Val Marie is a village of 137 people located in Canada's Saskatchewan province a few kilometres from the Canada-USA border.  We are situated in a dry, desert type climate. We seem to have only two seasons--winter and summer. Our summers are hot and dry; many days we are the hottest location in Canada.  The economy of the area is based on farming, ranching, and natural gas. Tourism is becoming a major economic force within the Village due to the establishment of Grasslands National Park, in the surrounding Rural Municipalities.