Rocanville is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada, and home to the largest oil can in the world. It is home of the Nutrien Rocanville mine. Rocanville is also home of the Symons Oiler factory which produced over 1 million oil cans during the Second World War. The town erected the giant oil can to commemorate the factory. Rocanville is also known for crop circles that were discovered there in the fall of 1996.

History

Settlement in the area dates back to the fur trade, beginning in 1785 with the building of Fort Espérance, an archaeological site in Rocanville believed to contain the remains of two late 18th- and early 19th-century forts. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1944. The first settlers of the current townsite arrived in the area in 1882 and 1883. The village was started by two brothers who built the first general store in the middle of what is now Main Street in 1902. Rocanville was incorporated as a village on March 24, 1904, a short time after the railroad reached the area and is named for the town's first postmaster, Rocan de Bastien, who served as overseer of the village. It became a town on August 1, 1967. The Rocanville and District Museum Site, the Rocanville Farmers Building and the Symons Metalworks have all been designated as Municipal Heritage Properties under the provincial Heritage Property Act. Rocanville's potash mine produced its first train car load of potash on September 25, 1970. Upon opening, it was owned by the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, which has since merged with Agrium to become Nutrien. It is the largest of Nutrien's six potash mines in Saskatchewan.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Rocanville had a population of 889 living in 398 of its 471 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 863. With a land area of 2.36 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. The town is governed by a mayor and five councillors.

Sports

The town of Rocanville is home to the Rocanville Tigers senior team in the Sask. East Hockey League. It also hosts minor hockey and baseball, along with curling. Rocanville is the hometown of hockey coach Jessica Campbell, who was named the first full-time female assistant coach in National Hockey League history in July 2024. The local indoor pool is undergoing a significant refurbishment project and is expected to reopen in 2025. The town also has a golf course, the Rocanville Town and Country Golf Club.

Climate