Usually the first thing locals in Estevan mention is the sunshine, since the city claims the title of sunniest in Saskatchewan. It is the province's energy city, in the far southeast corner near the North Dakota border. About 11,000 people live here, and the economy depends on coal, oil and power generation.
It is a working town, but visitors can find things to do. The Souris Valley Museum tells local history, and the Boundary Dam and Shand power stations offer seasonal tours. Woodlawn Regional Park and Rafferty Dam are the places to swim, boat and camp. The Roche Percee sandstone formations, about 15 km away, are worth a stop. Housing is affordable while wages are helped by the energy sector, though the town follows the industry's ups and downs. Crime is above the national average, though lower than many Saskatchewan cities. Winters are cold with ground blizzards on Highway 39.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- The Energy City; Sunniest City in Saskatchewan; coal, oil and power hub of southeast Saskatchewan; home of the Souris Valley Museum area and the Estevan Bruins
- Founded
- 1892 first settlers; 1899 village; 1906 town; 1957 city
- Languages
- English (dominant); French heritage communities are small; Ukrainian, German and Tagalog spoken by small numbers of residents; English is sufficient for all visitor services
- Airports
- Estevan Regional Aerodrome (CYEN), small, limited or no scheduled service; Regina International (YQR), about 210 km northwest (about 2 hours 15 minutes by car); Minot International (MOT), North Dakota, about 220 km southeast; Winnipeg (YWG) about 570 km east
- Tipping
- Restaurants 15-20% of the pre-tax bill; bars $1-2 per drink or 15-20% of tab; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; tour guides 10-15%; counter service optional (all amounts CAD; Saskatchewan adds 5% GST plus 6% PST on most goods and services, so about 11% tax on listed prices; hotels may add a small destination fee)
About this data
Population 10,851 (2021 Census), area 9.16 sq km, elevation 572 m (Estevan Airport), coordinates and incorporation dates are from Wikipedia (fetched). Estevan is also a census agglomeration but the CA figure was not retrieved (StatCan blocked, search returned no numbers), so metro is set equal to the city figure and is a lower bound, not the CA total. visitor_website (city site) and event_calendar (guessed /events path) were not confirmed by fetch. Event names and months, hotel ranges, rent, prices, crime index, cost of living and distances are recalled or approximate and not verified. All money in CAD.
