Whitecourt is also located at the confluence of four waterways – the Athabasca River, McLeod River, Sakwatamau River and Beaver Creek.[3] A Canadian National rail line runs through the town.
The community was formed in the place known by the Cree as Sagitawah (the place where the rivers meet). While the first Hudson's Bay Companytrading post was established in 1897, the first permanent resident on the present day town site was John Goodwin, who settled there in 1905. In 1910, with the expansion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, immigrants were encouraged by Premier Arthur Lewis Sifton to settle in the vast scarcely inhabited area between Edmonton and the Peace River Country.[11] The name "Whitecourt" was chosen in 1910 by Walter White, the postmaster of the young community. White was the son-in-law of former Kansas governor John W. Leedy who also settled in the community.
Geography
Whitecourt has three identifiable geographic components:
the Valley that includes the town centre, the Athabasca Flats residential area, Millar Western's sawmill and pulp mill, and three manufactured home parks;
the Hilltop that includes the Hilltop and Southlands Estates residential areas, the Hilltop industrial area, a 2.5 km highway commercial strip along Highway 43 and two manufactured home parks; and
West Whitecourt, between the McLeod and Athabasca Rivers, includes an industrial area, a 1.0 km highway commercial strip along Highway 43, and a manufactured home park.
Climate
Whitecourt has a subarctic climate (KöppenDfc), falling just short of a humid continental climate (Dfb) due to May and September having mean average temperatures just below 10 °C or 50 °F. Winters are long and cold (though milder than many areas farther east, even at lower latitudes), and summers are fairly short and relatively warm.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Whitecourt had a population of 9,927 living in 3,876 of its 4,341 total private dwellings, a change of -2.8% from its 2016 population of 10,209. With a land area of 29.51 km2 (11.39 sq mi), it had a population density of 336.4/km2 (871.3/sq mi) in 2021.[6]
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Whitecourt recorded a population of 10,204 living in 3,743 of its 4,253 total private dwellings, a 6.2% change from its 2011 population of 9,605. With a land area of 26.44 km2 (10.21 sq mi), it had a population density of 385.9/km2 (999.6/sq mi) in 2016.[26]
The population of the Town of Whitecourt according to its 2013 municipal census is 10,574,[27] a 14.9% increase over its 2008 municipal census population of 9,202.[28] At its current population, Whitecourt is one of the largest towns in the province and is eligible for city status. According to Alberta's Municipal Government Act, a town is eligible for city status when it reaches 10,000 residents.[29]
Economy
Millar Western sawmill/pulp mill
Whitecourt's economy is largely driven by three major industries – forestry, oil and gas industry and tourism.[30] With some farm land to the south and east of Whitecourt, agriculture plays a minor role in the town's economy.
Whitecourt is the site of four forestry-related mills:
Blue Ridge Lumber Sawmill / Ranger Board MDF (owned by West Fraser)
Millar Western Pulp Mill (owned by Atlas Holdings LLC)
Canfor Sawmill
Alberta Newsprint Company Pulp & Paper Mill.
Due to Whitecourt and area's forestry heritage, the Canadian Forestry Association named Whitecourt and Woodlands County the "Forest Capital of Canada 2013".[31]
Whitecourt is also home to many service companies in the oil and gas industry.
Attractions
The Allan & Jean Millar CentreThe Whitecourt River Slides overlooking the pond and fountain in Festival ParkWhitecourt's Forest Interpretive Centre
Attractions within Whitecourt include the Allan & Jean Millar Centre, Festival Park, the Forest Interpretive Centre and Heritage Park, and a variety of other facilities and parks.[32]
The Allan & Jean Millar Centre consists of both an aquatic facility, a fieldhouse, a fitness facility, a children's indoor playground area, and boardroom and classroom rental spaces. The aquatic facility comprises a main pool, a children's pool, a leisure pool, a lazy river, a water slide, a hot tub, and a steam room. The fieldhouse includes a configurable multi-sport area, a track, and racquetball and squash courts. The fitness centre provides cardio training equipment, weight training equipment, and a fitness studio. Overall, this recreation venue also provides a variety of programming including lessons, classes, and personal training.[33]
Festival Park, located in the river valley adjacent to downtown, is a multi-use outdoor park facility consisting of a pond stocked with fish that is cleared for skating in the winter, trails, sports fields, playgrounds, picnic areas, an off-leash dog park, and a river slide attraction featuring two flowing artificial creeks with drops for tubing.[32] A splash park with 19 water features opened within Festival Park in 2012.[34] The park was originally known as Rotary Park, but the name was changed to Festival Park in 2023 when Rotary International updated their policies on how facilities can be named after themselves.[35]
The town also features several bike trails, as well as a professionally designed bike park.[36]
The Forest Interpretive Centre includes a multi-media museum that presents the forestry industry's role in Whitecourt's history.[32] It also features meeting rooms and hosts the local chamber of commerce, a tourist information centre, and town council meetings.[32][37] The Forest Interpretive Centre's associated Heritage Park includes antique vehicles and farm equipment, a barn, and an interpretive trail among other features.[32]
Whitecourt Town Council consists of a mayor and six councillors that were elected in the 2021 municipal election. As of 2023[update] the members of town council are Mayor Tom Pickard and councillors Tara Baker, Paul Chauvet, Braden Lanctot, Serena LaPointe, Bill McAree, and Derek Schlosser.[5] The town's chief administrative officer is Peter Smyl.[5]
Whitecourt is within the West Yellowhead provincial electoral district, which as of 2023[update] is represented by Martin Long of the United Conservative Party. Progressive Conservative George VanderBurg was a four-term MLA for the Whitecourt area until 2015. A resident of Whitecourt, VanderBurg was a businessman and the mayor of the town for nine years prior to his entry into provincial politics.[47]
At the federal level, Whitecourt is within the Peace River—Westlock electoral district, which as of 2023[update] is represented by Conservative Arnold Viersen. Conservative Rob Merrifield was a four-term MP for the Whitecourt area until 2014. Merrifield is a resident of Whitecourt and a farmer.[48]
Other former politicians who lived in Whitecourt include Raj Pannu, Allen Sulatycky and Rod Fox. Pannu, former MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona and former leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, taught high school in Whitecourt between 1962 and 1964.[49] Sulatycky, judge and former MP for Rocky Mountain, was a lawyer and was elected the first Liberal to represent Whitecourt's constituency in 1968.[50] Fox, former Wildrose Party MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka, was born and raised in Whitecourt.[51]
The full air-service Whitecourt Airport is located west of Whitecourt on the north side of Highway 32, approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Highway 43. It is Alberta's ninth busiest airport with up to 32,000 aircraft using the airport annually. The airstrip is 5,800 ft (1,800 m) in length and 100 ft (30 m) wide and can accommodate 737 jets. Numerous carriers offer scheduled charter flights out of the airport.[53]
Bus
Red Arrow and Northern Express offer service to Edmonton and Grande Prairie.
