The Palliser Region is an area in the southeast corner of the province of Alberta, Canada that has been delineated and is serviced by the Palliser Economic Partnership. It borders the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to the east, and the US state of Montana to the south. It covers an area of The total population of the area stood at 112,314 in 2009. The city of Medicine Hat, with a population of 61,097, is the area's largest urban centre.
The Palliser Region is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, who hunted bison throughout the area. From 1857 to 1860, the area was explored as part of the Palliser Expedition, led by John Palliser. He described the area of southeast Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan – now known as the Palliser Triangle – as semi-arid, and warned that it was unsuitable for agricultural development. European settlement began with the arrival of the North-West Mounted Police in the mid 19th century. Fort Walsh was established by Police Inspector James Morrow Walsh, who became a good friend of Sitting Bull when he led the Sioux to the area after the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Despite the area's semi-arid climate, the British government encouraged farmers to settle in the region. They struggled with drought up until the end of the 1930s, and many settlers abandoned their farms due to crop failure, but dryland farming techniques introduced by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration eventually transformed the region into a successful agricultural centre. The region's geography is characterized by grasslands – including the Cypress Hills – and classic badlands country. The region receives more than 2,512 hours of sunshine per year on average, making it the sunniest area in Canada.
The three fastest growing economic sectors in the Palliser Region are Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, and Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Leasing. Employment in the region is currently increasing at more than double the Canadian average. The Palliser Region is intersected by two major highways, #1 and #3 on the east–west axis, connecting it to the rest of Canada, and two secondary highways, #36 and #41, on the north–south axis, which connect it to the US border. It is served by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which connects it to the rest of North America via connections with its affiliates. This transportation infrastructure is key to the region's economy, which is based on agriculture, oil and gas, manufacturing, defence and aerospace, and tourism.
History The Palliser Region is the traditional territory of the First Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy – particularly the Siksika (also called Blackfoot), the Blood (or Kainai) and the Northern Peigan (or Aapátohsipikáni). The Gros Ventres also used the area until they relocated to a reservation in eastern Montana in 1861.The People: a historical guide to the first nations of AB, SK and MB. Ward, Donald, Fifth House Ltd., 1995
These were nomadic peoples, who followed game, particularly the bison (or American buffalo) throughout the seasons. Their hunting grounds extended through Montana to the Missouri River, eastward along the Cypress Hills and northwards as far as the Wetaskiwin area. Everything to the north and east of this was considered the territory of the Cree – indeed, after the Riel Rebellion, when Mekastino (also called Red Crow), chief of the Blood First Nation, and Crowfoot, chief of the Siksika, were taken on a trip to Ottawa, they were familiar with the country as far east as Swift Current, but after that were out of their element.Morrow, J.R., Early History of the Medicine Hat Country, Medicine Hat Historical Society, Medicine Hat, Alberta, 1923
The nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy had always hunted the bison, but the reintroduction of the horse to the American continent by the Spanish conquistadors, the "buffalo culture", with the bison at the basis of life, became extremely strong.Garden, J.F., The Palliser Triangle, A Tale of the Canadian Grasslands, Footprint Publishing Co. Ltd., 1999. By the time of European contact the members of these First Nations were highly skilled riders, breeders and all-round horsemen.
The Cypress Hills area was also used by the neighbouring Cree and Assiniboine First Nations, the enemies of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Some sources report that the Cypress Hills area was considered neutral territory, and did not belong to any particular First Nation. The hills were a source of medicine plants that could not be found on the prairie, and, when bison were scarce, deer, elk and squirrel could be hunted there.
From 1857 to 1860, a large area of Rupert's Land – now southwest Saskatchewan and southeast Alberta – was explored as part of the Palliser Expedition, led by John Palliser. Born into the Irish aristocracy, Palliser eschewed the comforts of his wealth to travel the world. His particular interest lay in British North America, and in 1856 he accepted an offer from the Royal Geographical Society to lead a full scientific expedition to Rupert's Land. The three reports and map that were submitted to the Royal Geographical Society and to the Colonial Office by the expedition were instrumental in opening the region to settlement, and proved to be invaluable tools for the North-West Mounted Police, boundary surveyors and railway planners. Palliser found that the entire region was suitable for agriculture, except for one semi-arid region that became known as the Palliser Triangle.
