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One big Buffalo
It is one of Canada's great
historical what-ifs. Instead of
the provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan, Canada might have
had one big province in the West called
Buffalo. That's what Frederick Haultain,
who served as premier of what was then
the North-West Territories until the
creation of the two provinces in 1905,
insisted made the most sense. But
Ottawa disagreed, and 2005 marks the
100th anniversary of Alberta and
Saskatchewan, the West's fraternal twins.
Coming in January/February, a
special issue will mark the centennial.
In it, Alberta author Aritha van Herk
recounts how the two provinces were
born and travels the border to explore
what they have become. Candace Savage
follows the trail of one of the only
remaining purebred herds of plains
bison in Canada. Gordon Laird recalls
the legacy of his great-great-uncle
David Laird, who negotiated many
of the treaties with the prairie First
Nations. Laura Leyshon photographs
the people of the border city of Lloydminster.
And, from our cartography
department, a poster-map featuring
the two provinces in 1905 and, on the
reverse, a satellite image of the same
area today.
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BUY THIS ISSUE OR SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE 22%! OR VISIT YOUR LOCAL NEWSSTAND FOR THE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
2004 ISSUE OF CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC.
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