Located in Southern Saskatchewan in the beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley is Fort Qu’Appelle - established as a Hudson Bay Company trading post in 1864. This trading post was active in trading furs with Aboriginal people from the area. With the development of a post office in 1880 and expansion of the railway, Fort Qu’Appelle saw significant growth in the number of homesteaders to the area. The community continued to expand with the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Station, fish culture station and Fort Qu’Appelle Sanatorium. As the community continued to build, Fort Qu’Appelle was granted town status on January 1, 1951.
Transportation and Warehousing, Public Administration
MAIN INDUSTRIES
English
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
Regina
NEIGHBOURING AREAS
Fort Qu’Appelle becomes an active recreational destination for cottagers during the summer months and remains a central hub for many of the surrounding communities in the area. It provides shopping, professional and support services to neighboring farming communities, resort villages and First Nations reserves. In 2004, the All Nations Healing Hospital was built to provide extensive health care services to Fort Qu’Appelle and surrounding areas. This hospital is one of the first health care facilities in Canada owned and operated by First Nations Governments.
Yet despite all the area has to offer, the community is facing challenges similar to other rural communities, such as an aging infrastructure and increasing demands for accommodations. However, opportunities for growth do exist in expanding services such as those needed to attract and retain young families, and increasing business and tourism investment to the area. With community members enjoying the numerous year-round recreational activities available in the area and the natural beauty of the Qu’Appelle Valley landscape, there is opportunity to expand on the area’s current assets.
Read about the Francophone history of Saskatchewan <here.
