Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

and 300 kilometres south-east of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the city was 19,643. Yorkton has had a growth rate of 4.3% since 2011.Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2016 Census – Census subdivisions
/ref> Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. The city is bordered by the rural municipalities of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

to the north, west, and south, and

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

on the east.

History

In 1882 a group of businessmen and investors formed the York Farmers Colonization Company. Authorized to issue up to $300,000 in

debentures In corporate finance, a debenture is a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money, at a fixed rate of interest. The legal term "debenture" originally referred to a document that either creates a debt or acknowle ...

and lenient government credit terms on land purchases encouraged company representatives to visit the District of

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distri ...

of the

North-West Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

with the intent to view some

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

available near the Manitoba border. They were impressed with what they saw and the group purchased portions of six

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

near the Little Whitesand River (now Yorkton Creek) for the purpose of settlement and to establish a centre for trade there. This centre would become known as York Colony. The company founded the settlers' colony on the banks of the Little Whitesand River where lots were given freely to settlers who purchased land from them. The colony remained at its site until 1889. It was originally located at PT SE 1/4 13-26-4 W2M. In 1889 the rail line was extended to the Yorkton area. It was at this time the colony townsite relocated alongside the new rail line.

Geography

Yorkton is located in the

aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...

ecosystem. The terrain is mainly one of agriculture and there is no forestry industry. It is also in an area of black calcareous

chernozem Chernozem (from rus, чернозём, p=tɕɪrnɐˈzʲɵm, r=chernozyom; "black ground"), also called black soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compou ...

ic soils. The Yorkton area was located on the edge of an area of a maximum glacial lake. The quaternary geology has left the area as a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sh ...

plain consisting of glacial deposits. The bedrock geology is the Pembina Member of Vermillion River Formation and Riding Mountain Formation. Yorkton is located in the physiographic region of the Quill Lake-Yorkton Plain region of the Saskatchewan Plains Region.

Climate

Yorkton has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

''), with extreme seasonal temperatures. It has warm summers and cold winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from in January to in July. The highest temperature ever recorded in Yorkton was on 19 July 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 20 January 1943.

Extreme weather events

* On the evening of July 1, 2010, Yorkton received a

severe thunderstorm warning A severe thunderstorm warning ( SAME code: SVR) is a severe weather warning product issued by regional offices of weather forecasting agencies throughout the world to alert the public that severe thunderstorms are imminent or occurring. A sev ...

. Soon after, Yorkton was experiencing pea sized hail, strong winds, lightning and heavy rain. The rain created a

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ...

. Broadway Street received the worst of the flood with local businesses being severely damaged, with one being completely destroyed. The City of Yorkton declared a

State of Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

and the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Yorkton had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The first settlers to the Yorkton colony were English from Eastern Ontario and Great Britain. west were Scottish settlers at the settlement of

. A significant number of residents are also descended from immigrants from Ukraine who came in the early 20th century.

Attractions

The Yorkton Gallagher Centre is an entertainment complex constructed in 1977 by the civic government and the Yorkton Exhibition Association. The centre includes an arena, curling rink, conference rooms and an indoor swimming pool. Until 2005, the facility was called the Parkland Agriplex. In the early 1900s an older

Agriplex An agriplex ("agricultural complex"), is a type of community centre found in rural agricultural towns and communities in North America, especially Canada. An agriplex usually includes recreation, sports, and meeting facilities in addition to a lar ...

building was located on the fair grounds adjacent to the Gallagher Centre. Yorkton is home to a branch of the

Saskatchewan Western Development Museum The Western Development Museum is a network of four museums in Saskatchewan, Canada preserving and recording the social and economic development of the province. The museum has branches in Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Saskatoon and Yorkton. Resp ...

, which houses a number of exhibits depicting pioneer life in the town and on the surrounding

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

. The museum includes an early pioneer log home and an extensive outdoor exhibit of

agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that ...

, including early

tractors A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

and

steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

. Located on several buildings in downtown Yorkton are murals depicting historic personalities.

Historic sites

A number of heritage buildings are located within the city. Yorkton Tower Theatre is a single screen movie theatre built in the 1950s. Army Navy and Air Force Veterans Building, Dulmage Farmstead, Hudson's Bay Company Store, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Yorkton Armoury, Yorkton Court House, 29 Myrtle Avenue, 81 Second Avenue North, Old Land Titles Building and Yorkton Organic Milling Ltd are also listed historic places.

