relatively wet. The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of , while the warmest month is July, with a mean temperature of . The driest month is February, with an average of of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

, while the wettest month is June, with an average of . Annual precipitation is low, with an average of . Its location in southwest Saskatchewan gives it slightly milder winters than the provincial capital, Regina, even though it is higher in elevation.

Chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s happen several times a year allowing residents to enjoy unseasonably warm weather for short periods of time. The highest temperature ever recorded in Swift Current was on 12 July 1886. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 February 1936.

Arts and culture

The city is home to the Swift Current Museum, the Art Gallery of Swift Current, the Lyric Theatre and the Swift Current Library. The city is also host to the Windscape Kite Festival, which is the largest festival of its kind in Western Canada. A group of local talent started up a movie company called Dead Prairies and their first feature-length film Zombageddon was filmed in Swift Current. Zombageddon premiered at the Living Sky Casino on October 31, 2012 and made over $4,000 for the Swift Current SPCA. In 2016, Swift Current became the first city in Saskatchewan to install a permanent rainbow crosswalk.

Notable people

Jeff Buchanan Jeffrey J. Buchanan (born May 23, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche. Playing career Buchanan was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Undrafted, Buchanan played with t ...

- hockey player *

Steve Buzinski Steven Rudolph Buzinski (October 15, 1917 – February 20, 1992) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 9 games for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League in 1942. Playing career Born in Dunblane, Saskatc ...

- hockey player *

Reggie Cleveland Reginald Leslie Cleveland (born May 23, 1948) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Cleveland appeared in 428 games in Major League Baseball over 13 seasons (1969–81) for four teams. Born in Swift Current, S ...

- former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher *

Brandin Cote Brandin Cote (born April 21, 1981) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who last played for the Fischtown Pinguins in the German 2nd Bundesliga in 2008–09. In 2002, Cote signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent. He p ...

- hockey player *

Lorna Crozier Lorna Crozier, OC (born 24 May 1948) is a Canadian poet who holds the Head Chair in the Writing Department at the University of Victoria. She has authored fifteen books and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011. She is credited as ...

- poet *

Ken Epp Marvin Kenneth Epp (May 11, 1939 – February 20, 2022) was a Canadian politician. Epp was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Edmonton—Sherwood Park since its creation ...

- politician *

Nancy Heppner Nancy Heppner (born 1971) is a former Saskatchewan Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, who represented the constituency of Martensville-Warman and its predecessor Martensville from 2007 to 2020. Early life She was born in ...

- politician *

Bill Hogaboam William Harold "Hogi" Hogaboam (born May 9, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. His career began in 1970–71 as a member of the Central Hockey League's Omaha Knights, as he played in 63 games, scoring 12 goals, 30 points ...

- hockey player *

Eric Malling Eric Malling (September 4, 1946 – September 28, 1998) was a Canadian television journalist. Born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan to Danish immigrant John Malling Sorensen. Malling was the only son of a butcher. He graduated from the University ...

- journalist, former host of CBC's The Fifth Estate and CTV's W5 *

Patrick Marleau Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. With 1,779 NHL games played, he is the all-time leader in games played in league history. He passed the record previously held by Gordie Howe ...

- ice hockey player for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, holds the

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 ...

record for most games played. *

Trent McCleary Trent Kenneth McCleary (born September 8, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). His career was ended in 2000 after h ...

- hockey player *

Travis Moen Travis Shawn Moen (born April 6, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most recently played under contract for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Although he was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, he gr ...

- ice hockey player for

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, Anaheim Mighty Ducks,

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. Stanley Cup Champion * Caia Morstad - volleyball player *

Scotty Munro Roderick Neil "Scotty" Munro (1917 – September 20, 1975) was a Canadian ice hockey coach. Munro was a key part of the group that formed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1972, which includes Bill Hunter, Ben Hatskin, and Ed Chynoweth. Early ...

