Walter Scott, the first premier of Saskatchewan, hosted a competition for the legislative building to be built in Regina in 1905. The design by the Maxwell Brothers from Montreal was chosen and the building was completed in 1912. It was initially designed to be constructed with red brick before Scott switched to Tyndall stone in the last minute leaving piles of new brick lying around. At $1.75 million, it cost double the original budget.
The rotunda area was made with 34 types of marble from all over the world and the painting above the doors to the chamber was cleaned with a million swabs of human saliva. The dome is 56 meters high and the corridors are the longest of any provincial parliament in Canada. There aren’t enough seats inside the chamber to fill the floor because Scott thought Saskatchewan would have 10 million residents by 2000. He dreamed big and future-proofed the building for generations yet to come.
The usual suspects, premiers, monarchs, and speakers are memorialized with paintings on the wall. The former gift shop didn’t see enough foot traffic so it was converted into a photo and art gallery of the building’s construction, renovation and the Queen’s visit in 1986, which was also the year the province finally had a coat of arms. You can also see the Confederation table, where the articles of confederation were negotiated at the 1864 Quebec conference.
Not too many people visit on holidays so you might score a private guided tour of the place. Worth a shot.
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