In 2023 the SaskSPCA celebrates 95 years of dedicated service toward improving the lives of animals in Saskatchewan. We thought we would take this opportunity to look back at what life was like in 1928, the year an Act of the provincial legislature created the Society.

In 1928, Saskatchewan celebrated 23 years as a province. The Liberal Party, led by the province’s fourth premier, James Garfield Gardiner, formed the provincial government. The minister of agriculture was Charles McGill Hamilton. Henry William Newlands was in the middle of his 10-year term as lieutenant governor.

On the national scene, Freeman Freeman-Thomas was King George V’s governor general, and William Lyon Mackenzie King was in the prime minister’s office.

The 1926 Census lists Saskatchewan with a population of 820,738 residents. Farmland occupied a total of 45,945,410 acres. That total is more acreage than the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba combined!

Our province was home to 1.1 million horses, 1.16 million cattle, 438,245 dairy cows, 161,831 sheep, 597,660 hogs, and 2.85 million chickens.

Statistics Canada data from 1928 lists the price of staple foods. A quart of milk was 12 cents, one pound of butter was 41 cents, and a pound of old cheese was 32 cents. A pound of flour would set you back half a cent. A dozen eggs were 47 cents. A single pound of sirloin steak was 34 cents, and a pound of bacon was 37 cents.

A lot has changed over the last 95 years. We’re excited to see what the future holds as we look forward to our 100th anniversary in 2028.