Battleford ( 2021 population 4,400) is a 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 B ...

, in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "

The Battlefords The Battlefords is the collective name given to the adjacent communities of the city of North Battleford and the town of Battleford in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. The two communities are separated by the North Saskatchewan River and co ...

". Although there has been occasional talk of the two communities merging, they remain separate entities. The local economy is fuelled mainly by agriculture.

History

The Battleford area, dating from the 1770s, was the site of

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 ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

houses of numerous independent companies as well as the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(that opened its Battleford, or Battle River post circa 1868). William Holmes operated a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

for the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

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 itself was founded in 1875 as a fur trading post and

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary 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 to ...

(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 a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, northern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

) and the NWMP fort ( Fort Battleford) located there played an important role in the 1885

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

. It is also the terminus of the historic Swift Current-Battleford Trail. In 1883, the Battleford Industrial School opened. A residential school for

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

children in Battleford, it operated from 1883 to 1914. It was the first residential school operated by the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

with the aim of assimilating Indigenous people into the society of the settlers. The school was one of three industrial schools opened by the Government of Canada in the early 1880s. The senior officials of the

Department of Indian Affairs Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

arranged for various religious denominations to administer and operate the schools. The federal government delegated responsibility for the Battleford school to an Anglican minister. In 1888, the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

was completed in the area. In 1892, Hudson's Bay Company opened a new store in Battleford, which closed in 1910.

Looting of Battleford

On March 30, 1885, during the

, the town of Battleford was looted by a party of

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

, who were short on food due to declining

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

populations. When the Cree approached Battleford, the 500 residents fled to the nearby

post, Fort Battleford. The Crees then took food and supplies from the abandoned stores and houses. Two people died during the looting. Crooked Leg was accused of killing John Payne, and Man Without Blood was accused of killing a farmer named Tremont. They were convicted of murder and hanged later that year.

Geography

Battleford is located along the North Saskatchewan River near the mouth of the Battle River. It 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.

Climate

Climate data is taken from North Battleford Airport located northeast of the town.

and the surrounding area 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 cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

'' Dfb''). The average high during the end of July is and the average low is . For the middle of January the average high is and the average low is . The highest temperature ever recorded in North Battleford was on July 13, 2002. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on February 1, 1893 and January 12, 1916.

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Battleford had a population of 4.400 living in 1,758 of its 1,877 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 4,429. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The median age of the population in 2021 was 41.6, compared to the provincial figure of 38.8, and 79.6% were over the age of 15. The indigenous population was 23.9%, compared to 17.0% for Saskatchewan. Of the indigenous population, 52.9% were

(Saskatchewan 64.5%), 43.1% were

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

(Saskatchewan 33.4%), and 3.4% gave other responses (Saskatchewan 2.1%).

Historic buildings

National historic sites in Battleford include Fort Battleford National Historic Site of Canada, Battleford Court House 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 Other historic places in Battleford include 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

Attractions

* Fort Battleford, historical

fort near the confluence of Battle River and

* Finlayson Island Nature Park on Finlayson Island, accessed from the old south Battleford Bridge

Local media

;Newspaper The local newspaper is '' The Battlefords News Optimist''. It is published weekly on Thursday and has circulation in the surrounding area. ;Radio Three local radio stations serve the area; CJNB, CJCQ-FM ("Q98"), and CJHD-FM ("93.3 Beach Radio"). Some

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 ...

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 Saskatoon.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Saskatchewan Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Division No. 12, Saskatchewan