Leader, Saskatchewan
| Town of Leader | |
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| Town | |
Leader welcome sign
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 Town of Leader
Town of Leader
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| Coordinates: 50°53′N 109°32′W / 50.89°N 109.54°WCoordinates: 50°53′N 109°32′W / 50.89°N 109.54°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Saskatchewan |
| Region | Saskatchewan |
| Census division | No. 8 |
| Rural Municipality | No. 231 |
| Settled | 1907 |
| Incorporated (village) | 1913 (as Prussia) |
| Incorporated (town) | 1917 (as Leader) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Craig Tondevold |
| • Town Administrator | Rochelle Francis |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.70 km2 (0.66 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 881 |
| • Density | 519.2/km2 (1,345/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CST |
| Postal code | S0N 1H0 |
| Area code(s) | 306 |
| Waterways | South Saskatchewan River |
| Website | Town of Leader |
Leader is a town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, located approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) directly east of Calgary, Alberta and is near the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It has a population of 881 as of 2006.
Before settlement, the Leader area was a hunting ground of prehistoric humans. A Midland Folsom point was discovered that the University of Saskatchewan dated back 8,000 to 9,000 years before present.
Leader lies in the traditional territory of the Nekaneet First Nation, who were signatories to Treaty 4.
Homesteaders began arriving in large numbers in 1907; most were German immigrants from southern Russia. An RCMP detachment opened in 1909, and ensured all the settlers had adequate supplies to last the winter. By 1911, the Canadian Pacific Railway purchased a quarter section of land as the prospective site for a settlement. The railway arrived in 1913 and the village of Prussia was incorporated in September of that year. By 1917, anti-German sentiment surrounding the events of World War I prompted the community to change its name, as well as its German street names to numbers. The new name was chosen after a contest won by two local girls, Bertha Keller and Muriel Legault. They were inspired by the arrival of the Regina Morning Leader newspaper on the passenger train. The village name was officially changed to Leader on September 27, 1917; soon after, it incorporated as a town on November 1.
W.T. Smith, a local rancher, had the distinction of building North America's largest barn. The Smith Barn was completed in 1914, having taken 100 men five months to complete its construction; the building measured 400 x 128 x 60 feet. Smith died in 1918, and his massive barn was dismantled down to the concrete foundation in 1921. The concrete foundation remains there to this day.
Following World War II the town's population grew, reaching a peak of 1236 in 1966. Since then the town's population has decreased, following Saskatchewan's overall trend of rural flight.
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