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Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

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Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Downtown Prince Albert
Downtown Prince Albert
Location of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Location of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
CountryCanada
ProvinceSaskatchewan
Government
 • City MayorJim Scarrow
 • Governing BodyPrince Albert City Council
 • MPsBrian Fitzpatrick
 • MLAsMyron Kowalsky
Eldon Lautermilch
Area
 • Total
65.68 km2 (25.36 sq mi)
Elevation
440 m (1,440 ft)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total
34,138
 • Density512/km2 (1,330/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
Websitehttp://www.citypa.ca
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks along the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan. Prince Albert National Park is located just 51 km north of the city and contains a huge wealth of lakes, forest, and wildlife.

Demographics

  • 2006 Census Population: 34,138
  • 2006 Sask Health Population: 40,140
  • 2001 Median Age: 31.9 for males, 35.0 for females
  • Total Private Dwellings: 14,029
  • Dwellings occupied by permanent residents: 13,240

History

The first white man to come through the area that is now Prince Albert was Henry Kelsey in 1692. The first establishment in the area was a trading post set up by Peter Pond, which the area is now named after (1776).

James Isbister, an Anglo-Metis employee of the Hudson's Bay Company settled on the site of the current city in 1862. He farmed there until 1866, and had been joined by a number of families who called the site Isbister's Settlement. He later moved back to Prince Albert and lived out his remaining days there.

The community was founded in 1866, by Rev. James Nisbet, a Canada Presbyterian Church minister who came to establish a mission for the Cree. It was he who named the community after Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in honour of the deceased 1861 husband of Queen Victoria. In 1879 the Presbyterian Church brought out Lucy Margaret Baker to run the mission school.

In 1884 Honore Jaxon and James Isbister were involved in the movement which brought Louis Riel back to Canada.

In the Northwest Rebellion of the following year, Prince Albert Volunteers bore the heaviest casualties of the fighting at the Battle of Duck Lake, and surrounding settlers took refuge with the North West Mounted Police in a hastily improvised stockade at Prince Albert fearing an attack by Gabriel Dumont which never came.

After the Battle of Batoche, Major General Frederick Middleton marched on to Prince Albert to relieve the town.

1885 also marks the year that Prince Albert was incorporated as a town under its first mayor, Thomas McKay.

In 1904, the settlement was incorporated as the city of Prince Albert, then named after Prince Albert Victor, father of the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII). Its government is of a council-mayor type.

By odd political coincidence, the federal constituency of Prince Albert has been represented by three prime ministers of Canada:

There are three historical museums of high interest in Prince Albert. The combined The Evolution of Education Museum and Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections are located at the tourist information centre just off of Highway #2 South. The second museum, the Historical Society Museum, is located in an old Fire Hall at the north end of Central Avenue on River Street. The John G. Diefenbaker house is a historic site open to the public and is found on 249 19th Street West. Across from the Historical Society Museum, is the site of Diefenbaker's constituency office that is not open to the public.

Famous people from Prince Albert include sprinter Harry Jerome, singer Jon Vickers, and ice hockey player Johnny Bower. Prince Albert was also for a time home to Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. As well, Boris Karloff, famous for his roles in horror films portraying characters like Frankenstein's Monster and The Mummy, resided in Prince Albert during the early 20th century.

In the early beginnings of Saskatchewan, Prince Albert was one of the choices to house either the University of Saskatchewan or the Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary. Due to Saskatoon's convenient location, the university was built there, and the penitentiary was built in Prince Albert.

Interesting facts

Sports

The city is home to the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. They play out of the 3,366 seat Art Hauser Centre.

Arts and Entertainment

Music Scene

Metal

  • One of the first metal bands of the Prince Albert area were known as The Blood Sucking Pigeons From Hell. The group released three albums on the independent Heavy Metal Connection label. The first self titled album was released in 1986 and was followed up in 1988 by Boy You Gotta Big C*** and finally by Brutallica Live in the same year. The group never officially disbanded but has been relatively inactive since the early 90's.
  • Prince Albert has houses a steady metal scene that has been running for the past few years. Although, it remains primarily a teenage gathering, the metal scene continues to gain steam due to the efforts of local production groups (Built Low and another unnamed production) . Some of the more prominent bands are Cessate, Dead Like God, Symbiote, and The Never Was. Because of this rapidly growing metal scene, Prince Albert has the chance to see many struggling underground bands of the genre from all throughout the country.

