When did Alberta and Saskatchewan join Confederation?

Alberta and Saskatchewan joined Confederation on September 1, 1905 as the eighth and ninth provinces. The federal Alberta Act (4-5 Edward VII, c. 3) and Saskatchewan Act (4-5 Edward VII, c. 42), passed July 20, 1905 by Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal government, created the two provinces by dividing the southern portion of the North-West Territories. Inauguration ceremonies took place on September 1, 1905 in Edmonton (Alberta's capital) and Regina (Saskatchewan's capital) with Governor General Lord Grey and Prime Minister Laurier in attendance.

The two provinces were carved from the existing Provisional Districts of Alberta, Athabaska, Saskatchewan, and Assiniboia. The boundary between the new provinces was set at the 4th meridian (110 degrees west longitude) for political-balance reasons rather than a natural geographic feature. Both provinces included the area south of the 60th parallel of north latitude (the area north of 60 was retained as part of the North-West Territories). The Alberta capital was at Edmonton after a 1906 contest with Calgary; the Saskatchewan capital at Regina (the temporary capital at the time of inauguration), confirmed in 1906 over Saskatoon and Prince Albert.

The 1905 acts contained several controversial provisions. Section 17 of each act preserved Catholic and Protestant denominational school rights as they had existed under the 1875 North-West Territories Act, but in a more limited form. This compromise satisfied no one and contributed to ongoing political tensions. Section 21 of each act retained federal control over public lands and natural resources within the new provinces, treating them differently from the original provinces of 1867. This unusual federal control over provincial natural resources lasted until 1930 when the Natural Resources Transfer Agreements transferred land and resource control to the provinces.

Alberta and Saskatchewan's growth was driven by the wheat boom and immigration of the early 20th century. Alberta's population grew from about 73,000 in 1901 to 374,000 in 1911 and 588,000 in 1921. Saskatchewan's population grew from 91,000 in 1901 to 492,000 in 1911 and 758,000 in 1921. The Calgary Stampede was first held in 1912; the discovery of oil at Leduc on February 13, 1947 transformed Alberta's economy from agriculture to oil and gas. Saskatchewan elected the first North American social-democratic government (Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation) in 1944. Saskatchewan was the birthplace of Canadian Medicare under Douglas in 1962. Today Alberta has about 4.7 million people and Saskatchewan about 1.2 million.