Canora

Town, pop 2,200, located 48 km due N of Yorkton at the junction of Hwys 5 and 9, first settled in the late 19th century by Doukhobors, Romanians, and Ukrainians. The town’s name is derived from a combination of the first two letters of each word in Canadian Northern Railway, which laid steel through the area in 1904. The community experienced early rapid growth; population levels remained stable even through the Depression, and peaked at 2,734 in 1966. Canora’s continued viability is due in large part to its location at the corners of four adjacent rural municipalities which constitute a trading area of approximately 15,000 people in a district well suited to successful crop and livestock production. Additionally, Canora is situated in a parkland setting surrounded by several lakes and parks including Crystal Lake, Good Spirit Provincial Park, and Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Tourism is also bolstered by the proximity of the nearby National Doukhobor Heritage Village, the grotto at Rama, and the sites of forts Pelly and Livingstone; Canora is situated on Via Rail’s trans-continental line and on the rail link to Churchill, Manitoba and its beluga whale and polar bear tours. The town’s 1904 rail station still remains the oldest operating station of its type in the province. Canora has a wide range of businesses, services, and recreational facilities. Saskatchewan’s first woman Lieutenant-Governor, Sylvia Fedoruk, was born in Canora in 1927.

David McLennan