Punk rock

  • In the 1990's the local punk band Oswald's Walking Connection enjoyed some prominence being featured on a continental compilation CD and releasing a few independent recordings before breaking up. For a short time, the punk band Counter-State emerged, playing only once to a small crowd. Before the band's demise in late 2005, they were able to release the EP Fighting For Our Lives. Basing heavy influences on bands like Aus Rotten and Leftöver Crack. 2 Minute Hate is also a well known punk band in the later 90s that rocked the punk music scene in Prince Albert. They did a number of shows in the city sharing the stage with other bands such as Shed. 2 Minute Hate had some of the biggest turnouts at there shows in Prince Albert hitting the scene when the punk fashion/genre was really getting popular. Members of 2 Minute Hate still reside in Prince Albert and are working on other projects and lead singer/guitar Trevor Bremner now resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba and is working on a CD release. Another up and coming Punk/Metal band one the rise is The Never Was, who blend styles of Metal and hardcore Punk bands such as Pennywise and Propaghandi.

Rave/Electronic

  • In the late 1990s and early turn of the century Prince Albert had a relatively vibrant electronic dance music scene. Local groups such as 3thos Productions (pronounced 'ethos') and Da Funk Squad (DFS) were responsible for the majority of events put on in the city during this period. The scene began to dwindle after public perception of these events began to emerge in favour of a viewpoint that 'raves' were facilitating the use of elicit substances. The combination of this viewpoint and changing trends in society played a role in the highly decreased prevelancy of these events in Prince Albert and elsewhere.

Christian rock

  • Prince Albert has a small Christian rock following. A number of Christian pop punk bands have emerged in the last few years. Expense Paid, Roberta, and 2-50 (Two Fifty) Ties are three of those bands. Each of those bands are usually more popular in their home church.

Alternative rock

  • Prince Albert has a small alternative rock scene. In the last few years bands have come and gone with 44 Slide achieving some success as they have recorded two albums. "Slave to the System" is a ten song full length album while their newest album "Greed" is a five song EP. 44 Slide has performed at various festivals in the city.
  • Another local rock band is Idle Thoughts. The three-piece band, led by Jason Moon, released its first album, "crappystinkylove", in 1996, and currently releases a new song each month to its website where you are able to download the tunes for free. Out of the band Idle Thoughts has also come to be Jason Moon's solo music.

Country

  • Prince Albert has been known for their country music scene across Saskatchewan.
  • One of Prince Albert's foremost venue for showcasing local and talent from outside of the Prince Albert region is the Country North Show. The Country North Show has been huge success since its inception many years ago and has been a launching pad for many artists in the area.
  • Various artists from the area have gone on to do bigger and better things. Those artists include Jessica Robinson and Donny Parenteau. After a stint as a Neal McCoy fiddle player, Parenteau returned home to launch his own solo career. Other artists stay in the city and become well known throughout the local country music scene. Heidi Munro, Rick Martin (sometimes alongside his band Country Connection), Steppin' Out, among others. But Steppin' Out has been known to play rock also and not just country.
  • Parenteau and country/gospel artist Rick Martin have even won Saskatchewan Country Music Awards in their respective categories.
  • One of the biggest supporters of the country music scene in the area has been Six Shooters Saloon.

Concerts

Drama

Carlton High School is known for its productions dealing with topics such as Nazism, dark Gothic romances, and light hearted children's plays. Every year, three productions are put on with one being the children's play that tours the public elementary schools in November. The next play is put on in early March and is a contestant in the region 7 drama festival. The final play is often presented in early May, consisting of a large cast and crew. Most often this play is of Shakespearean orient but with a strange modernized twist. As well, the drama club often does a short film to complement the final play.

Carlton High School also has a French drama group called Les Solipsistes, directed by Michael Bowden, a French immersion and core French teacher. The group performs two plays every year, one Christmas play, directed towards children, and a competition play for the drama festival.

Prince Albert is also home to the Odyssey Dinner Theatre, which puts on two or three plays a year, which are always accompianied by a dinner.

Over the last three years, Prince Albert has had the pleasure of being home to Shakespeare in the Park, produced by Prince Albert's very own ShortStuff Productions. ShortStuff Productions is a local theatre group started by Joan and Desmond Short. Their past shows have included Jesus Christ Superstar, Baba & Gido's 50th Wedding Anniversary and The Rocky Horror Show.

