This fourth volume of the History of the Prairie West Series contains fifteen articles examining the rich history of business and early industry in Canada's Prairie Provinces prior to the Great Depression. Without denying the central importance of agriculture in the development and growth of the early Prairie West, the essays in Business and Inudstry explore the lesser known history of some of the earliest businesses in the region. As we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, a time when the three Prairie Provinces comprise the fastest-growing, and perhaps the most dynamic, economic regions in Canada, it may be worthwhile to cast our gaze back to an earlier and simpler era. In these essays, we can glimpse the origins of the entrepreneurial spirit and business ehtos that have come to define the business culture of the Prairie West.

Gregory P. Marchildon holds a Canada Research Chair in Public Policy and Economic History at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina.