By paNOW

Canada 150: The story of Prince Albert

Jun 30, 2017 | 3:00 PM

The Gateway to the North has a diverse history. What was once a booming industrial hub of activity, was soon crippled after a dream project for inexpensive power drove the city to the brink of bankruptcy.

The site we now know as Prince Albert was first established as a trading post in 1776 by Peter Pond. 

Soon after, it was recognized as a meeting place for First Nations and English Metis people in 1860s. James Isbister, an Anglo-Metis employee of the Hudsons Bay Company settled on what is now River Lot 62 from 1862 to 1864. He farmed the area and taught local children at his home. He lived in this area until 1866, aptly named the Isbister Settlement. 

The area was given a boost that same year when Reverend James Nisbet, a Presbyterian minister, his wife and a group of people arrived and established a mission for the Cree. The mission was named Albert, Prince Consort, after the husband of then Queen Victoria. This is where the city derives its name. 

His family came from Scotland and moved through Ontario and Winnipeg before settling on the site. Nisbet was a trained carpenter. He settled near the current site of the Museum on July 26.

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“Nisbet really came here and tried to make a strong community out of the people who were here,” Michelle Taylor, manager of the Historical Society said.

There were church services, schools and the area around what is now the downtown A&W was cultivated and used for agriculture use. He and his wife stayed until 1874, when they moved back to Winnipeg and died shortly after. 

Prince Albert was a rapidly growing Northern community until the Canadian Pacific Railway moved to a more southern route.

The municipal history of the city began in 1904 when the first mayor, the Honourable Thomas McKay, was elected. In 1880s, the city was the base of the North-West Mounted Police. In 1904, the city officially became a city, growing in population from 1,785 in 1901 to over 6,000 by 1910.

The city, by this point, was booming. It was a hub of agriculture, commerce and forestry activity. Steamboats and railways activity also helped bolster the city’s economy. Many elaborate homes were built, most of which still stand today. 

In 1911, the city was a candidate for either the University of Saskatchewan or the Federal Penitentiary. As we all know, the University was built in Saskatoon and the penitentiary laid the groundwork for additional correctional centres to be built around the city. Today, a federal penitentiary, men’s and women’s correctional facilities, and a young offenders’ institution harbour hundreds of prisoners around the area.

In the early 1910s, Samuel McLeod, who served as mayor in 1919, was a lumber and real estate mogul. He would play a crucial part in the business community, more so after the city embarked on the La Colle Falls hydroelectric dam. The hope was developing cheap energy would turn the city into an industrial stronghold.

But, by July 29, 1913, construction was halted as the $3 million price tag nearly drove the city to bankruptcy. In todays dollars, the project would have cost over $67 million.

The dream of an industrial hub can be seen through future development maps from the period. The Little Red River Park is shown to be a large residential subdivision as well as the area west of Saskatchewan Penitentiary. The Victoria Hospital sits on land that would have been near the physical centre of the planned city. Suburbs called Central Park and The Bronx, like in New York City, lie on the edges of the thriving community.

In the wake of the failure of the project, businessmen like McLeod and John M. Cuelenaere, gave upwards of $5,000 to the school divisions so they could continue to operate and teach local children. The loan for La Colle Falls was finally paid off in 1965, thanks to financially responsible city councillors.

After this, the city’s economic development stalled for over four decades. Resource development eventually picked up and tourism at Prince Albert National Park helped to revive the local economy.

Rich deposits of gold and uranium were identified to the north of the city and numerous mining companies started to use Prince Albert as a supply and service base. 

This is when the city started to take hold of the title of ‘Gateway to the North.’

By the 1980s, the city was bustling once again. A number of breweries, pulp mills, and paper plants also added to the city’s growth.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr