Bethune (2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Dufferin No. 190 and Census Division No. 6. The village is 56 km north-west of Regina on Highway 11 (Louis Riel Trail). Arm River flows along a river valley north of Bethune, which features camping sites, and the Qu'Appelle River is a short way south. Last Mountain Lake or Long Lake is north-east of Bethune whereas Buffalo Pound Lake is just south-west. The post office of Bethune, Assiniboia, NWT was established on 5 June 1905, three months before Saskatchewan became a province.

History

Bethune incorporated as a village on 2 August 1912. The village takes its name from C.B. Bethune, the engineer on the first train to travel the railway in 1887.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Bethune had a population of 560 living in 180 of its 189 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 399. With a land area of 2.38 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Bethune recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a NaN% change from its 2011 population of. With a land area of 2.38 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

Attractions

Bethune has a skating rink, curling rink, park, school, and baseball diamonds located on the outskirts of town at McLean Park. It has a playground splash pad and four baseball diamonds. Bethune is home to the Bethune Bulldogs of the senior men's Highway Hockey League. The Gillis Blakley Bethune and District Heritage Museum is a Municipal Heritage Property on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Nearby attractions include Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, Grandview Beach, Kedleston Beach, and Regina Beach Recreation Site.