Festivals

Every year Prince Albert has a variety of festivals, fairs, shows, etc. Different times of the year yield different festivals.

Economy

Prince Albert is situated on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River with rich agricultural land to the south and the boreal forest to the north. Although Prince Albert is centrally located in Saskatchewan it is the most northern city in the province. This physical location has led to the creation of the slogan "Gateway to the North."

The city's location has benefited the community in many ways through the years as an agriculture, forestry, tourism, mining, retail, and service centre for the immediate market and the northern communities. Prince Albert has a total trade area of 140,000 people, including an additional 12,000 that can be included if Flin Flon and The Pas are accounted for. The major contributing factor to this is the role of Prince Albert as a retail and service centre to these northern communities.

There are a number of major developments that are happening around Prince Albert. Diamond exploration is currently going on north of the City and it is expected a mine may go up around 2010-2011. Bio-fuels are also playing a significant role to the area. The Prince Albert region is one of the richest areas in the province for agriculture and with the current emphasis on bio-fuel technology from the provincial and federal governments, it is expected that this economic sector will only grow. Uranium is also expected to play a bigger role in the future development of Prince Albert. There is speculation that, because of the proximity to the uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan, that this area could be ideal for a value-added type of business.

The forestry industry is also a major contributor to the economy of Prince Albert. Prince Albert currently hosts the Provincial Forestry Centre, a building that hosts significant wood and forestry related types of businesses and associations. With the closure of the Weyerhaeuser mill, new opportunites will undeniably come from the availability of the forest.

The current housing market is currently the strongest it has been in modern history. There is significant interest from Alberta and Ontario investors as the mineral potential starts to materialize.

Prince Albert is also still heavily reliant on its government service sector, which accounts for about 11% of the workforce. In addition, the Prince Albert Grand Council and local First Nations groups contribute significantly to the local economy.

Railway

File:IM001872.JPG
OmniTRAX Diesel -Hudson Bay Railway- behind it Carlton Trail Diesel, PA yards

For years the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National dominated the city of Prince Albert, operating on both sides of 15th St. In 1991 CPR decided to shut down rail line operations and with that two grain elevators located on the north half of 15th were torn down. As years went on grain was able to be stored and sorted in much larger elevators, and two state of the art cement elevators were built. These two owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and the smaller one located in the CN yards -owned by United Grain Growers- operated in P.A. until recently when the southern one was torn down. In 2001 CNR announced the shortline was up for sale due to lack of productivity. OmniTRAX, an American shortline railway bought the line and called it Carlton Trail Railway. Currently Carlton Trail Railway resides in the old CNR yard, storing tank cars for CN, transporting grain, and refurbishing diesel engines for other OmniTRAX lines.

Education

The city has a total of five high schools. St. Mary High School, and Rivier Academy (private, all-girls) are part of the Prince Albert Catholic School Division, while Carlton Comprehensive High School (largest high school in Saskatchewan), WESMOR (Acronym of the rural elementary schools Wildrose, East Central, Spruce Home, Meath Park, Osborne, and Redwing), and P.A.C.I (Prince Albert Collegiate Institute) are in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division.

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division operates 26 schools and the Prince Albert Catholic School Division operates nine schools.

Post-secondary schools found in Prince Albert include the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) Woodland Campus, First Nations University of Canada (Northern Campus), Gabriel Dumont Institute, and Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT).

  • Carlton Comprehensive High School was the first school in Prince Albert to create the Gay Straight Alliance(GSA)club in the city. The GSA has been functioning since 2005 and continues to sponsor local school events such as school dances. The GSA has also lead towards the GTA or Gay Teen Alliance which meets every Friday at their headquarters on 2nd ave.

Royal presence

Main Article: Monarchy in Saskatchewan

Prince Albert has welcomed the following members of Canada's Royal Family:

Local media

Radio stations

Television stations

Newspapers

Famous Prince Albertans

Notable persons who were born or lived in Prince Albert include:

References

  • Abrams, Gary W. D. (1966). Prince Albert: The First Century. Modern Press, Saskatoon.
  • OmniTrax + Carlton Trail official site


53°12′N 105°45′W / 53.200°N 105.750°W / 53.200; -105.750

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