Battleford ( 2011 population 4,065) is a small town located across the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...

from the City of

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...

, 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 Dak ...

, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords" by Saskatchewan residents, as well as on highway signage. Although there has been occasional talk of the two communities merging, as of 2012 they remain separate entities. The local economy is fuelled mainly by agriculture. Battleford is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Battle River No. 438, as well as by the city of North Battleford and a small section of the

Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. 437 The Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. 437 ( 2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 16 and Division No. 6. Located in the west-central portion of the provin ...

. The 1973 western ''

Alien Thunder ''Alien Thunder'' (also known as ''Dan Candy's Law'') is a 1974 Canadian Northern film directed by Claude Fournier and starring Donald Sutherland. Its original screenplay was written by W.O. Mitchell but Mitchell removed his name from the fi ...

'' was partially filmed in Battleford.

History

The Battleford area was the site of numerous independent and Hudson's Bay Company fur trading houses dating from the 1770s. William Holmes operated a post for the North West Company just above the confluence of the Battle and Saskatchewan rivers in 1784. At least three posts were in use between 1868 and 1914. The town was founded in 1875 as a

fur trading 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 most ...

post and North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort. Its post office opened in 1877. Between 1876 and 1883, Battleford was the territorial capital of the North-West Territories (now

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 ...

, Nunavut, northern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, northern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and the Northwest Territories) and the NWMP fort (

Fort Battleford Fort Battleford was the sixth North-West Mounted Police fort to be established in the North-West Territories of Canada, and played a central role in the events of the North-West Rebellion of 1885. It was here Chief Poundmaker was arrested, an ...

) located there played an important role in the 1885 North-West Rebellion. It is also the terminus of the historic Swift Current-Battleford Trail.

Looting of Battleford

On March 30, 1885, during the North-West Rebellion, the town of Battleford was looted by a party of Cree people, who were short on food due to declining bison populations. When the Cree approached Battleford, the 500 residents fled to the nearby North-West Mounted Police post,

. The Crees then took food and supplies from the abandoned stores and houses.

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, Battleford 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.

Historic buildings

National historic sites in Battleford include

National Historic Site of Canada,

Battleford Court House Battleford Court House is the facility located in Battleford, Saskatchewan, Battleford to provide a public forum used by the Saskatchewan legal system to adjudication, adjudicate disputes and dispense private law, civil, labour, administrative a ...

National Historic Site of Canada and Old Government House / Saint-Charles Scholasticate National Historic Site of Canada. The Old Government House, built in 1878–1879, was destroyed by fire in 2003 and was the seat of Territorial Government from 1878 to 1883 The Battleford Land Registry Office built between 1877 and 1878 is the last remaining building on Battleford's Government Ridge that dates from the Territorial era. Other heritage buildings include the District Court House, the Town Hall / Opera House, the Former Land Titles Building, The Station Building, the Fred Light Museum (St. Vital School), St. Vital Church, Gardiner Church and the Former Bank of Montreal Building. File:Pano Fort Battleford.jpg, Fort Battleford File:Governmenthousebattleford.png, Old Government House File:Old Government House Battleford.jpg, Remains of Old Government House File:Battleford Court House.jpg, Battleford Court House

Local media

;Newspaper The local newspaper is '' The Battlefords News Optimist''. It is published weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays, and has circulation in the surrounding area. ;Radio Three local radio stations serve the area;

CJNB CJNB is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts a country format at 1050 AM in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Owned by the Jim Pattison Group, it is headquartered alongside its sister stations CJCQ-FM and CJHD-FM at 1711 100th Street in Nort ...

CJCQ-FM CJCQ-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 97.9 FM in North Battleford, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwes ...

("Q98"), and

CJHD-FM CJHD-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts an active rock format, branded as ''93.3 The Rock'' at 93.3 FM in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. Its local sister stations are CJNB and CJCQ-FM CJCQ-FM is a Canadian radio station ...

("93.3 The Rock"). Some

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the 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 Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

radio stations can also be received. ;Television The Battlefords are served by CFQC-TV-2 channel 6, an analogue repeater of CTV station

CFQC-DT CFQC-DT (channel 8) is a television station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station has studios on 1st Avenue North and 23rd Street East in the Central ...

Saskatoon.

References