Up until 1870, the region was nominally under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company, although there was essentially no law enforcement. In 1873 a skirmish between white and Métis traders and members of the Assiniboine First Nation, which came to be known as the Cypress Hills Massacre, prompted Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to create the North-West Mounted Police. In 1875 they established Fort Walsh, named after its builder, Inspector James Morrow Walsh. The following year, when Sioux leader Sitting Bull led his people into Canada after the Battle of Little Big Horn, they arrived at Fort Walsh. Sitting Bull and James Walsh became such good friends that Walsh was criticized for not pursuing Canadian government policy and forcing the Sioux back into the United States.Alberta History Along the Highway: A Traveler’s Guide to the Fascinating Facts, Intriguing Incidents and Lively Legends in Alberta’s Past. Stone, Ted, Red Deer College Press, 1996
By the late 1880s, the huge herds of bison had virtually disappeared. This led to a time of great hardship for the First Nation peoples, who at times had to rely on handouts from the North-West Mounted Police at Fort Walsh to survive. Starvation compelled many First Nations to settle on reserves allotted by the federal government. This, coupled with the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, opened the way for white settlement throughout the area.
Despite the fact that John Palliser, and later surveyor William Pearce, had warned that the Palliser Region was a semi-desert useless for farming, their assessments were ignored in the rush to settle the area. As early as the late 1910s and early 1920s, however, farmers were abandoning the area. By 1926, about 6,400 farms had been abandoned, and 17,000 people had left. This was primarily due to the weather: from 1915 to 1930 the mean daily maximum temperature in the Medicine Hat area was 30 °C (86 °F), and the entire year's precipitation was at times as low as 20 cm (8 in.).The Albertans: From Settlement to Super Province 1905–2005. Stanway, Paul, CanMedia Inc., 2005
The region's farmers continued to suffer throughout the drought of the 1930s, and by the end of that decade almost 100,000 settlers had left the area. However, by that time, the solution was already in sight: in 1935, the federal government under Prime Minister R. B. Bennett established the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA). The PFRA, under the local leadership of Asael E. Palmer, superintendent of the experimental station at Lethbridge, promoted dryland farming techniques and created widespread irrigation projects. In the end, as a result of these measures, almost 200,000 km2. (77,000 sq. mi.) of drought-ravaged land were reclaimed within the province. The techniques established by the PFRA laid the foundation for the successful agriculture industry which flourishes in the Palliser Region to this day.
Geography and climate The Palliser Region is part of the of Alberta's grasslands, which are in turn part of the Great Plains that stretch from the Gulf of Mexico north into Canada. The region is a flat to gently rolling plain, with a few major hill systems, including the Cypress Hills.
The rivers in the region are part of either the Saskatchewan River or Missouri River systems. Badlands have developed where valleys are carved deeply into the bedrock. The formations typical of badlands – canyons, ravines, gullies and hoodoos – are common in the area. Dinosaur Provincial Park, one of the richest sources of dinosaur fossils in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located within the badlands.
The region benefits from a comfortable, semi-arid climate, with generally dry, hot summers and cold, sunny winters interspersed with warm Chinook winds. It receives more than 2,512 hours of sunshine per year on average, making it the sunniest area in Canada.
Annual days of sunshine, on average 330 Average annual precipitation 333.8 mm Average growing season Over 120 days January temperatures High −4.5 °C (23.9 °F); low −15.9 °C (3.3 °F) July temperatures High 26.9 °C (80.4 °F); low 12 °C (53.6 °F)
The Palliser Region is home to a number of individual communities. They include: the cities of Brooks and Medicine Hat; the County of Forty Mile No. 8, the County of Newell, and Cypress County; the Municipal District of Acadia No. 34; Alberta's three special areas (No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4); the towns of Bassano, Bow Island, Hanna, Oyen, and Redcliff; and the villages of Cereal, Duchess, Empress, Foremost, Rosemary, Tilley and Youngstown.
Demographics The Palliser Region's population has been growing steadily for the last twenty years. The population has grown by 1.5% over the last decade, almost 1.5 times faster than the rest of Canada.Industry Profiles, Palliser Economic Partnership, 2010.
The population and dwelling counts of the cities, towns, municipal districts and special areas within the Palliser Region from the Canada 2011 Census are as follows:
Name Status Population Dwellings Acadia No. 34, M.D. of Municipal district 495 161 Bassano Town 1,282 585 Bow Island Town 2,025 670 Brooks City 13,676 5,509 Cypress County Municipal district 7,214 3,040 Forty Mile No. 8, County of Municipal district 3,336 965 Hanna Town 2,673 1,317 Medicine Hat City 60,005 27,342 Newell, County of Municipal district 6,786 2,480 Oyen Town 973 418 Redcliff Town 5,588 2,195 Special Areas No. 2 Special area 2,025 745 Special Areas No. 3 Special area 1,122 455 Special Areas No. 4 Special area 1,352 501
Within these major municipalities, 28.3% of the population over 15 years old has obtained a high school certificate and equivalent. 12% have a trades certification, 20.7% have a college diploma or some university, and 8.3% have a university degree. English is by far the predominant language, with 93.7% of respondents saying that this is the language spoken at home. 8.7% of the population describes themselves as immigrants, and only 2.9% identify themselves as First Nations, with 74% of those living in Medicine Hat.
Infrastructure