7 November 2005
Hat's Off, Saskatchewan
 Founded by
charter in 1670, Hudson's Bay Company (Hbc) arrived in Saskatchewan in 1774 with the establishment of its first inland post, Cumberland
House. The province's central location ensured it played a crucial role in Hbc's business over the following century.
In 1870, Hbc gave back to the Crown its sovereignty over Rupert's Land in exchange for a land and cash compensation. A large amount
of this land surrendered went to the CPR, formed in 1881, to help fund the construction of a transcontinental railway across the
Prairies.
 Canada is a nation of immigrants. The late 19th and early 20th centuries was
one of the great periods of immigration to this country. From 1901 to 1911, the country grew by one-third. Over 900,000
immigrants settled on the Prairies alone, tripling the region's population.
CPR and the Canadian government targeted British immigrants such as this family who are preparing to depart from Great Britain for the
prairies.
 CPR and Hbc partnered with the federal government to attract immigrants to
western Canada, selling farmlands to settlers and providing transportation and goods. Both companies heavily promoted the fertile
farmlands of the Canadian prairies in Europe and in Eastern Canada.
CPR's efficient transportation network, telegraph lines, branch lines and grain elevators together with Hbc's wide-spread
retail operations provided the essentials for a growing population.
 Many entire families came to Canada as immigrants. Arriving by ship at ports
like Montreal, Saint John or Halifax, they gradually made their way to new western farms.
In the 1920s and 30s, the Canadian Pacific office in Lwow, Poland was one of the more than forty locations in twenty-one
countries throughout the European continent that promoted the company's railway, shipping and immigration
interests.
Our Companies in Saskatchewan Today
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 Today CPR, Hbc and Saskatchewan are inextricably linked. CPR carries
containers, full of life's necessities, to Saskatchewan markets and Hbc retail outlets. Today, CPR helps keep Saskatchewan's economic
motor humming by moving bulk commodities such as grain, coal, sulfur, potash and petroleum in 126-car unit trains.
Hbc serves the Saskatchewan market through a network of 22 stores under its 4 retail banners: the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters
and Fields.
Hbc in Saskatchewan:
- Zellers (9): Kindersley, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina (5), Yorkton;
- The Bay (3): Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton;
- Home Outfitters (2): Regina, Saskatoon;
- Fields (8): Meadow Lake, La Ronge, Unity, Kamsack, Melville, Canora, Tisdale, Carstairs;
- Employs over 1,275 associates;
- The Hbc Foundation invests over $11 million annually in communities across Canada.
CPR in Saskatchewan:
- Employs 1,232 people;
- Paid $32.8 million in taxes in 2004;
- Spent more than $49 million on services in 2004;
- Important rail yards in Estevan, Moose Jaw, North Portal, Saskatoon, Swift Current, and Weyburn;
- Intermodal facilities in Regina and Saskatoon;
- Locomotive and rail car maintenance shop in Moose Jaw.
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