Yorkton Film Festival

Film Festivals have been an enduring part of life in Yorkton since the projector spun to life in October 1947. At that time the Yorkton International Documentary Film Festival was born. The international component was dropped in 1977, deciding to focus on Canadian short film instead. The festival renamed itself the Yorkton Short Film Festival also in 1977. In 2009 it became the Yorkton Film Festival.

Sports

The city of Yorkton hosted the

1999 Royal Bank Cup The 1999 Royal Bank Cup is the 29th Junior "A" 1999 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The Royal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Page Cup ...

(Junior "A"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

National Championship), the

2006 World Junior A Challenge The World Junior A Challenge 2006 was an international Junior "A" ice hockey tournament hosted by Hockey Canada. The 2006 World Junior A Challenge was hosted by the Canadian City of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Summary The final was between Canada Eas ...

(an international Junior "A" ice hockey tournament) and the

2009 Canada Cup of Curling The 2009 Canada Cup of Curling was held March 18-22 at the Farrell Agencies Arena in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Men's Teams * Kevin Koe (Defending champion) * Kevin Martin (2008 Brier Champion) * Glenn Howard (2008 Player's Championship champion) ( ...

Teams

The Yorkton Terriers are a team in the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

. The

Yorkton Rawtec Maulers Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of ...

are a Midget AAA ice hockey team and they are a member of the

SMAAAHL The Saskatchewan Male U18 'AAA' Hockey League (SMAAAHL), formerly the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League,) is a U-18 'AAA' ice hockey league, with teams based in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the highest level of minor hockey in ...

. The teams play their games in the 2,300 sea
Westland Arena
in the Yorkton Gallagher Centre Yorkton Cardinals were a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team playing in the

Western Canadian Baseball League The Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league based in Saskatchewan and Alberta that descends from leagues dating to 1931. History The league can trace its roots back to 1931, via its predecessors. The South ...

. The

Yorkton Bulldogs The Yorkton Bulldogs are a Junior B box lacrosse team based out of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. They are a member of the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League. Founded in 2003, the Bulldogs gain most of their talent from Yorkton Minor Lacrosse, Whitewood and ...

are a retired box lacrosse team formed in 2003. They are a member of the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League.

Government

Municipal

The current mayor as of 2020 is Mitch Hippsley. He is serving with councillors Randy Goulden, Quinn Haider, Dustin Brears, Darcy Zaharia, Chris Wyatt, and Ken Chyz.

Provincial

The city is located in the Provincial Electoral District of Yorkton. This riding is served in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party is a centre-right political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Since 2007, it has been the province's governing party; both the party and the province are currently led by Premier Scott Moe. The party was est ...

MLA

Greg Ottenbreit Greg Ottenbreit (born November 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician. He was elected to represent the electoral district of Yorkton in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the 2007 election. He is a member of the Saskatchewan Party. Before ...

Federal

The federal constituency of

Yorkton—Melville Yorkton—Melville is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district is in east-central Saskatchewan. History The electoral district was cre ...

is represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

Cathay Wagantall Cathay Wagantall (née Cathy Caswell; born March 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal electoral riding of Yorkton—Melville during the 2015 Canadi ...

of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...

. From 1968 to 1993, Yorkton was represented federally by

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

Lorne Nystrom Lorne Edmund Nystrom, (born April 26, 1946) is a Canadian politician and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2004. He is a member of the New Democratic Party. Nystrom has been a prominent figu ...

who at his first election win was the youngest person to be elected to the Canadian Parliament.

Infrastructure

Health care

Yorkton established its first hospital in 1902, and this was followed by a maternity care home which lasted a couple of decades. The original hospital was converted into a residential apartment, which in 2014 suffered a large fire which engulfed the entire building. The current hospital, the Yorkton Regional Health Centre, is located on Bradbrooke Drive and is part of the Sunrise Health Region.

Transportation

Yellowhead hwy near Yorkton Saskatchewan

Air

During the Second World War an airport was built north of Yorkton for the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

's No. 11 Service Flying Training School. It is now operated as the

Yorkton Municipal Airport Yorkton Municipal Airport is located north of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. History During World War II the airport was operated as RCAF Station Yorkton and was home to No. 23 Elementary Flying Training School and No. 11 Service Flying T ...

