The name "Wascana" is derived from the
Cree word
Oscana meaning "pile of bones" in reference to the plains bison bones scattered around Wascana Creek before the area was populated by non-indigenous people. Wascana Lake was originally created in 1883 by damming Wascana Creek between Angus and Rae Streets, 1 blocks west of the present Albert Street dam and bridge, to provide a "stock watering hole" — the rolling stock of the CPR, that is. The Lake was soon turned to recreational use and Reginans took to the lake for sailing and canoeing. In 1905 the newly formed provincial government set about to build a capital building, to be located in Regina. Landscape architect
Frederick Todd was asked to perform an initial design study for the lands around the building and lake, completed in 1907 and styled on the English
Romantic Landscape movement. The lake was slightly reduced in 1908 when a new dam and bridge were constructed in their present location, based on Todd's initial designs and advancing plans for the park. As the project developed an expanded plan was requested from architect
Thomas Mawson, submitted in 1912 and which became the park template for the next five decades. The lake continued for a time to be used as a domestic water supply and for stock watering; it also supplied the new legislative building. A longer term effect resulted, however, when lake water was used to cool machinery in the power plant (now the Powerhouse Museum) that was built in the eastern sector. Heated water returned to the lake, causing that sector to remain ice-free through the winter, and several species of migratory birds made it their year-round habitat. Although the old coal-fired power plant was decommissioned in the early 1970s, a permanent/non-migrating flock of Canada geese habituated to wintering in the city had to be rounded up and either transported out of the city or if injured then housed in a waterfowl sanctuary. The annual goose round-up continued into the 1990s. The eastern sector of the lake continues to be a waterfowl sanctuary. Wascana Lake was drained and deepened in the 1930s as part of a government relief project. 2,100 men widened and dredged the lake bed and created two islands using only hand tools and horse-drawn wagons. It was decided to establish a new campus in Regina for the
University of Saskatchewan beyond the College Avenue buildings dating back to 1911, beginning as a private Methodist secondary school which became the College Avenue Campus.
Minoru Yamasaki was commissioned in 1961 to prepare a 100-year master plan for the whole of a Wascana Centre including the new university complex, enlisting California landscape architect
Thomas Church in the effort. Yamasaki's vision has largely been adhered to, notwithstanding some controversy over the years as to the suitability of his stark
modernist buildings for the featureless Regina plain. This university would become an independent University of Regina in 1974. During the fall and winter of 2003–2004, Wascana Lake was again drained and dredged to deepen it by an average of about 5 metres (16 ft). The
Big Dig, as it was known locally, was primarily to decrease aquatic weed growth, improve water quality, and allow more competitive and recreational canoeing and paddling during the summer months. The Big Dig also included the addition of a new island and general re-landscaping around the lake. The dredging was completed in mid-March 2004, in time for the spring runoff. The lake includes several small islands: Willow Island, Spruce Island, Pine Island, Goose Island and Tern Island. The Wascana Racing Canoe Club and Wascana Centre have hosted the 2006 Canadian Sprint CanoeKayak National Championships in 2006 and 2010 and again in 2014 along with the canoe/kayak event at the 2014 North American Indigenous Games. == Statistics ==