Bienfait

Bienfait /ˈbiːnfeɪt/[3] is a town in Saskatchewan on Highway 18 that is 14 km (9 miles) east of Estevan. It is 30 km northwest of the town of North Portal, which is next to the Canadian-American border and is also 10 km south of Estevan. It is surrounded by the RM of Coalfields.

Bienfait, Saskatchewan
Town
Main Street
Location of Bienfait in Saskatchewan
Bienfait (Canada)
Coordinates: 49.1465°N 102.7956°W / 49.1465; -102.7956
CountryCanada
ProvinceSaskatchewan
Census division1
Post office established1893
VillageApr 16, 1912
TownMarch 1, 1957
Government
 • MayorKen Bonokoski
Area
 • Total3.09 km2 (1.19 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total780
 • Density252.4/km2 (654/sq mi)
Postal code
S0C 0M0
Area code(s)306
[1][2]

For services, Bienfait has one school and a gas station. There is also a curling rink[4] and an ice rink,[5] which is where the Bienfait Coalers[6] of the Big 6 Hockey League play.[7] The Coalers have won the Lincoln Trophy 15 times, which is the most of any team.

The Bienfait Museum is in the old CPR Station on the east end of town.[8] The original location for the station was on the CPR line on the north side of town.

History

Bienfait was incorporated as the Village of Bienfait on April 16, 1912. It became a town on March 1, 1957, and was named by the Canadian Pacific Railway after Antoine Charles Bienfait, a banker with Adolphe Boissevain & Company of Amsterdam since the firm had been involved in the sale of Canadian Pacific shares in Europe.[9]

In 1931, striking coal miners marched from Bienfait to nearby Estevan, which resulted in the Estevan Riot.

Train/Caboose Lot

On the north side of town on Railway Avenue at the head of Main Street, sits a Manitoba & Saskatchewan Coal Company (M&S) Locomotive #3522, which is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. The M&S Locomotive was built in 1907 and used to transport coal from the mines to Bienfait to market until 1968. It was one of the last commercially-functioning steam engines in Canada.[10]

The town of Bienfait acquired the locomotive in 1968 and the caboose in 2000. The caboose is an old Canadian National Railway caboose. This site was added to the list of historic places in Saskatchewan on 28 March 2002.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Bienfait had a population of 668 living in 284 of its 355 total private dwellings, a change of -12.3% from its 2016 population of 762. With a land area of 3.05 km2 (1.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 219.0/km2 (567.2/sq mi) in 2021.[11]

Canada census – Bienfait community profile
20212011
Population668 (-12.3% from 2016)780 (+4.3% from 2006)
Land area3.05 km2 (1.18 sq mi)3.09 km2 (1.19 sq mi)
Population density218.7/km2 (566/sq mi)252.4/km2 (654/sq mi)
Median age36.4 (M: 36.4, F: 36.4)33.2 (M: 33.6, F: 32.6)
Total private dwellings285330
Median household income
References: 2021[12] 2011[13] earlier[14][15]
  • M&S Locomotive in Bienfait
  • Main Street Bienfait, looking north with the locomotive at the end of the road
  • M&S Locomotive plaque

See also

References
  1. National Archives, Archivia Net. "Post Offices and Postmasters". Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  2. Government of Saskatchewan, MRD Home. "Municipal Directory System". Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  3. The Canadian Press (2017), The Canadian Press Stylebook (18th ed.), Toronto: The Canadian Press
  4. "▷ BIENFAIT CURLING RINK ✔ All the information about BIENFAIT CURLING RINK ✔ BIENFAIT".
  5. "DiscoverEstevan".
  6. https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/25441/bienfait-coalers
  7. https://www.bigsixhockey.com/
  8. "Bienfait Coalfields Historical Society Museum | Tourism Saskatchewan".
  9. Bienfait Saskatchewan, History and Genealogy Page
  10. "HistoricPlaces.ca - HistoricPlaces.ca".
  11. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  12. "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  13. "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  14. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
  15. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
  • Endicott, Stephen (2002). Bienfait: The Saskatchewan Miners' Struggle of '31. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-8452-4.

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