Quite obviously, years of planning and preparation went into the construction of one of Saskatchewan’s finest buildings. For a building of such magnitude to come to fruition, many people were involved..

The Legislative Building was built as a result of the growing number of staff within the Legislative Assembly. The increasing number of legislators rendered the old and historic house of the Legislative Assembly too small for their purposes.

The Premier at the time, Walter Scott, proposed the idea of building a new ‘home’ for the Assembly and all departments of the public service. Discussions began in 1905 regarding the creation of such a building. At the time, the legislature sat in the old Northwest Territorial Government Building in Regina. A 168 acre site a kilometre south of the business centre was acquired, and a Montreal landscape architect was commissioned to lay the grounds.  

A competition was then held to choose an architectural firm for the project. Seven leading architectural firms were selected, including one each from the United States, Great Britian and Saskatchewan, and from elsewhere in Canada.   The winning firm, Montreal’s E & W.S Maxwell, drew up the plans, which were then carried out by another Montreal firm, Peter Lyall & Sons. To view the seven original architectural designs, please click the photo button below.

As part of the design criteria, architectural firms were asked to take into account the local climate, labor skills and materials. That included the suggestion that red brick be used in the construction of the building. Criteria also called for some dominating feature such as a dome or a tower to act as a landmark. While the proposed materials were red brick and pale bluff stone, the exterior walls were ultimately faced with the cream-coloured Tyndall limestone from Manitoba. This came at the request of  Premier Walter Scott*.

The location chosen for the building was the original site for the beginning of Wascana Centre – a 160 acre park. The building was set 200 yards back from the south shore of Wascana Lake.

Construction began on August 31, 1908, with the initial driving of the concrete piling for the foundation.

The framework as far as the drum base of the Dome was completed by October 4, 1909*. On that day, the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency Earl Grey laid the cornerstone. The setting of the Tyndall stone facing began in August 1909. The government offices were able to move in by the end of 1910 when the bulk of the interior was completed*. The Legislative Assembly met for the first time in their new chamber on January 25, 1912.

The land the Legislative Building now so grandly occupied was nothing more than a vast expanse of prairie grass. It made it difficult for the province’s newly appointed landscape architect to create the beautiful setting that now surrounds the building. However, the landscape architect was able to plant some trees, shrubs and perennial flowers from the government nurseries. It took about 10 years for the grounds to fully flourish.

In June 1912, a cyclone devastated Regina. Fortunately, the storm caused only minor damage to the Legislative Building. Repairs were completed in time for the official opening on October 12, 1912*. The building was dedicated by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught at an extravagant opening ceremony complete with fireworks, flag waving, and beautiful decorations along city streets. 

The new building was immediately praised for its design. The imposing exterior and the grandly conceived ceremonial rooms were a source of pride to all Canadians. 

For a pictoral view of the early construction of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, go to our Photo Library located on this site for a pictorial history of the early construction. Photos are courtesy Saskachewan Archives.

• The first Session of the Legislative Assembly was held in the Legislative Library on January 17, 1911 to March 23, 1911. The Session opened in the New Post Office Building on Scarth Street on December 15, 1910, then immediately adjourned to re-open in the new building.

• More than 34 different types of marble used throughout the building.  The main stairway is made of white veined marble from Philipsburg, Quebec. The marble on the walls is from Italy, the floor from Vermont, and baseboards and the bases of the pillars from Ireland. The pillars and columns were quarried on the Island of Cyprus, then cut and shaped in Quebec.

• The mural above the Rotunda is titled "Before the White Man Came". An employee of the Department of Public Works, John Leman, painted the mural in 1933. The scene depicts the Qu’Appelle Valley with a hunting party preparing to attack a herd of buffalo on the opposite side of the lake.

• The final cost of construction of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in 1912 was $1.8 million.
  

For information on visiting the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, or to learn about the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, please visit the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan web site.

* The Architecture of Edward & W.S. Maxwell, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1991, pp. 170-174.

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