Canada: The Prairie Provinces

[Music] [Applause] [Music] wheat is is grown and harvested on the Prairies of [Applause] Canada and from beneath the ground oil is pumped wheat and oil these are the twin keys to the wealth of the Prairie provinces of Canada the Prairies of Canada extend from the Great Plains of the United States north to the Arctic Ocean they are bounded on the east by a massive horseshoe of ancient volcanic rock called the Canadian Shield here lies the bulk of Canada's mineral wealth west of the Prairies is a region of high mountains there are the Canadian Rockies the Prairie region cuts through the vast Northwest Territories still largely undeveloped but of great potential value to the South are the three Prairie Provinces Manitoba Saskatchewan and Alberta the mountains cut across the southwestern corner of Alberta and much of Manitoba and Northern Saskatchewan is covered by the Canadian Shield the abundance of fur bearing animals around Hudson Bay attracted the earliest Pioneers so rich were the harvests of Furs that in 1670 Prince rert of England obtained a charter from King Charles II granting sole rights of trade for his company of gentleman adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay this company came to be known as the Hudson's Bay Company today it still is an important force in the Prairie Provinces with large department stores in the southern cities as well as its scattered trading posts in the North the Hudson Bay Company set up posts to which Furs were brought and where supplies were available to the Trappers and Indians today furs are still a valuable product of the region they come primarily from the Northern parts of the Prairie Provinces and from the Northwest Territories they include the skins of almost all varieties of ir otter Fox muskrat Martin and beaver only 80 years ago Buffalo still grazed on the Prairies of Canada today grain has replaced the buffalo grass and the large Farms have become highly [Applause] mechanized much of the Machinery used on these Farms is made in Canada's industrial provinces in the East the major crop is wheat the yield is far more than Canada itself consumes and the large percentage of Canada's wheat is exported in addition to wheat other grains are grown oats barley and flax are also important crops from the Prairie elevators the grain goes by railroad to ports on Lake Superior the Pacific and Hudson Bay there the grain is transferred to ships on which it continues its Journey to users across the world but continual planting and reaping of grain can leave great areas of top soil without protection in the strong Prairie winds the dry and loosened Earth is blown away to protect the soil wind breaks have been planted and they are the only trees that can be seen in the broad expanse of the Prairies in some dry areas irrigation systems bring water to the land Rich new crops are grown with the help of irrigation in Southern Alberta sugar beets are an important product made possible by irrigation cattle raising is another important industry of the Prairie Provinces [Applause] on the foothills of the Rockies in Alberta the cattle range on land that is not economical to [Music] farm Hogs too are an important product fed on the grains which grow so easily in the region [Applause] the Calgary Stampede is the most famous rodeo in [Applause] Canada and attracts many thousands of visitors each year to view the exciting events [Music] [Applause] [Music] at the Calgary Stampede Canada past and present passes by in [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] review the CLE raised on the Prairie ranches are shipped by train to the great Stockyards of Winnipeg Manitoba here meat is dressed and shipped throughout Canada and the world but the Prairie Provinces are not dependent on agriculture alone oil and natural gas have become as important as wheat in the economy of the Prairie Provinces Alberta produces most of Canada's oil some oil is also found in Saskatchewan and Manitoba one of the world's longest pipelines connects these oil fields with Canada's industrial East and another another carries oil to the Pacific West a growing system of pipelines is helping to make Canada's prairies one of the most important oil and natural gas producing areas in the world industrial centers have grown on the Prairies in response to the need for materials plants have been established to supply steel pipe to the great oil [Music] industry oil refineries and petrochemical plants are found at Edmonton Calgary Moosejaw Regina and Winnipeg and cement from new plants in the area is used in the vast growth of industry and building coal mining is another significant though now declining industry in Saskatchewan and Alberta some of the coal lies near enough to the surface to be recovered by strip [Music] mining the coal is loaded into trucks that travel over a road of coal that has just been [Music] uncovered there is also coal in the Rocky Mountains that cut through the southwestern corner of [Music] Alberta coal is only one of many minerals found in the Prairie Provinces and the Northwest Territories there is also gold uranium copper zinc and others many of these resources are still largely undeveloped because Transportation remains a major problem in 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railroad was built along Its Right of Way settlements grew into cities to the north the Canadian national railroad was constructed along Its Right of Way grew the cities of Edmonton and Saskatoon as the cities grew a highway system grew with them but away from the southern border the vast Northern reaches are almost inaccessible the McKenzie Highway pushes northward to the great Slave Lake from which a few boats travel in the summer months up the MacKenzie River to the north but airplanes Remain the Chief means of transportation in this vast Northern [Applause] country since many settlements have no airfields pontoon planes make use of lakes and rivers for takeoffs and Landings towns and settlements with airfields are served by large airliners carrying passengers and Freight the cities of the Prairie Provinces are centers for Commerce Recreation manufacturing Transportation culture and religion the people reflect the different trends of immigration into the region the French background of St bonfice in Manitoba is contrasted with the Ukrainian background of the farmers who came from the vast depths of the Ukraine to farm the Prairies of Canada each of the Prairie Provinces boasts its own University the University of Alberta in Edmonton the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg Parliament buildings are located in the capital cities of Edmonton Regina and Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba is a vacation sday there is abundant fishing and hunting as there was in the days of the Pioneers who first penetrated the forests of the area a famous tourist attraction in Alberta is bamp high in the Rocky [Music] Mountains nearby is Lake [Music] Louis the mountains provide exciting scenery in every direction and inside the mountains coal is dug at their feet cattle range the [Music] Prairie oil is pumped to the Earth's surface wheat is grown and harvested shipping refining [Music] manufacturing cities and people these are the Prairie provinces of Canada [Music]