Rail
The CN Sangudo Subdivision provides rail service through Whitecourt from Edmonton to numerous gas plants south of Fox Creek. The Millar Western Sawmill / Pulp Mill and the Alberta Newsprint Company Pulp & Paper Mill are both served by rail.[54]
Roads
The Town of Whitecourt is served by two highways. Highway 43, which is part of the CANAMEX Corridor, is a twinned highway that provides connection to Edmonton to the southeast and Grande Prairie to the northwest.
Highway 32 provides Whitecourt with a direct link to the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16) to the south, which connects the town to Edson and Hinton to the southwest. Another segment of Highway 32 begins approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) northwest of the town, providing a link from Highway 43 to Swan Hills and Slave Lake.
Numerous local roads provide connections from Whitecourt to surrounding rural areas within Woodlands County. Within the McLeod River valley, Govenlock Road feeds two rural roads – West Mountain Road (Range Road 122) and Tower Road (Range Road 121A) – that provide access to numerous country residential subdivisions and some agricultural operations to the south.
Within the Athabasca River valley, Flats Road (Township Road 600), which exits the town following its northern boundary, serves numerous agricultural operations to the east.
On the Hilltop, 41 Avenue (Township Road 594A), which was the original highway alignment into Whitecourt, exits the town eastbound for the Hamlet of Blue Ridge. This road is commonly referred to as Blue Ridge Road.
Living Waters Catholic Regional Division No. 42[56]
St. Mary's School (K-3)
St. Joseph School (4-12)
Media
Newspapers
Whitecourt is served by two news outlets: the Postmedia owned Whitecourt Star (which became digital-only in 2023)[57] and the independent weekly Whitecourt Press.[58] The monthly Community Advisor ceased publication in 2018.[59]
^Ninth Census of Canada, 1951. Vol. SP-7, Population: Unincorporated villages and hamlets. Dominion Bureau of Statistics. pp. 55–57.
^"Table 6: Population by sex, for census subdivisions, 1956 and 1951". Census of Canada, 1956. Vol. Population, Counties and Subdivisions. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1957. p. 6.50–6.53.
^"Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1901–1961". 1961 Census of Canada. Series 1.1: Historical, 1901–1961. Vol. I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1963. p. 6.77-6.83.
^"Population by specified age groups and sex, for census subdivisions, 1966". Census of Canada, 1966. Vol. Population, Specified Age Groups and Sex for Counties and Census Subdivisions, 1966. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1968. p. 6.50–6.53.
^"Table 2: Population of Census Subdivisions, 1921–1971". 1971 Census of Canada. Vol. I: Population, Census Subdivisions (Historical). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1973. p. 2.102-2.111.
^"Table 3: Population for census divisions and subdivisions, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada. Census Divisions and Subdivisions, Western Provinces and the Territories. Vol. I: Population, Geographic Distributions. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1977. p. 3.40–3.43.
^"Table 4: Population and Total Occupied Dwellings, for Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1976 and 1981". 1981 Census of Canada. Vol. II: Provincial series, Population, Geographic distributions (Alberta). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1982. p. 4.1–4.10. ISBN0-660-51095-2.
^"Table 2: Census Divisions and Subdivisions – Population and Occupied Private Dwellings, 1981 and 1986". Census Canada 1986. Vol. Population and Dwelling Counts – Provinces and Territories (Alberta). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1987. p. 2.1–2.10. ISBN0-660-53463-0.
^"Table 2: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 and 1991 – 100% Data". 91 Census. Vol. Population and Dwelling Counts – Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1992. pp. 100–108. ISBN0-660-57115-3.
^"Table 10: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Census Divisions, Census Subdivisions (Municipalities) and Designated Places, 1991 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data". 96 Census. Vol. A National Overview – Population and Dwelling Counts. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1997. pp. 136–146. ISBN0-660-59283-5.
