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Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert
City
City of Prince Albert
Prince Albert Saskatchewan in fall 01.JPG
Flag of Prince Albert
Flag
Nickname(s): "P.A."
Motto: Gateway to the North
Prince Albert is located in Saskatchewan
Prince Albert
Prince Albert
Location of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 53°12′N 105°45′W / 53.200°N 105.750°W / 53.200; -105.750
Country Canada
Province Saskatchewan
Census division No. 15
Town 1885
Incorporated City October 8, 1904
Government
 • City Mayor Greg Dionne
 • Governing body Prince Albert City Council
 • MPs Randy Hoback (CON) – Prince Albert
 • MLAs Joe Hargrave (SKP) – Prince Albert Carlton
Nicole Rancourt (NDP) – Prince Albert Northcote
Area
 • City 65.68 km2 (25.36 sq mi)
Elevation 440 m (1,440 ft)
Population (2011)
 • City 35,129
 • Density 534.4/km2 (1,384/sq mi)
 • Metro 42,673
 • Metro density 22.6/km2 (59/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Prince Albertan
Time zone CST (UTC−6)
Isbister Settlement 1862
SK HQ North-West Mounted Police 1886
Climate Dfb
Website www.citypa.ca

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan. Prince Albert National Park is located 51 km (32 mi) north of the city and contains a huge wealth of lakes, forest, and wildlife. The city itself is located in a transition zone between the aspen parkland and boreal forest biomes. Prince Albert is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert No. 461 and the Rural Municipality of Buckland No. 491.

The area was named kistahpinanihk by the Cree, which translates to sitting pretty place, "a great meeting place". or "meeting place"

The first white man to travel through the area that is now Prince Albert was Henry Kelsey in 1692. The first establishment in the area was a trading post set up in 1776 by Peter Pond.James Isbister, an Anglo-Métis employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, settled on the site of the current city in 1862. He farmed there until 1866, and had been joined by a number of families who called the site Isbister's Settlement.

The community received a boost in 1866 when Reverend James Nisbet, a Canada Presbyterian Church minister arrived to establish a mission for the Cree. Nisbet named the mission after Albert, Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria, who had died in 1861, from which the present city derives its name. In 1879 the Presbyterian Church brought out Lucy Margaret Baker to run the local mission school. During the same year, the local Freemasons established the first lodge in what is now the province of Saskatchewan: Kinistino Lodge No. 1, which still exists. "The Mission", the settlement centrally located, and "Porter Town", located to the west, were the two communities that would come together to form what is now Prince Albert. The settlement east of Prince Albert was termed Goschen before finally amalgamated, however East Prince Albert still appears on a 1924 map.


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