.Aircraft Movement Statistics: Airports Without Air Traffic Control Towers (TP 577)
Movements from

Roads

Yorkton is located at the intersection of Hwy 52, Hwy 10, Hwy 9 and The Yellowhead which is part of the

Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean ...

Rail

Yorkton is served by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(JCT Yorkton Sub, Sk. (CN)) branch line and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

(Yorkton IMS, Sk (CPRS)) mainline track.

Transit

Yorkton Transit runs two routes, covering the majority of the city.

Education

Tertiary institutions

Parkland College Parkland College is a public community college in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505 which includes parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iro ...

has campuses in Yorkton.

High schools

Sacred Heart High School was founded by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, and the school celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 1991. Dream Builders is an alternative education program offering grades 6 through 12 with a work experience component. Yorkton Regional High School opened November 10, 1967 offering grades 9 to 12.

Elementary schools

There are four separate Catholic elementary schools. St. Alphonsus Elementary School provides pre-kindergarten through Grade 8. St. Mary's Elementary School offers pre-kindergarten classes to grade 8. St. Michael's Elementary School offers both English and French immersion from Kindergarten to grade 8. St. Paul's Elementary School also belongs to the Christ the Teacher Catholic School Division, and provides Kindergarten to Grade 8 classes. The public elementary schools are also four in total. Columbia Elementary School has an approximate enrolment of 340 students and offers pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8. Dr. Brass Elementary School is named after the dentist, Dr. David James Brass and offers pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8. M.C. Knoll Elementary School opened in August 1998, and is named after Milton Clifford Knoll. Yorkdale Central School is also a part of Good Spirit School Division No. 204 and offers Kindergarten to Grade 8.

Military

The

64th (Yorkton) Field Battery The 64th Field Battery, RCA (french: links=no, 64e Batterie de campagne, ARC) is a sub-unit of the Canadian Army. It is a reserve artillery battery, currently under command of the 38 Canadian Brigade Group Artillery Tactical Group, and a component ...

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

is garrisoned at the Yorkton Armouries. During World War II the Yorkton airport was home to No. 23 Elementary Flying Training School and No. 11 Service Flying Training School – both schools being a part of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New ...

. Among the present users is a Gliding Centre, operated for the

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

. The Royal Canadian Air Force Station Yorkton (ADC ID: C-51) was a Long Range Radar (LRR) and Ground Air Transmitter Receiver (GATR) facility of the

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North Ame ...

. The site was SAGE compatible from day one. The facility which was in use during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

was renamed

CFS Yorkton Royal Canadian Air Force Station Yorkton (ADC ID: C-51) was a Long Range Radar (LRR) and Ground Air Transmitter Receiver (GATR) facility of the Pinetree Line. The site was SAGE compatible from day one. It was located near Yorkton, Saskatchewan ...

(Canadian Forces Station) in 1967. The station located near Yorkton was operational from 1963–1986.

Media

Newspapers

;Weeklies * The Yorkton News Review (defunct) * Yorkton This Week

Radio

Television

Cable television services are supplied by Access Communications. Access is a Saskatchewan-owned not-for-profit co-operative established in 1974. It also supplies home phone and Internet service to the community. SaskTel provides maxTV services on both DSL and Fiber. SaskTel is a

Crown Corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

owned by the provincial government to serve the people of Saskatchewan with telephone, Internet, and TV services. The only terrestrial television station serving Yorkton is

CICC-TV CICC-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, it is a semi-satellite of CKCK-DT in Regina. CICC-TV's studios are located on ...

channel 10, a

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

affiliate station. Yorkton was previously served by

CKOS-TV CKOS-TV was a television station in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. The station was in operation from 1958 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television. It was a twinstick with the city's CTV affiliate CICC-TV. History In March 1959, in res ...

channel 5, a private

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

outlet; formerly a sister station of CICC, it became an owned-and-operated repeater of CBKT in 2002, before closing down with the rest of CBC's repeater network in 2012.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Saskatchewan Orkney No. 244, Saskatchewan Populated places established in 1882 Division No. 9, Saskatchewan