– ice hockey coach *

Darcy Regier Darcy John Regier (born November 27, 1956) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Regier was general manager of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League from 1997 until 2013. He was the longest-serving and winnin ...

- hockey executive * Kelly Schafer - curler * Darrel Scoville - hockey player *

Claire Drainie Taylor Claire Drainie Taylor, née Wodlinger (September 11, 1917 – November 18, 2009) was a Canadian actor and writer, who wrote and acted in radio and television productions for CBC Radio from the 1930s through the 1960s. Early life Born and rais ...

- actor *

Jeff Toms Jeff Toms (born June 4, 1974) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Toms was selected by the New Jersey Devils 210th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.. Playing career Before ever playing for the New Jersey Devils, ...

- hockey player *

Fred Wah Frederick James Wah, OC, (born January 23, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, scholar and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Life Wah was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, but grew up in the interior (West Kootenay) of British Columbi ...

- poet *

Brad Wall Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965), is a Canadian former politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007 until February 2, 2018. He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history. His so ...

- former Premier of Saskatchewan *

Colter Wall Colter Wall (born June 27, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for his deep, gruff baritone and narrative songwriting, Wall's music encompasses country, folk, and western styles. His self-titled debut album was released i ...

- musician *

Dorothy Walton Dorothy Louise Walton, , née McKenzie (7 August 1909 – 17 October 1981) was a Canadian badminton player who is the only Canadian ever to win the All England Open Badminton Championships, winning the Women's Singles in 1939. Born in Swift C ...

- badminton player *

Jack Wiebe John Edward Neil "Jack" Wiebe (May 31, 1936 – April 16, 2007) was a Canadian farmer and politician. He served as a provincial politician, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan and also as a Senator. Born in Herbert, Saskatchew ...

- politician

Sports and recreation

Swift Current is home to the Swift Current Broncos, a

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team that plays in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

. They play in the 2,879 seat

Credit Union iPlex The Innovation Credit Union iPlex is a 2,879-seat multi-purpose arena in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. The arena was built in 1967 as a Canadian Centennial project and originally known as the Centennial Civic Centre. In 2007, Swift Current ...

in the east end of town. The team has developed a number of

players such as

Dave "Tiger" Williams David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1974–75 NHL season to the 1987–88 NHL season. He is the NHL's career leader in p ...

Joe Sakic Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...

, and

Bryan Trottier Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cups with the ...

. The Credit Union iPlex is also the home of the Swift Current Rampage a junior

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...

team along with SaskTel Curling Stadium Swift Current, opening inside the Swift Current Curling Club in 2021, offering live broadcasts from all games played. Swift Current hosted the 2016 World Women's Curling Championship. Swift Current is also home to the Swift Current 57's, a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team that plays in Canada's premier summer collegiate level baseball league called the

Western Canadian Baseball League The Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league based in Saskatchewan and Alberta that descends from leagues dating to 1931. History The league can trace its roots back to 1931, via its predecessors. The Sout ...

(WCBL). Former

players

(Boston Red Sox),

Jim Dedrick James Michael Dedrick (born April 4, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player. A pitcher, Dedrick played for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) in . Dedrick was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 33rd round ...

(Baltimore Orioles) and

Shawn Wooten William Shawn Wooten (born July 24, 1972) is the assistant major league hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels. He is a former professional baseball player. He played all or parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Anaheim Angels ...

(Anaheim Angels) all played for Swift Current before being drafted into professional baseball. Since 1992, Swift Current has won an unprecedented 11 league championships (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2010, and 2016). The 57's play at Mitchell Field, located just north of the Iplex. Other sports institutions in the city include: * Speedy Creek Racing Club * Chinook Golf Course * Elmwood Golf Course

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Construc ...

and

Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park (often shortened to ''Sask Landing'') is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the valley of the South Saskatchewan River at the western end of Lake Diefenbaker in the ...

are north of the city on Highway 4. The park provides recreational activities like

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, swimming,

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and 4

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a tru ...

s. Swift Current Motorcross Club has a track on the west side of town, just off 11th Ave NW. Swift Current is also home to Canadian professional track and field/cross-country athlete Kelly Wiebe.

