For a short time, A&W will be offering bison burgers exclusively in Saskatchewan. The company explains after a successful trial in its Manitoba locations during the spring, the burgers will be brought to the prairie province until supplies last. The product itself is from Canadian Rangeland Bison & Elk located near Lacombe, Alta.
“Saskatchewan is a province proud of the role its agriculture plays in Canada and on the world stage,” says Susan Senecal, A&W Canada’s president, and CEO. “We are proud to support the hard work and innovation of Canadian ranchers, and excited to bring our new Bison Burger to Saskatchewan. This is a great tasting recipe made with the unique flavour of quality 100% Canadian bison.”
Saskatchewan bison rancher, Robert Johnson is thrilled by the news.
“I’m really happy about this,” he says. “For a long time, bison has been almost like a niche industry, on the meat side, (one would almost say) the exotic side, and it’s good to see it getting some mainstream attention from one of the major food retailing chains.”
Johnson ranches near the village of Fairlight, Sask. and has roughly 1,800 head. He’s hopeful the fast-food chain will continue on with the burger if the demand is there, just like some restaurants in the U.S.
“I’ve got friends in Ontario that wish it was out there, and definitely Alberta, I think A&W, like I said in my (Facebook) post, get a bit of flack, but they do offer a lot of choice to the consumer and it’s just how they present it that gets (some) feathers ruffled.”