The name "La Crête" means "the ridge" in French, which is how the earliest settlers described the area they settled.
History
La Crete was first settled in 1914 as La Crête Landing. When the first Mennonites arrived in the 1930s, they settled a short distance southwest of the original settlement on the current site of La Crete. When the first highways were built into the area in the 1960s, the population began to increase as new settlers arrived, and in 1979, La Crete was declared a hamlet.
Geography
The Hamlet of La Crete is west of Highway 697, mostly between Township Road 1060 and Township Road 1062 (109 Avenue).[3] Lake Tourangeau is adjacent to the hamlet to the northwest.[3]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, La Crete had a population of 3,856 living in 1,329 of its 1,397 total private dwellings, a change of 13.5% from its 2016 population of 3,396. With a land area of 17.61 km2 (6.80 sq mi), it had a population density of 219.0/km2 (567.1/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
The residents of La Crete typically speak English or German.[16]
Attractions
La Crete has walking trails that were paved using donations from local residents.[citation needed] There is a Mennonite Heritage Village sited on "10 acres of land homesteaded by Henry H. Peters in 1950".[17]
Economy
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The local economy is centered around agriculture and forestry.
La Crete holds a hockey tournament every year known as the Challenge Cup, where teams from all over northern Alberta come to challenge each other in hopes of winning the trophy.
The La Crete Public High School's men's and women's basketball teams host an annual basketball tournament, The Northern Exposure Hoop Classic. It has been held every year since 2004, and has grown in stature to include teams from across Alberta. There is a waiting list to get into the Hoop Classic, even though the number of teams invited has increased.
Government
A ward boundary bisects the Hamlet of La Crete, which results in it having representation on Mackenzie County Council by two councillors.[18] Ward 3, which is west of 99 Street, is represented by Peter Braun, while Ward 4, which is east of 99 Street, is represented by David Driedger.[18][19]
Transportation
During the summer months the La Crete Ferry, also known as the Tompkins Landing Ferry,[20] one of only six ferries still operating in Alberta, shuttles vehicles across the Peace River on Highway 697 about 70 kilometres southwest of the hamlet. In the winter, an ice bridge is maintained at the same spot. This access connects La Crete to the Mackenzie Highway near Paddle Prairie, offering a considerable time saving when travelling to or from La Crete. During the spring and fall, when the river is unfit for the ferry and the ice too thin to support vehicle traffic, or at other times when the ferry is not operational, travellers must continue north to High Level, then east on Highway 58 before coming back south to reach La Crete. In the summer of 2006 a sandbar formed in the centre of the river, where the ferry normally crossed, forcing it to travel around it. The sandbar has grown to such a size that the ferry does not always run if the water level is too low.
The La Crete Ferry is also the only Alberta ferry that has public access online camera images, https://lacrete.ca/ to assist with status updates as well traffic line ups. LaCrete.ca was set up in 2020 and is locally/privately owned/operated and supported by local business sponsors/advertisers. The main camera image shows the La Crete Ferry's route across the Peace River, Tompkins Landing dock and current traffic awaiting to board, it updates every 30 seconds. The second camera image shows traffic access on the La Crete side and updates every minute. The third camera image shows the Paddle Prairie dock, traffic partially up the hill and updates every minute.
^"Geographical Identification and Population for Unincorporated Places of 25 persons and over, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada(PDF). Supplementary Bulletins: Geographic and Demographic (Population of Unincorporated Places—Canada). Vol. Bulletin 8SG.1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1978. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
^1981 Census of Canada(PDF). Place name reference list. Vol. Western provinces and the Territories. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1983. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
