When Bangladeshi-born Sayful Ahmed decided to come to Canada for a
fresh start, he didn’t head to Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal.
He chose Saskatoon.
The city of 234,000 people, which has garnered a reputation for seeking
newcomers and having plenty of work, was just too appealing to pass up.
“My friends live here, they said it’s a good place – for living, for
job opportunities. That’s why I chose Saskatoon,” said Mr. Ahmed, who
arrived three weeks ago. “So far, so good.”
The booming Prairie province has become a magnet for migrants – from
the Philippines, Ukraine, China, India and England.
In fact, Saskatchewan and Alberta lead the country in population
growth, according to numbers from Statistics Canada released Tuesday.
International migration to Saskatchewan over the third quarter of 2011
was the highest it has been for any quarter since 1971.
At the same time, Ontario – traditionally the country’s strongest draw
for newcomers – recorded its smallest net international migration for
this quarter since 1998. Economic gloom translates into fewer migrants;
fewer migrants means fewer employable bodies – and, in turn, less
settlement cash from Ottawa.
As Canada’s centre of gravity shifts westward with growing economic
prosperity and political clout, the population is following. That goes
both for international and internal migration: Western provinces are
luring job seekers from Taizhou and Toronto alike.
“Settlement patterns in contemporary Canada are changing. Western
Canada is increasingly vibrant economically and Saskatchewan, we think,
is helping to drive that kind of shift,” Immigration Minister Rob
Norris said. “It's allowing us to fuel our economic growth. We're
seeing community renewal under way and we're also seeing economic
benefits.”
Saskatoon Sports Tourism and the Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating
Club are delighted to announce three exciting speed skating events that
will be hosted in Saskatoon in 2012.
ˇ Saskatoon Long Track Meet – January 7-8, 2012
ˇ Canada Cup III and Canadian Junior Championship –
February 3-5, 2012
ˇ Saskatoon Short Track Meet – March 2012
The Saskatoon Long Track and Short Track Meets are provincial
competitions. The Canada Cup III and Canadian Junior Championship are
national long track competitions. The Canada Cup III is used to rank
skaters for the national team and the Canadian Junior Championship
results select the Junior World Championship Team.
All three events will take place at the Clarence Downey Speed Skating
Oval, one of the best natural ice surfaces in Canada. Named after the
first coach of the Saskatoon
Lions Speed Skating Club,
the 400-metre oval offers an exciting change of pace for skating
enthusiasts. Access to the Clarence Downey Speed Skating Oval is
located in the Gordie Howe Recreation Complex at Dudley Street and
Avenue R South. There is no charge for admission at any of the three
events.
“Saskatoon Sports Tourism is excited to be working with the Saskatoon
Lions Speed Skating Club as they prepare to host the upcoming speed
skating events this winter,” said Hugh Vassos, project consultant with Saskatoon
Sports Tourism.
“The sport is extremely fast paced and we look forward to good crowds
at the oval to cheer on these great athletes. Congratulations to the
organizers for winning the bid to host these events and for their hard
work in promoting the sport of speed skating.”
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For more information, contact:
Hugh Vassos
Project Consultant
Saskatoon Sports Tourism
Direct: (306) 222-5392 hvassos@sasktel.net
Fritz Schumann
Meet Coordinator and Membership Development
Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating Club
Direct: (306) 664-6832 fritz.schumann@sasktel.net
Prairie
Harvest Café,
Saskatoon’s newest restaurant, features comfort food, lovingly prepared
from scratch using as many local ingredients as possible. And it tastes
great!
Chef and co-owner Mike McKeown
has been a part of Saskatchewan’s food and catering industry for over a
decade. Working in remote fishing camps, Mike relied on an airplane to
drop off supplies. “It really makes you think on your feet as you have
to work with whatever is available,” Mike says.
More recently, Mike has been selling ready-made meals at the Saskatoon
Farmers’ Market, so he is well acquainted with the local food
producers.
Slow Food
Prairie Harvest Café will serve the kind of food that Mike and his
co-chef, Joel Hassler, like to eat. “It’s food with a lot of time and
love put into it, but entirely accessible to the customer,” Mike says.
“In Saskatchewan, we are also very lucky to have access to so many
local grains, legumes and root vegetables. It will be a lot of fun to
explore the landscape with the menu and hopefully come up with some
really neat dishes.”
Mike says he always has maple syrup, mustard powder, lentils, kosher
salt, and cabbage (“a very versatile vegetable, especially useful in
the winter months”) on hand. They’re all ingredients that are readily
available when we cook at home, but they’re transformed into something
special at Prairie Harvest Café.
