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Local: Saskatoon History - The Post-War Years

It wasn't until the early 1900's, when the town had grown to 20,000 people due to the amalgamation of the three settlements that the community had proved that it was going to survive. With Saskatoon becoming a city in 1906, their borrowing powers increased dramatically and this encouraged an outburst of city spending, including the development of sewer and water works. These improvements made it sensible to build permanent structures. The majority of structure made prior to these advancements have not lasted.

After World War II, significant reserves of oil were found in Saskatchewan, both in the northwest around Lloydminster, and the east around Estevan. This broadened the resource base of the province away from agriculture and potash. Saskatoon also benefited from the surge of European immigrants after the War. By 1948 electric trolleys began replacing the street railway, completed by 1951. Over the next decade, Saskatoon grew to 95,000 residents.

Today Saskatoon has over 200,000 people, and is Saskatchewan's largest city, with significant growth in population over the 1980's. The main industry continues to be agriculture, Saskatoon is also very blessed with being one of primary forces in Saskatchewan's growth of half of the entire quantity of Canada's major export crops. Mining is also an important part of the economy, with the Saskatoon area is the world's largest exporter of uranium, and source of almost two-thirds of the world's recoverable potash reserves. High technology is also growing, fueled by proximity to the well-regarded University of Saskatchewan.

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