Biggar, Saskatchewan is a charming town nestled in the heart of Canada. Located on Highway 14, it's a mere 93 kilometres west of Saskatoon, the province's most populous city. Biggar has gained fame for its unique town slogan, its Olympic athlete, and a world-record deer. It even made an appearance on American morning newsmagazine The Today Show in February 2010 as part of an ongoing Canadian-oriented segment during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Biggar was incorporated as a village in 1909 and was named after William Hodgins Biggar, the general counsel of the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) railway. The GTP railway, which had come through the area in 1908, made Biggar a divisional point on its line, constructing a large station and roundhouse. This led to a population increase as Biggar became a home terminal where train crews were changed.
In 1911, Biggar was incorporated as a town. The population continued to grow, reaching over 2,000 by the mid-1920s and peaking at 2,755 in 1966. According to the 2011 census, Biggar is now home to 2,161 people.
The town is known for its slogan "New York is big, but this is Biggar." This slogan was created in 1914 by a survey crew who painted it onto a town sign as a drunken prank. The graffiti remained unchanged until 1954 when the slogan was officially adopted.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Biggar had a population of 2,133 living in 941 of its 1,027 total private dwellings. This represented a change of -4.2% from its 2016 population of 2,226. With a land area of 15.37 km2 (5.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 138.8/km2 (359.4/sq mi) in 2021.
Biggar boasts several recreational facilities and parks. The town is equipped with an ice rink, curling rink, ball diamonds, and an aquatic centre. Just one kilometre north of town is the Biggar & District Regional Park, which features a campground and golf course.
Biggar experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The highest temperature ever recorded in Biggar was 40.0 °C (104 °F) on 4 July 1937, 24 June 1941, and 6 August 1949. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −46.7 °C (−52 °F) on 16 February 1936.
