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MAY 2013
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years production has spiked, thanks to
new drilling technologies. Today, the
province sells more oil to the U.S. than
Kuwait does. Furthermore, it’s the world’s
No. 1 producer of potash—a key fertilizer
component that’s in ever-increasing
demand in China and India—and No. 2
in uranium. As the commercial hub of
the province, Saskatoon has benefited
mightily from the increased exploitation
of these resources, as evidenced by the
glistening Porsche dealership that opened
here last year.
It’s heady stuff in a city where tradi-
tionally the bigwigs were the ones toting
hockey sticks and everyone else cheered
them on. But there’s also a sense of
bemusement—something reminiscent
of the vaguely alarmed look in the eyes
of a lo ery winner beaming from behind
a giant check. Sudden wealth has a way
of shaking up a person’s values and
sense of self; the same could hold true for
a city. “Having to call ahead for a reser-
vation,” says Saskatoon-born real estate
developer Curtis Olson, trying to put his
finger on the post-boom changes, “is not
the sort of thing that a lot of people here
are used to doing.”
One night during dinner service at the
tapas spot Duck Duck Goose, a middle-
aged woman from the working-class
suburb of Martensville can be heard
bemoaning the downside of the upswing.
“
A fewyears ago, housing [prices] doubled,”
she says. “I rememberwhenyouused to be
able to buy houses herewith credit cards.”
The woman’s daughter, a corkscrew-
haired blonde in her early 20s, chimes in
with a recollection of a recent night out
at a new restaurant called TheHollows: “It
was filledwith hipsters, and I figured that
we weren’t welcome there.”
Olson, whowears designer jeans, snazzy
boots and well-tailored sports jackets, is
familiar with such sentiments. “I like the
until the 1880s. It was founded by a group
ofmoral refugees—Methodists looking to
escape booze-soddenToronto. By the early
1900
s, though, this temperance colony had
transformed into “Hub City,” a focal point
of agricultural trade and rowdy drinking
sessions. This marked the first of Saska-
toon’s many boom periods, which have
invariably been followed by busts (there
was a big one in the late 1990s, when oil
prices went into free fall).
Through the ups and downs, Saska-
toon’s identity stayed more or less the
same. Reliance on agriculture dimin-
ished and the population grew, but the
city remained a place that favored those
who were able to make do with little,
who squirreled away their nickels—a
fact that is a source of pride as much as
it is an economic reality. “There weren’t
a lot of million-dollar houses five
years ago,” says Paul Leier, co-owner of
Cavalier Enterprises, the parent company
of The James Hotel, “and there wasn’t a
Porsche dealership either.” What Leier
doesn’t say is that these improvements
have brought with them a kind of eco-
nomic relativity, one that sheds a harsh
light on the gulf between the city’s haves
and have-nots.
“
FORSOME, THERE’S
AFEELINGTHECITY ISNOT
THEIRSANYMORE,” SAYS
ALOCALDEVELOPER. “THE
DECK ISBEINGSHUFFLED.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 118
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change, but there are some people who
don’t,” he says. “For them, there’s a feeling
that the city is not theirs anymore. They’re
seeing new faces, and the deck is being
shuffled. There is some turbulence.”
WHILE PEOPLE HAVE INHABITED
the Saskatoon area for more than 8,000
years, the modern city didn’t take shape
NEWGUARD
Right, Christie Peters
and Kyle Michael,
co-owners of The
Hollows; below,
pricey toys at Village
Guitar & Amp
