Wynyard is a town in eastern Saskatchewan, Canada, 132 km west of Yorkton and 190 km east of Saskatoon. Wynyard is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Big Quill No. 308. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway just south of Big Quill Lake.

History

Many of the early settlers to the area around Big Quill Lake were of Icelandic origin, and the ethnic block settlement area was called the Vatnabyggd settlement. Sleipnir, a store and post office, was located at NE 30-22-15 W2 and was the centre of community life of the Vatnabyggd settlement until it was moved into Wynyard in 1908. The first wave of Icelandic settlers in the Wynyard area was soon followed by numerous Ukrainian settlers and then British, Polish, and German settlers.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wynyard had a population of 1,724 living in 808 of its 911 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 1,798. With a land area of 5.32 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Climate

Attractions

The Frank Cameron Museum is closed, but there is a very interesting museum, downtown, on Avenue B. It has a good selection of local historical artefacts and pictures, and occasionally has special exhibits, such as "wedding dresses through the decades".

Heritage sites

Three of designated heritage sites are located in Wynyard:

Activities and sports

The Town of Wynyard has several sports teams: the Wynyard Blues Mens Fastball Team, the Wynyard Monarchs hockey team of the Long Lake Hockey League (LLHL), and the Wynyard Monarchs of the senior men's Highway Hockey League. Wynyard plays host to many activities and groups such as Wynyard Air Cadets, Wynyard Minor Baseball, Wynyard Minor Hockey, Wynyard Fireman's Association, Wynyard Kinettes, Wynyard Kinsmen, Wynyard Legion, Wynyard School of Dance, Wynyard Senior Appreciation Days, Wynyard Senior Centre, and Wynyard Shriners.

Media

Transportation

Wynyard is located on Highway 16. Wynyard was made a divisional point on the Canadian Pacific Railway when it came through. No longer providing passenger service the Wynyard railway station is a designated historical railway station. Wynyard/W. B. Needham Field Aerodrome also facilitate transportation in and out of Wynyard and area.

Education

The town is home to the Wynyard Elementary School and Wynyard Composite High School in the Horizon School Division #205. The high school team, the Wynyard Golden Bears, play basketball, football, volleyball, and soccer. The high school also participates in cross country, track, and badminton. The one-room school houses of the early 1900s were called Wynyard School District #2499 and Nordra School #1947. The latter offered a course in Icelandic when it was first constructed in 1907 as the early school administration allowed an hour each day from 3 pm to 4 pm for foreign language instruction. Currently there are several venues for education in Wynyard.