Regina History & Facts
f its earliest pioneers, Nicholas Flood Davin. The founder of the Regina Leader, a poet and a
member of parliament, Davin was the author of the 1879 “Report on
Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds”, also known as the “Davin Report”. This became the blueprint for John A. Macdonald’s government as they
implemented the residential school system for Indigenous children. The impact on Canada’s
Aboriginal population was staggering and generational in its scope. A photograph of Nicholas Flood
Davin in about 1873. Davin sits on a leather chair in ¾ profile, knees crossed and tilted to the
right of the image. His arm rests on the chair back with his thumb and index finger touching the
side of his head. He is bald on top with a small tuft of dark, curly hair above his ear. He has a
small moustache and wears a bow tie, white shirt, vest and woolen coat and trousers. A photograph
of graduates of the Regina Indian Industrial School in about 1898. Four rows of Indigenous students
pose in formal suits for the male students and heavy black dresses with puff-sleeved jackets for
the female students. The image is discoloured because of over-exposure during photo developing and
the top left row of students is blurrier than the right side of the image. The top row has eight
male students. The second row from the top shows nine male students. The third row from the top
shows six male students and two female students. The fourth row shows 10 seated female students.
Regina was the site of the Regina Indian Industrial School, which was located west of the city near
what is now the Paul Dojack Youth Centre. This was a Presbyterian institution, part of the
residential schools program that devastated First Nations communities around Canada for decades. It
operated from 1891 to 1910, and was demolished in 1948. The cemetery for the Regina Indian
Industrial School was abandoned and largely forgotten for decades. Photograph of the Regina Indian
Industrial School in about 1895. A long brick building with many windows top and bottom, and two
covered entrances. The roofline has a cupola with a bell and a chimney. In front of the building
are many teams of horses pulling wagons and multiple people. On the top floor, several students
look down upon the scene from windows. The City of Regina has just begun grappling with how to put
the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee into practice. The City of Regina
Archives supplied material to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission during its fact-finding,
including this image. A photograph of a drum with red sides and a yellow and blue painted cruciform
image on top. It is being played by members of a drumming circle at National Aboriginal Day at City
Hall in 2014. The male drummers sit in a circle on chairs around the drum. No faces are visible.
Eight drumsticks strike the drum at the same time. The drumsticks are blurred because the
photograph was taken while the drumming was in progress. In March 2016, City Council unanimously
committed to acting on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. A photograph
of two Indigenous dancers in elaborate costumes performing at Henry Baker Hall during National
Aboriginal Day in 2014. Both dancers are blurred as they have been captured while dancing was in
progress. The costumes feature feathers and ribbons with a colour palette of reds, yellows, blue,
orange and white. Both dancers wear eagle feathers as part of their headdress. Behind the dancers,
visitors and members of the media watch while the drum circle accompanies the dancers. Some of the
observers are also dressed in dancing costumes and awaiting their turn to perform. One of the City
of Regina’s first steps in this journey was to provide heritage designation to the Regina Indian
Industrial School cemetery site, which took effect in September 2016. A photograph of Boggy Creek
wellspring in about 1911-1912. A wooden platform with metal machinery stands to the back and rises
above a metal pipe. The pipe is spurting water. A man’s legs are visible on the platform above the
pipe. A small boy stands to the left of the spurting pipe out of the range of water. In 1903,
Regina became a city, partly because Regina had a pressing need for things like running water, A
photograph of a well spring, taken in 1911-1912. sidewalks, The image is titled “Regina Flood,
April 13th 1916”. Several wooden buildings stand on a flat, featureless plain surrounded by water.
A wooden plank sidewalk runs above the water in the foreground. paved roads, A photograph of four
men in their best clothing pose with shovels and a wheelbarrow. The man to the far right stands
with a wheelbarrow. The second man stands in a stooped posture, posing with a pickaxe. A third man
stands holding a broom and smoking a cigar. The fourth man stands posing, holding a shovel. In the
background is a car and several houses. sewers, A photograph of a large trench reinforced with
metal rebar is surrounded by a metal track apparatus that is being used to transport large, wooden
sewer pipes into place within the trench. In the background stands the steam-powered boring machine
used to dig the trench. Two men in suits stand in the background in front of the machine and at the
edge of the trench. To the right of the image, three men work near sections of sewer pipe. One
section of pipe has been suspended from a metal chain and is being pulled into place in the trench.
Wooden houses are in the far background of the image. and electricity. A photograph of Turbine Hall
of the City of Regina Powerhouse, which is now the Saskatchewan Science Centre at 2903 Powerhouse
Drive. Four large turbines stand in a massive multi-storey building. The building has high ceilings
with large, arched windows and a skylight. The walls are brick. A man stands next to the front
turbine on a wooden platform. Wires and chains extend up the walls to the ceiling line. Jacob W.
Smith was our mayor then. We’ve had 38 different mayors in total. Here are some mayoral highlights:
A photograph of Mayor Jacob W. Smith in 1903. It is a head shot of a white-haired man with a
moustache and goatee. He wears a jacket and tie with a pin in it. He has small frameless round wire
glasses on. Coolest hair: Walter D. Cowan, who hosted public debates in his dental office. A
photograph of Mayor W.D. Cowan, DDS. Cowan’s image is framed by a hand-drawn oval frame made of
ornate paisley shapes with a placard bearing his name and title below. The image is a head shot of
a man with a white pompadour hairstyle and small moustache, wearing a suit and tie. Youngest mayor:
Francis N. Darke, buried in Regina’s only above-ground mausoleum. A photograph of town council in
1896. Four men stand in the back row while three men sit on leather chairs in front. Third from the
left in the back is Mayor Francis N. Darke. He has dark hair, which is neatly styled. He has a
handlebar moustache and he wears a white dress shirt, white bow tie and dark suit. Only female
mayor to date: Doreen Hamilton, who became mayor thanks to a coin toss when her predecessor, Larry
Schneider, resigned to run for federal election. A photograph of Mayor Doreen Hamilton in 1988.
Hamilton faces to the right of the image in ¾ profile. She stands at a podium and speaks into a
microphone. She is wearing a light jacket, white shirt and dark scarf or tie, loosely fastened.
Hamilton has short, dark hair and a large oval earring. Longest-serving mayor: Henry Baker, who was
simultaneously a provincial member of the legislative assembly. A photograph of ten men pose on the
back of a caboose that has just driven through a paper banner held by two men next to the train
tracks. The banner reads “Official Opening Regina Rail Relocation” but is now split in half by the
train caboose. Mayor Henry Baker stands third to the left on the caboose. He is wearing a dark
trilby hat and a beige coat with a shirt and tie. All men are dressed for cold weather, including
heavy coats, hats and gloves, though there is no snow on the ground. And the only mayor to fight
against Britain in a war: Cornelius Rink, who fought for the Dutch in the Boer War. A photograph of
Mayor Cornelius Rink in 1934. It is a head shot with Rink looking to the right of the frame. He has
thinning, white hair, is clean-shaven and wears a dark jacket, white shirt and bowtie. The image
has a frame with a hand-drawn banner reading “C.Rink Mayor”. In 1905, Saskatchewan became a
province, and in 1906, Regina became its capital. Back then, Saskatchewan was the fastest-growing
province. A photograph of decorated arches made of wheat for Inauguration Day, 1905. The image is
from a postcard. To the left is a photograph of decorated arches with bunting and a banner above
reading “North West Forever”. Flags top the archway. A small boy is standing in the centre of the
arch. A similar arch appears in the far background, visible through the closer arch. Stores and
buildings are to the far left of the arch, decorated with bunting, banners and flags. To the right
of the arch is the Canadian Pacific Railway gardens. The caption below the image says “South
Railway Street, Regina, Sask., Inauguration Day”. A postmark reading “Brandon, Man. Can. 1907 Sept.
19 2:10 pm” is stamped on the picture. To the right of the picture in the space for a message, it
reads: “Dear Nellie, I was so glad to hear from you. I have never heard from Annie since we left do
ask her wo write to me. I am liking this country fairly well but would rather have the dear old
country. Write to me soon. I wish I was near you. Love to Both. Bab.” We still had no trees,
though. Once we became the capital, the residents worked on making Regina look less like a flat
moonscape. A photograph of the bare, unlandscaped space that would be developed into Victoria Park
in about 1905. The photograph is looking south over houses towards Wascana Lake. No Legislative
Building has been constructed yet. On the unlandscaped Victoria Park there are unpaved trails
showing where residents have walked through the park. A fenced area marks off a surface for playing
sports. To the far left of the image is the edge of a gazebo. There are no trees, flowers or bushes
planted. They planted trees, A photograph of tree planting in 1960. Trees have no leaves on them
and are about waist-high on the men in the picture. Three men with shovels in background are
planting trees, while two men examine a tree in the right foreground. There is no snow on the
ground. All men are wearing coats. built a Legislative Building, Composite image of two
photographs. The photograph to the left shows the Legislative Building under construction. There
are multiple wooden platforms and pathways constructed to aid in the construction of masonry. In
the background are two crane or winch-like machines. The photograph to the right shows the nearly
completed Legislative Building in about 1912. The building’s outer walls have been completed and
the scaffolding has been removed. The Dome has been clad in copper, but some of the windows are
missing in the building. The building stands on flat, featureless prairie with no road leading to
it. landscaped parks, A black and white photograph of the hand-coloured “Design for Victoria Park”
by Frederick Todd, 1907. The image shows a square outer layout of trees flanking the perimeter,
with a circular spoke design featuring an empty space at the centre of the park left intentionally
open for a prominent feature. In the early days of the park, the centre location was filled with a
fountain, while the Cenotaph is the current prominent central feature within the park. and built a
City Hall. By 1912, Regina looked pretty impressive. A photograph of Regina’s second City Hall in
1908. An ornate four-storey, brick, gingerbread building with a central cupola and a clock tower on
the left of the image. The grand entrance to the front of the building is to the left of the image.
City Hall is surrounded by small, wooden and larger brick buildings in the image. On June 30, 1912,
Regina became the site of Canada’s deadliest tornado, when twin funnel clouds tore down two of the
most populous streets in the city. A photograph of the Knox Presbyterian Church after the 1912
cyclone. The image reads “Presbyterian Church Wrecked by Cyclone Regina, Sask”. The four-storey
Knox Presbyterian Church, a large, brick building, has had its central tower destroyed by the
cyclone. The building has no roof and a large portion of the brickwork in the centre and left of
the image has been destroyed. Piles of rubble can be seen through the gothic arches that had held
stained glass windows but are now empty. A row of young trees, heavily bent by the high winds,
stand nearly leafless in the foreground in front of the church. Debris covers the paved sidewalks
and street. Twenty-eight people were killed, hundreds injured and 2500 people were left homeless. A
photograph of houses damaged by the 1912 cyclone. The image reads “Regina Cyclone June 30/12”. To
the right of the frame sits a mostly intact brick house. Part of its roof has collapsed and it has
no shingles, but many of the house’s windows are still undamaged. To the left of the frame sits a
similar stone house. The second floor and roof is completely gone, with only some of the walls
leaning precariously and outlining where the rooms would have been. Two of the three downstairs
windows remain intact, though there are some stones missing from the house’s façade. Debris covers
the lawns in front of both houses. Within a year, most of the city was rebuilt, but it took about
40 years to pay off the debt. A photograph of three men with a team of horses and wagon pick up
debris after the 1912 cyclone. The image reads “Regina Cyclone June 30th”. The intact façade of the
Massey Harris building is seen in the background surrounded by debris. No windows remain in the
brick building. Another man in the background leads a second horse. When residents returned from
World War 1, Regina became a pioneer in the field of aviation. A photograph of a woman sitting in
the cockpit of the first registered airplane in Canada, in about 1917. The building in the
background reads “Aerial Service Co.” The airplane is a biplane style. The woman has short dark
hair in a curly style. She is smiling at the camera person. It was the home to Canada’s first
airfield. A photograph of Aerial Service Co. Ltd., Canada’s first airport, with four airplanes
lined up. Six unidentified men are leaning against the first airplane in line. All airplanes are
biplane style. An automobile with no roof sits to the far right in front of the line of airplanes.
The first commercial pilot, Roland J. Groome, and the first airplane mechanic, Bob McCombie. One
advantage of being flat, featureless and treeless turned out to be that you can build a nice, long
runway for airplanes. A close-up photograph of Roland J. Groome’s commercial pilot’s license, the
first such document ever issued in Canada. Groome’s picture is on the bottom right of the image. He
wears goggles on top of a pilot’s hat with long, ear-protecting flaps. He is young and
clean-shaven. In World War II, Regina would be the home of RCAF flight schools for Allied pilots,
and Regina’s runway was so long that it’s one of the few locations in Canada where the Concorde was
able to land. A photograph of Regina International Airport in about 1970. An air-traffic control
tower in the centre background of the image with a terminal building extending to the left and
right of the image. The word “REGINA” is on the side of the terminal building in the background.
...
Big Moves
ources and building retrofits. Leading by example: The City will show its commitment to this
project by installing heat pumps in City buildings and reporting to
residents on performance. The City will also make resources available to learn the benefits and
feasibility of heat pumps in a cold climate. Net-Zero new construction All provinces have agreed to
adopt the federal Net-Zero Energy-Ready (NZER) Building Code for new residential builds by 2030.
Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings produce as much clean energy as they use over the course of a year.
Net Zero homes and buildings have a well-insulated and air-tight envelope (walls, windows, doors,
foundation, and roof), high-efficiency equipment, and good solar orientation to produce renewable
electricity. Why? Every building that is constructed to a NZE standard is a building that doesn’t
need to be retrofitted in the future. All provinces have agreed to adopt the federal Net-Zero
Energy-Ready (NZER) Building Code for new residential buildings by 2030. What’s the plan? The City
can use existing tools and develop new programs or incentives to encourage all new construction to
meet net-zero standards. What’s the goal? To increase the percentage of new buildings constructed
to net-zero standards to 50 per cent by 2026 and to 100 per cent by 2030. All new commercial and
industrial buildings will be NZER by 2030, according to the progressive tiers of the National
Energy Code for Buildings. Leading by example: The City can help to encourage NZE neighbourhoods by
reducing regulations, providing financial incentives, or acting as a developer. Low-income and/or
social housing can be a major focus of these types of projects. The City will support the
development community by providing clarity around regulations, policies, and bylaws that will
impact the building sector. Renewable energy generation Renewable energy, when combined with energy
efficiency measures, can meet much of Regina's energy needs while decreasing emissions. There are
many sources of renewable energy, but in the Regina area, solar, wind, and geothermal are the most
viable options Why? Regina is among the sunniest cities in Canada. The community can harness the
abundant energy from the sun and other renewable energy sources such as wind and geothermal to
heat, cool, and power our homes, schools, and businesses. What’s the plan? To develop programs and
partnerships that support solar photovoltaic (i.e. solar panels) installations for buildings,
contribute to the creation of solar gardens and wind farms, and explore solar heating from
geothermal sources. What’s the goal? To generate 50 per cent of buildings’ electricity needs. This
can be achieved by installing solar panels on new construction and existing buildings with adequate
solar potential, and by building community solar and wind farms for additional generating capacity.
Leading by example: The City will lead by example by installing renewable energy systems at
municipal facilities. Solar panels have been installed at Maple Leaf Pool, Wascana Pool and the
Glencairn Neighbourhood Recreation Centre among other City-owned buildings; solar panels are also
prioritized for new building construction and any roof replacement projects. ...
Land Development
ng Certificate, applicants must include: The building address, including legal description; and A
legible Surveyor’s Certificate or a Real Property Report.
Approximate timeline: 5 business days How to apply: Contact Development Services at 306-777-7551;
or Mail the request to Development Services, 9th floor, City Hall (2476 Victoria Ave) How to Pay:
Confirmation of payment or a cheque payable to the City of Regina, reflecting the current fee of
$147 for each certificate must be received prior to issuance. Cheques may be submitted with mailed
requests or applicants will be contacted for payment by credit card. Building Certificates
Development Resources The City of Regina has manuals, guidelines and specifications that outline
standards for various elements of development. Design Standards Standard Construction
Specifications Developer/Consultant Field Services Guidelines Servicing Agreements: Standard
Conditions Manual Development Application Fees Submit your application, along with all required
documents and the appropriate fee, to City Hall. Ensure the information on your application is as
accurate as possible as the form acts as the basis for a legally binding decision. Our fee schedule
outlines zoning, development, condominium and supplemental fees. 1Multiple Applications: For any
combination of Official Community Plan Amendment, Subdivision Plan, Zoning Amendment or
Discretionary Use, fees will be reduced by 25% 2Application fee waived if the application supports
higher intensity land uses that will facilitate intensification opportunities on a site(s) within
the City Centre, Heritage and North Central neighbourhoods. For full conditions, please refer to
The Development Application Fee Bylaw, Appendix B. ∞Maximum fee permitted under Provincial
legislation *One Public Notification Signage Fee Included Zoning Administrative Fees Building
Sitting Certificate $147 Portable Sign Permit $44 Permanent Sign Permit $260 Permanent Sign Permit
- Video $500 Wall Sign Encroachment $231 Projecting Sign Encroachment $336 Minor Variance $50
Zoning Certification Letter $147 Zoning Appeal $300∞ Development Application Fees Discretionary
Use1,2 Standard $2,500* Complex $5,000* Zoning Amendment1,2 Minor $3,500* Major $5,400* Contract
Zone Standard $3,500* Complex $6,400* Official Community Plan Amendment1,2 Minor $3,500 Major
$5,400 Subdivision Application1 $1,500 Examination Fee + $175 per Unit (Maximum $5,000) Subdivision
Re-approval $1,500 Examination Fee + $175 per Unit (Maximum $5,000) Leasehold Parcel Approval $230
Concept Plan Approval $49,900* Concept Plan Amendments $16,600* Minor Concept Plan Amendments
$5,400* Closure Application $1,450 Severance Application $1,000 Examination Fee + $100 per Lot
Condominium Application Fees Bare Land $1,500 Examination Fee + $175 per Unit (Maximum $5,000) New
Development or Non-Residential Conversion $1,500 Examination Fee + $175 per Unit (Maximum $5,000)
Residential - Condominium Conversion TBD Supplemental Fees Additional Public Notification Signage
$248 Advertising Fee $750 striped Development Charges Growth creates an extra cost for the City as
infrastructure and services need to be in place before growth occurs, as well as after, to maintain
service levels for residents. The City uses Development Charges to help pay for new infrastructure
and services required to support growth, like water treatment plants, water and sewer mains, roads,
parks and recreational facilities. Development Charges Zoning Bylaw Planning Processing Times How
our City is Built - Planning & Development Process Summary Condominium Conversion Policy The
Planning & Development Act Development Application Fee Bylaw
