Regina

Regina, the "Queen City," is the provincial capital of Saskatchewan. Established in 1882 as a railroad town and incorporated in 1903, Regina ("queen" in Latin) was named in honor of Britain's Queen Victoria. It is the province's second-largest city, after Saskatoon. Statistics Canada noted the city's population at 215,106 in the 2016 census.

Though Saskatoon is larger, Regina is the province's main commercial and financial center. The city is also a major transportation and industrial hub for Western Canada. Important industries include energy, food-processing, meatpacking, manufacturing, energy, and financial services.

The city retains much of its frontier heritage, although the population has become increasingly cosmopolitan over the years. Regina was the original headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which still retains a fort and the national training center in the city. Other tourist attractions include numerous art and music festivals, museums, and parks.

Landscape

Regina is located on Wascana Creek, in the prairie region of Saskatchewan. This area is a wide, flat, well-watered agricultural plain. Located on the Trans-Canada Highway, the city is approximately 563 kilometers (350 miles) west of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and around 764 kilometers (475 miles) east of Calgary, Alberta.

Regina is about 193 kilometers (120 miles) south of Saskatoon, the province's largest city. It is also 29 kilometers (80 miles) north of the United States border. Regina measures approximately 118 square kilometers (about 45 square miles) in area.

Wascana Centre, an immense park in the city center, includes the provincial legislature and other government offices, various museums, and walking trails. As a major financial and commercial center, Regina has many skyscrapers, including the McCallum Hill towers.

People

The population of Regina is largely of British and Western European heritage, but there are large minorities of French, First Nations, Métis, and Eastern Europeans (especially Ukrainians). The Aboriginal population grew from 15,685 in 2001 to 18,750 in 2011 and 20,925 in 2016.

The city expanded rapidly after World War II, but population growth slowed significantly by the early twenty-first century. Approximately 21 percent of the province's population lived in the Regina census metropolitan area (CMA) in 2016, according to Statistics Canada data. The neighboring community of Moose Jaw forms a larger metropolitan area with Regina.

Reginans are generally well educated. The city boasts several universities, including the University of Regina and the Saskatchewan Polytechnic. The First Nations University (formerly the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College) offers a unique curriculum focusing on Native studies.

The city has a well developed mass-media market. The city's major newspaper, the Leader-Post, publishes on a daily basis, and there are numerous radio and television stations, including a community cable television station. The city also has a French-language TV station.

Regina's cultural attractions are a mixture of "down-home," such as the Queen City Ex festival, and sophisticated, such as the Globe Theatre and the Regina Symphony Orchestra. There are several high-quality art venues, including the Dunlop and Mackenzie galleries.

Professional sports are highly popular in Regina. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League (CFL) team, while the Regina Red Sox play in the Western Major Baseball League. The Regina Pats are part of the Western Hockey League. Collegiate teams include the University of Regina Cougars, and the Regina Rams of the U Sports organization.

Economy

Regina is the major financial and commercial center for Saskatchewan. The most important industries are agriculture and mining. Regina is surrounded by fields of wheat and other grains. Not surprisingly, the city's agricultural activity focuses on food processing, agricultural biotechnology, meatpacking, and agricultural equipment manufacture. Oil and gas mining is the other major industry. Natural gas is the main source of home heating.

Tourism is another important part of Regina's economy, with visitors from the United States, other parts of Canada, and around the world coming to the city. Many visitors come to enjoy the province's cultural festivals, museums, and performing arts, as well as outdoor sports. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's national training academy is located in Regina and hosts the famous RCMP "Musical Ride," with its displays of fancy riding.

As provincial capital, Regina has an extensive transportation network. It is on the route of the east-west Trans-Canada Highway, as well as several provincial highways. The city is also on the routes of the Canada National Railway (a branch line) and the Canada Pacific Railway (the main line).

Regina has air-travel access via the Regina International Airport and smaller, regional facilities. The city also operates a public transit service, including regular bus travel, as well as a shared ride system known as the Paratransit Service, for use by patrons with disabilities.

Landmarks

Regina is full of historical landmarks, many relating to the city's history as a frontier outpost of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The RCMP post includes the RCMP Museum and national training academy.

Wascana Centre is a huge urban park covering around 2,300 acres in the center of the city, containing provincial offices including the provincial legislature building, completed in 1912. Many museums are located there, including the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. A major feature of the park is the artificial Wascana Lake, which was created around 1906 and dredged and deepened in 2004. Government House, mansion of the province's lieutenant governors until 1945, was first inhabited in 1891.

Several Regina museums are housed in historic buildings. The Saskatchewan Science Centre may be found in the former city powerhouse, which opened in 1914. The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was established in the former Land Titles Building.

Other notable cultural institutions in Regina include the Conexus Arts Centre, the MacKenzie Art Gallery, and the Dunlop Art Gallery. The historical Civic Museum of Regina (formerly the Regina Plains Museum) operated between 1960 and 2015.

The Saskatchewan War Memorial, honoring the men and women from the province who served in World War I, is located next to the legislature. The memorial was completed in 1995.

In a major urban renewal project, twenty-four downtown blocks were converted into a "Market Square." The project includes numerous pedestrian walkways, including many "skyways" connecting buildings. The Casino Regina is located in a converted railroad station, one of the city's oldest buildings.

Sports venues include the Regina Sportplex, an immense physical-fitness facility. Evraz Place hosts many major agricultural events, such as the Canadian Western Agribition. It is the location of the Brandt Centre (formerly the Agridome), a major sports and entertainment venue.

History

Regina was established in 1882, along the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway's transcontinental railroad, at the site of a community originally known as "Pile of Bones" (from all the buffalo bones found in the area). The new name, "Regina" (Latin for "queen"), was given by Princess Louise, wife of Canadian Governor-General Lord Lorne and daughter of Queen Victoria. This gave Regina its nickname of "Queen City."

That same year, Regina became the headquarters for the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), established by the Dominion Government in 1873 to maintain law and order in the western territories. Regina served as NWMP headquarters until 1920, when the force was merged with the Dominion Police to create the present-day Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

In 1883, Regina became capital of the Northwest Territories. The community was chartered as a town in December, and David Scott was elected the first mayor the following January.

Regina was the site of the hanging of Métis leader Louis Riel, leader of the North-West Rebellion of 1885. The Métis people resented the increasing white settlement, as well as the Dominion's efforts to force them onto reserves and wanted to establish an independent Métis nation. The North-West Rebellion ultimately failed, and Riel was executed in Regina on November 16, 1885. Many people in the province, and throughout Canada, still consider him a hero.

Settlement increased rapidly during the 1880s and 1890s, and Regina was incorporated as a city on July 19, 1903. On May 23, 1906, nine months after Saskatchewan became a province, the city was declared the new provincial capital.

On June 30, 1912, Regina was hit by a massive tornado that destroyed hundreds of buildings in the downtown area, causing around $5 million in damage. Hundreds of people were injured, and twenty-eight were killed.

During World War I, Regina contributed its share of troops and supplies, as well as large amounts of agricultural products, to the war effort. Major military units based in Regina included the Royal Regina Rifles, formed in 1907, which saw service in France.

After the war, the city was among the places hit by the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918–20. Several hundred people died (approximately 5,000 died throughout Saskatchewan). Other tragedies of the 1920s included the flooding of the Wascana Creek in 1922.

The city's first airport was built in 1920. Radio broadcasting began in 1922, and General Motors built an assembly plant in 1928. But Regina, like the rest of the province, suffered severely during the Great Depression, which devastated farm prices. Thousands of people in Regina, as in the rest of Western Canada, were thrown out of work.

Public unrest over the Depression resulted in the Regina Riot on July 1, 1935, one of the more violent incidents in the province's history. Around 1,300 unemployed men were traveling from Vancouver to Ottawa to protest to the federal government. Prime Minister R. B. Bennett sent police to maintain order and disband the protestors. This led to an armed confrontation. One police officer and a protestor were killed, and more than eighty other people were injured.

The Depression also led to the creation of a socialist movement of farmers and working-class people, known as the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). In 1944, the CCF won the provincial elections and established a socialist government that lasted until 1961 and set up many social-welfare policies, including a pioneering program of universal health care.

During World War II, Regina was again an important part of Canada's war effort. The Royal Regina Rifles served in the Normandy invasion (D-Day) force as part of the Third Canadian Infantry Division, landing at Juno Beach.

In the post-war era, Regina's economy prospered with the discovery of petroleum and natural gas, but became dependent on fluctuations in energy prices. An oil pipeline was built in 1950. In 1962, IPSCO steel mill opened.

Urban renewal began in the 1970s. Notable new construction included the Centre of the Arts in 1970, and the new city hall in 1976. In 1989, the Saskatchewan Science Centre opened its doors.

The economy suffered during the 1980s, as farm and energy prices dropped. This led to the ouster in 1982 of the long-governing New Democratic Party (NDP), which had come to power during World War II. The incoming Progressive Conservatives under Premier Grant Devine introduced many free-market measures that promoted economic growth, but the Tory government lost power in 1991 due to a series of scandals. Under centrist NDP premier Roy Romanow, Regina's economy generally prospered during the 1990s, although the economy continued to be affected by changes in petroleum prices.

In 2003, Regina celebrated its centennial as a city. In 2005, the city hosted the biennial national sports festival Jeux du Canada Summer Games and, the following year, the prestigious Brier Curling Championship tournament.

Over the years Regina has received royal visits on various occasions. These have included Princess Anne for the 1982 commemoration of its settlement and in 2004 for the remembrance of D-Day; Prince Edward several times; and Queen Elizabeth II herself in 1959, 1973, 1978, 1987 and 2005.

Trivia

• The Canadian Western Agribition, an annual agricultural show held in Regina, is Canada's largest livestock show.
• The First Nations University (formerly the Saskatchewan Federated Indian College), is Canada's only university dedicated to First Nation studies and operated by First Nation peoples. It is affiliated with the University of Regina.
• Regina has enjoyed several visits from British royalty. The first came in 1882, with a trip by Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne. In 1939, the city was visited by Britain's King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth.
• The provincial Legislative Building, completed in 1912, is constructed of Manitoba limestone.

Bibliography

Brennan, J. William. "Regina." The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 12 Mar. 2019, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/regina/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

Elliot, Doug. Completed Education Levels in Regina." Sask Trends Monitor. Regina Chamber of Commerce, n.d.

Elliot, Doug. "Diversity in Regina." Sask Trends Monitor. Regina Chamber of Commerce, n.d.

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, Canadian Plains Research Center, 2014, esask.uregina.ca/entry/canadian‗plains‗research‗center.jsp. Accessed 20 Mar. 2014.

"Regina History and Facts." City of Regina, 2021, www.regina.ca/about-regina/regina-history-facts/index.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

MacDonald, Daniel. "Regina: The Little City with a Wild Side." Canadian Theatre Rev., vol. 154, 2013, pp. 32–36.

Tourism Regina, Regina Regional Opportunities Commission, 2021, tourismregina.com/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.