Mine came from a comfortable life in Galt, Ontario. Why they chose SK is a mystery. I guess the lure of the free land was a huge pull. I don’t think mine had any farming experience, either. I think there are a few distant cousins still located around there.
Did homesteaders have any idea of how effing cold it was there and the nonstop winds?
Battleford is a small city which is considered rural. My brothers just went bored and moved to Vancouver, and I followed after grade school. The winters are absolutely nasty and if your car aint buried in snow, we call it a “mild winter”. XD