Saskatchewan: a prairie province where they claim you can see your dog running away for days. At first glance, people may not think that there is much going on in this land full of farms, but they would be wrong.

Saskatchewan has some of the highest ranking numbers in Canada of…negative things. Let’s take a look: highest levels of HIV, domestic abuse, drunk driving, crime rates, university tuition fees and the lowest amount of bilingual French speakers in the country.

The media has looked at some of these issues individually, but the big picture has yet to be addressed. Why is Saskatchewan producing such disappointing numbers? Why is no one seriously talking about this growing stack of troubling statistics? These numbers are free to the public, but the dots have yet to be connected. Where to point the finger? It seems as though there are many elements that play a part in the bleak reality that this province faces. From old laws to closed minded politics, there is a clearly buildup of social conditions which have led to these figures.

Sources:

Statistics Canada tables and reports.

http://www.stats.gov.sk.ca/stats/pop/2011Language.pdf

http://search.proquest.com/openview/375b59ffef84463e7cee689ef2ab9237/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41339

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/legal50c-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/160907/cg-a001-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2016001/article/14679-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2016001/article/14303/tbl/tbl1.4-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2016001/article/14679-eng.htm

Student researcher: Brenna Engel (University of Regina)

Faculty evaluator: Patricia Elliott (University of Regina)

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