What the heck is Saskatchewan? A guide for Chappell Roan fans

Chappell Roan’s teaser for “The Subway” has made Saskatchewan the belle of the ball. But what’s the deal with Canada’s most rectangular province?

Has Saskatchewan ever had this much international gay attention?

Chappell Roan finally released the first official teaser for her upcoming single “The Subway” last week, with the single set to drop on July 31. While snippets of the song and video from a live performance last year have circulated online, this markets an official lead-up to the song becoming reality. 

A short video clip shared by a fan page to social media shows a white box truck with a crimson-haired driver puttering along the sort of road familiar to anyone who grew up in the Canadian prairies—canola fields, grain elevator and, sure enough, a “Welcome to Saskatchewan” sign as Roan sings of New York: “Fuck this city, I’m moving to Saskatchewan.”

But, what the hell is Saskatchewan? With Roan’s superstardom, queers around the world are suddenly looking at Canada’s most prairie (and most rectangular) province.

From socialist history to modern day LGBTQ2S+ rights fights, we give you a quick and easy guide to the province of the moment.

Senior editor Mel Woods is an English-speaking Vancouver-based writer, editor and audio producer and a former associate editor with HuffPost Canada. A proud prairie queer and ranch dressing expert, their work has also appeared in Vice, Slate, the Tyee, the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Walrus.

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