Biggar (Saskatchewan)

Biggar is a small town in West Central Saskatchewan, with a population of around 2,100 (2021). The town is known for its slogan "New York is big, but this is Biggar."

Understand
The town's slogan was created in 1914 by a survey crew who painted it onto a town sign as a drunken prank. According to the Biggar Museum and Gallery, the graffiti remained unchanged until 1954 when the slogan was officially adopted.

Biggar was incorporated as a village in 1909. It was named not after Biggar, Scotland, but after William Hodgins Biggar, general counsel of the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) railway which had come through the area in 1908. The GTP made Biggar a divisional point on its line, building a large station and roundhouse. The population grew as Biggar became a home terminal where train crews were changed. Biggar's prosperity was directly tied to the railway for many years. Up to 500 local people were at one time employed by Canadian National Railway (CN), which took over the GTP. That number has now dropped to under 200. As the railway industry has decreased, Biggar has shifted its economy to agriculture and related industries.

Biggar is home to Prairie Malt Limited, a large barley processing plant. The malthouse has an annual capacity of 220,000 metric tonnes. Malt is a primary ingredient in beer and whisky. Prairie Malt employs approximately 70 full-time employees. It creates significant spin-off employment among local trucking firms such as Biggar Transport, with a fleet of over 50 trucks.

The Town of Biggar's businesses include a manufacturer of petroleum and hazardous material containment tanks, a sodium sulphate plant, a large greenhouse and a variety of financial, farm and health services.

By car
Biggar is located on Highway 14, west of Saskatoon at the junction of Highways 4, 14, and 51.

By train
Train operator:


 * Operates The Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver with stops in both directions in medium to large cities and tourist destinations such as Sudbury, Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Kamloops.

Go next

 * Drive east for 1 hour on Highway 14 to Saskatoon.