Saskatoon straddles the South Saskatchewan River, a prairie city of about 270,000 people joined by a string of bridges. The sky is enormous, the riverbank trails are lovely, and the city has a friendly, unfussy feel. Broadway Avenue is the place for cafes and shops, Nutana is the leafy historic district, and the Remai Modern art museum is a real surprise for a city this size. Wanuskewin Heritage Park tells the story of Indigenous people on the plains, and the Berry Barn is the local stop for Saskatoon berry pie.
It is one of the more affordable large cities in Canada, with rents and home prices well below the national average. Be honest with yourself about two things. Winters are severe, with blizzards and stretches around minus 30, and summer brings mosquitoes and hailstorms. Crime, mostly property crime, runs well above the national average, and Riversdale and parts of the west side need care at night.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
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- Known as
- The City of Bridges; Paris of the Prairies; Hub City; Toon Town; Canada's Potash City (economy)
- Founded
- 1883 founded as a temperance colony; 1906 incorporated as a city
- Languages
- English; French (small francophone community, federal services bilingual); Cree and other Indigenous languages (large Indigenous population); Tagalog; Punjabi; Mandarin; Ukrainian; Arabic; Hindi
- Airports
- Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International (YXE), about 7 km northeast of downtown (about 15 minutes); Regina International (YQR) about 260 km southeast; Prince Albert Glass Field is general aviation only
- Tipping
- Restaurants 15-20% of the pre-tax bill (check the bill, no service charge is usual); bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-5 per bag; tour guides 10-15%; counter service optional. Listed prices exclude tax, and GST/HST/PST are added at checkout
About this data
Population is the 2021 Census figure for the City of Saskatoon (266,141); metro is the 2021 Census Saskatoon CMA (317,480). Newer estimates are higher (CMA about 345,000 by 2024). Source values from Wikipedia summarizing Statistics Canada. Elevation, coordinates, founding, event months, hotel ranges, tipping, cost-of-living comparisons, rents, house prices, crime index values, airport distances and taxes are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified in this pass. Official URLs found via search but not load-tested. Statistics Canada pages could not be fetched (robots block), so 2021 Census figures come from Wikipedia summaries of Census data; confidence moderate.