Menu
Prairie Harvest Café is open for both lunch and dinner. The lunch menu
includes various burgers, including a vegetable and lentil patty. Mike
is excited to see the reaction to the turducken burger. “I think it is
an entirely unique dish. We have taken the three meats (duck, turkey,
chicken) off the bone and ground it ourselves,” he says.
Mike’s sister in law is vegan, which has motivated him to learn more
about vegetarian/vegan cooking. As a result, Prairie Harvest Café is
one of the best vegetarian options in Saskatoon.
Design for Saskatoon’s New
Gallery by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects in association
with Smith Carter Architects and Engineers wins prestigious national
architecture award
TORONTO, ON December 16, 2011 – With the announcement of a 2011
Canadian Architect Award of Excellence, the proposed new Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan
(REMAI) is off to an auspicious start. This striking design,
overlooking the South Saskatchewan River, is the result of
collaboration between Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB)
as design architects and Smith Carter Architects + Engineers as
architects of record. Scheduled to open in 2015, the Remai will
be three times the size of the current 47-year-old Gallery it replaces.
“The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan will be a vibrant cultural
centre for an exciting, dynamic city,” said Vincent Varga, Executive
Director and CEO of the Mendel Art Gallery.
“This award for the stunning design of the facility only reinforces our
belief in the project, as we transition from the Mendel Art Gallery,
with its own proud history in the community, to the expansive and
exciting new landmark at Saskatoon’s River Landing.”
The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence, one of two major national
design award programs, has recognized significant projects – from
small-scale installations to complex institutional buildings – on an
annual basis since 1968. The jury for the 2011 Canadian Architect
Awards comprised Walter Frand Architecture Inc., in Vancouver, Diarmuid
Nash, Partner in Moriyama & Teshima Architects in Toronto, and
Peter Sampson, Principal of Peter Sampson Architecture Studio in
Winnipeg. The Remai was 1 of 8 Awards of Excellence selected from 163
submissions.
In selecting the design of the Remai, juror Peter Sampson commented how
the “rational composition of gallery and theatre volumes on the banks
of Saskatoon’s river valley will be a compelling addition to the city’s
south downtown precinct.”
It’s been a while since the GCAT
crew has been in a place with such energized people who are enjoying
life and carrying such a sense of community spirit and pride in their
town. This could really be felt in Saskatoon, especially along
Broadway Avenue, a totally hip strip in the middle of the city.
When we arrived to the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway track just outside
of Saskatoon, the stands were packed with cheering
fans of all ages. Kids, grandparents, courting couples, business
suites, bikers the audience spanned all ages and types. The cars
were roaring around the track, tires were screeching, smoke was
billowing, the announcer was following the action in an excited voice.
The entire experience kept us tingling with excitement until the final
black and white checkered flag waved frantically and the drivers took
their feet off the throttle. All afternoon we never knew when there was
going to be a daredevil pass, a crazy wipe out or a neck and neck
finish. It was all just another day at the track at the Auto
Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon.
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When we walked into the Western Development Museum
and met Josh Hourie, the Development Marketing Assistant, he fit in
perfectly to the museum he worked at and is so proud of. Surrounded by
old farming machinery, steam locomotives, horse and buggy cars, old
sepia snapshots of prairie life, and all sorts of other Saskatchewan
memorabilia his top hat and tails costume fit right in. And, after a
little change of clothes in the museums antique costume photo studio,
the GCAT crew were all decked out in old 10 gallon hats, blazers and
frilly dresses, and we looked as if they had gone back in time to the
early 1900′s along with Josh. It’s all part of the wonderful experience
you’ll have at the museum, which recreates a quintessential prairie
town at the turn of the century and details the rich history of the
province.
The canoe
is a Canadian wilderness icon. It leaves no trace of its passage
through the wilds, but it has left an indelible impression on the
Canadian psyche. Ancient aboriginals, early voyageurs and today’s
canoeists – all have been moved by the canoe – physically and
spiritually. With this in mind, it was only fitting that the GCAT crew
spend an afternoon out on a river in a canoe.
Many smaller centres in Canada and around the world suffer from an
exodus of their youth who are flocking to big cities for jobs and
experience. Saskatoon however, is experiencing the exact
opposite: young adults are either staying or returning. One
reason why this is the case is because Saskatoon is flourishing into a
hub for outdoor activities.
Stand up paddling, acroyoga, skateboarding, canoeing, mountain biking,
and a host of other outdoor activities are creating a buzz with the
locals in Saskatoon.
