Qu’Appelle is located about 50km east of Regina and used to be the end of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the hub for distributing grains and other goods. As the primary distribution centre for the North-West Territories, the town was expected to be the headquarters of the Assiniboia District. However, politics changed, and instead, Regina was the territorial capital. Then as the railway extended further west, the significance of Qu’Appelle declined.