Canadian Prairies

The Canadian Prairies The Prairie provinces, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, are named as a reflection of their topography and vegetation. Northern mixed grasslands cover large portions of all three Prairie provinces, with shorter grasses being predominant in Southeastern Alberta and Southern Saskatchewan. Northern tall grasslands cover much of Southern Manitoba, while aspen parklands cover much of central Alberta, central Saskatchewan, and Southern Manitoba. Alberta has the greatest amount of typical Prairie land cover, while Manitoba has the least, as much of the province is covered with boreal forest. The first grain elevator in Canada was built in Niverville, Manitoba, in 1879. Two years later the Ogilvie Milling Company built an elevator in Gretna, Manitoba, which established the architecture for all subsequent elevator construction. Their design is recognized as “true Canadian architecture”. The grain elevator defined the economy and the skyline of the Prairies for decades. In 1933 there were 5758 elevators in service on the Canadian Prairies. Today approximately 350 remain standing, virtually none of which are being used for their intended purpose. Shortly after the Canadian Pacific Railway moved its headquarters from Montreal to Calgary in 2003, Errol Brimacombe was commissioned by the CPR to paint watercolours depicting “The Last Shipment”, which included boxcars being loaded at an elevator, with a track puller behind the train. Prints of this image were created, and subsequently distributed as mementos to those associated with the dismantling of many of these icons and the side tracks leading to them.