The provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan , a
vast tract bounded by the Ontario border to the east and the Rocky
Mountains in Alberta to the west, together comprise a region
commonly called "the prairies". In fact, flat treeless plains are
confined to the southern part of central Canada and even
then they are broken up by the occasional river valley and range of
low-lying hills, which gradually raise the elevation from sea level
at Hudson Bay to nearly 1200m near the Rockies. Furthermore, the
plains themselves are divided into two broad geographical areas:
the semi-arid short grasslands that border the United States
in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the wheat-growing belt , a
crescent-shaped expanse to the north of the grasslands. In turn,
this wheat belt borders the low hills, mixed farms and sporadic
forests of the aspen parkland , a transitional zone between
the plains and the boreal forest , whose trees, rocky
outcrops, rivers and myriad lakes cover well over half of the
entire central region, stretching to the Northwest Territories in
Saskatchewan and Alberta and as far as the treeless tundra
beside Hudson Bay in Manitoba, and in the new territory of
Nunavut.
If you're here in the winter, when the temperature can fall to
between -30°C and -40°C, and the wind rips down from the Arctic,
it's hard to imagine how the European pioneers managed to survive,
huddled together in remote log cabins or even sod huts. Yet survive
they did, and they went on to cultivate, between about 1895 and
1914, the great swath of land that makes up the wheat belt and the
aspen parkland, turning it into one of the most productive
wheat-producing areas in the world. By any standards, the
development of this farmland was a remarkable achievement, but the
price was high: the nomadic culture of the Plains Indians
was almost entirely destroyed and the disease-ravaged, half-starved
survivors were dumped in a string of meagre reservations.
Similarly, the Métis , descendants of white fur traders and
native women who for more than two centuries had acted as
intermediaries between the two cultures, found themselves
overwhelmed, their desperate attempts to maintain their
independence leading to a brace of futile rebellions under the
leadership of Louis Riel in 1869-70 and 1885.
With the Métis and the Indians out of the way, thousands of
European immigrants concentrated on their wheat yields, but they
were the victims of a one-crop economy, their prosperity dependent
on the market price of grain and the freight charges imposed by the
railroad. Throughout the twentieth century, the region's farmers
experienced alarming changes in their fortunes as bust alternated
with boom, a situation that continues to dominate the economies of
Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta today.
Central Canada is not the most popular tourist destination in
the country, its main cities caricatured as dull and unattractive,
its scenery considered monotonous. To some extent, these prejudices
stem from the route of the Trans-Canada Highway , which
contrives to avoid nearly everything of interest on its way from
Winnipeg to Calgary, a generally boring and long drive that many
Canadians prefer to do at night when, they say, the views are
better. However, on the Trans-Canada itself, busy Winnipeg -
easily the largest city in central Canada - is well worth a visit
for its museums, restaurants and nightlife, while, just to the
south of the highway on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, there are
the delightful wooded ridges of the Cypress Hills
Interprovincial Park , which includes the restored Mountie
outpost of Fort Walsh . It has to be said, though, that the
Yellowhead Route from Winnipeg - Hwy 16 - makes a far more
agreeable journey, with pleasant stops at Saskatoon and the
Battlefords . This road is also within easy reach of central
Canada's two outstanding parks, Riding Mountain National
Park in Manitoba and Prince Albert National Park in
Saskatchewan, both renowned for their lakes, forest-hiking and
canoeing routes.
Most of central Canada's boreal forest is inaccessible except
by private float plane, but all the major cities and the region's
tourist offices have lists of tour operators and suppliers who run
or equip a whole variety of trips into the more remote regions -
from white-water rafting and canoeing, through to hunting, fishing
and bird-watching. It's also possible to fly or travel by train to
Churchill , a remote and desolate settlement on the southern
shore of Hudson Bay that's one of the world's best places to see
polar bears. One word of warning: the boreal forests swarm with
voracious insects such as blackflies and mosquitoes, so don't
forget your insect repellent.