Swift Current, Saskatchewan

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Image:Swift Current, Saskatchewan Location.png Swift Current is a small city "Where Life Makes Sense" in the southwestern region of Saskatchewan, Canada.

The settlement of Swift Current was begun in 1881 when the CPR surveyed a railway line as far as Swift Current Creek. In 1882, initial grading and track preparation commenced, with the first settlers arriving in the spring of 1883. On September 21 1903, the hamlet became a village and then a town on March 15 1907 when a census indicated a population of 550. There is some dispute as to whether this is because they counted dogs in the population. Swift Current became incorporated as a city on January 15 1914.

An important person in Swift Current's history is Ira E. Argue. (Methodist Sunday School superintendent, and co-owner of Argue & Cooper's store, which became WW Cooper's, and then was bought out by Pioneer Co-op.) He was the Swift Current equivalent of Robin Hood. At a point where the town was out of coal, and the government refused to give or sell them any, Argue stole a train car filled with coal from the CPR, and sold the coal to the locals at a very low price. He prevented them from dying of cold.

The longest running business in Swift Current is the Imperial Hotel, also known as The Big I (Adorned on the wall of the building as The Big (picture of an eye)) It has been running since Swift Current became a town, as a hotel, and so there could be a bar. (Back then you needed a hotel to qualify for a liquor license) Now, today, the hotel still runs, but it is most popular as a bar/after hours liquor store.

Swift Current is home to the Swift Current Broncos, a hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League. The team has raised some of the world's greatest hockey players to the professional level, such as Joe Sakic. The city is also home to Brad Wall, the leader of the conservative Saskatchewan Party, which is currently the official opposition in the Saskatchewan Legislature.

Swift Current is sometimes known in Canadian slang as "Speedy Creek".

According to the Canada 2001 Census:

Population:	14,821 (-0.5% from 1996)
Land area:	24.03 km²
Population density:	616.8 people/km²
Median age:	40.4 (males: 38.7, females: 42.0)
Total private dwellings:	6,891
Mean household income:	$40,711