Government

Swift Current has had its own Saskatchewan Legislature district since 1908. The current incarnation of

Swift Current (provincial electoral district) Swift Current is a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. Located in southwestern Saskatchewan, it was created for the 1908 Saskatchewan ...

is nearly coterminous with Swift Current's city limits, excluding only an industrial park on the western side of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, Swift Current is part of

Cypress Hills—Grasslands Cypress Hills—Grasslands is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography The district is in the southwestern corner of the Province of Saskatchewan. ...

, whose boundaries extend to

Caronport Caronport ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Caron No. 162 and Census Division No. 7. The village is west of the City of Moose Jaw on the Trans-Canada Highway. Histor ...

and

Kindersley Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,59 ...

. The city is currently represented by

Everett Hindley Everett Hindley is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in a List of Saskatchewan by-elections, by-election on March 1, 2018.Jeremy Patzer Jeremy Patzer (born 26 March 1987) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Cypress Hills—Grasslands Cypress Hills—Grasslands is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represent ...

, MP. At both higher levels of government, Swift Current is predominantly conservative. The city was the home constituency of the first Saskatchewan Party premier,

, who won more than 80% of the popular vote on two occasions. Federally, its last non-conservative MP was

Irvin Studer Irvin William Studer (15 November 1900 – 1 June 1997) was a Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States and became a farmer by career. Studer was elected at the Maple Creek ri ...

, a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

who represented Swift Current—Maple Creek from 1953 to 1958. The city's current mayor is Al Bridal, who defeated incumbent Denis Perrault in the 2020 Saskatchewan municipal elections. On the same ballot, two of five incumbent councillors held their seats. After 40 centimetres of snow fell on election day, voting in the city was postponed by two days.

Media

;Print * ''Southwest Booster'' * '' Prairie Post'' ;Radio * AM 540 - CBK,

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

* AM 570 - CKSW,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Golden West Broadcasting Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. is a Canadian radio and digital media company based in Altona, Manitoba. It is the largest independent radio broadcaster in Canada. The company primarily operates small-market radio stations and internet portals in ...

* FM 94.1 - CIMG-FM, "The Eagle 94 One"

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

* FM 95.7 - CBK-FM-4, CBC Radio 2,

* FM 97.1 -

CKFI-FM CKFI-FM is a Canadian radio station licensed to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, serving the southwestern Saskatchewan area broadcasting at 97.1 FM with a hot adult contemporary format branded as ''Magic 97''. The station is currently owned a ...

, "Magic 97"

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

;Television * Channel 12 - CKMC-TV, CTV ''(analogue repeater of

CKCK-DT CKCK-DT (channel 2) is a television station in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Eastgate Drive and Hig ...

Regina)'' * ''Southwest TV News'' is an internet-based news program focused on Swift Current and area. It is sometimes broadcast on

Citytv Saskatchewan Citytv Saskatchewan (formerly the Saskatchewan Communications Network, or SCN) is a Canadian English language cable television channel in the province of Saskatchewan. Headquartered in the provincial capital of Regina, the channel is owned by t ...

. Swift Current was previously served by

CJFB-TV CJFB-TV was a television station in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. The station was in operation from 1957 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television. It was broadcast on channel 5, cable 9 in Swift Current. It also operated rebroadcast ...

channel 5, a private

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 ...

outlet; this station would close down in 2002, with its transmitter becoming CBKT-4, a repeater of

CBKT CBKT-DT (channel 9) is a CBC Television station in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé station CBKFT-DT (channel 13). The two outlets share studios with sister radio stations CBK and CBK-FM at the ...

Regina. CBKT-4 would close down on July 31, 2012, due to budget cuts handed down by the CBC.

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* {{Coord, 50, 17, 17, N, 107, 47, 38, W, region:CA_type:city, display=title 1907 establishments in Saskatchewan Cities in Saskatchewan Populated places established in 1907