Alsask is a

special service area Communities in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada include Incorporation (municipal government), incorporated municipalities, Unincorporated community, unincorporated communities and First Nations in Canada, First Nations communities. Types of ...

in the

Rural Municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

of Milton No. 292, in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. Alsask is located west of the city of

Kindersley Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,597 ...

. Highway 44 runs to the east of Alsask, and Highway 7 lies a few kilometres to the north. The community had a population of 113 in the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...

(a 1.8% increase from 111 in the

2016 Canadian census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...

). The community's name combines the names of ''Al''berta and ''Sask''atchewan, although it is a misconception that it straddles the border between the two provinces. It lies approximately east of the

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

border and while the community lies completely within Saskatchewan, the local graveyard is actually in Alberta. Alsask's most notable landmark is one of three remaining radar domes that for many years operated as Canadian Forces Detachment Alsask as part of the

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. ...

, operated by the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

. Southeast of the town is Alsask Lake.

History

Former military base by Alsask Saskatchewan - panoramio

Alsask incorporated as a village November 22, 1910;Municipal History - Urban Incorporated Dates
/ref> two years later on November 1, 1912 it was decided the village was large enough to incorporate into a town. By 1916 the population of Alsask had reached 300. The

Great Depression in Canada The worldwide Great Depression of the early 1930s was a social and economic shock that left millions of Canadians unemployed, hungry and often homeless. Few countries were affected as severely as Canada during what became known as the "Dirty Thirt ...

hit Alsask hard, and the village struggled with maintaining its population. The town was reverted to a village on January 1, 1947. Things began to change; in 1959 with the establishment of

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

Station Alsask, a base was established next to the town site, and by the early 1970s the population had reached over 800, though the village never reverted to town status. The base was disbanded in 1987. Since the closure of the RCAF Station Alsask, the village population continued to decline; by 2009, the Village of Alsask was dissolved as a political entity, and a motion was accepted to join the Rural Municipality of Milton as a ''

'' on July 30, 2009.

Heritage sites

CFD Alsask Canadian Forces Station Alsask (CFS Alsask) was a military radar station in the Rural Municipality of Milton No. 292, just north of the hamlet of Alsask, Saskatchewan, Canada, a village on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It is within the Rura ...

became a designated heritage site in 2002. The site is the former

Alsask Station, a

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era, military base and

radar dome, open to public Monday to Friday. Few of the original buildings remain. Most notably, the "Gopher Dip" indoor swimming pool as it was known during the lifespan as a military site, is still in use. During the summer months the swimming pool is well used, attracting many children and families from surrounding communities. The site also includes a bowling alley built to entertain families of the RCAF and Alsask and area residents. The Old Alsask School operated from its opening in 1913 until 1976 when the property was taken over by the Village of Alsask. In 2002 the building was restored as a community centre and is now listed as a Municipal Heritage Property.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Alsask had a population of 113 living in 50 of its 67 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 111. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Health

Alsask was part of the Heartland Regional Health Authority which was amalgamated with the

Saskatchewan Health Authority The Saskatchewan Health Authority is the single health region of the province of Saskatchewan. It is a health authority providing direct and contracted health services including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care, home and communit ...

Climate

Alsask experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''

BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...

''). Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short and warm. Precipitation is low, with an annual average of , and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. There is a weather station located about southeast of the community, adjacent to Alsask Lake.

Notable people

Notable persons who were born, grew up or lived in Alsask: * Bob Adams – Track and field athlete * Karin Plato – Canadian jazz vocalist and composer * Lorne Shantz – Politician, and former MLA in the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Legislature

References

{{SKDivision13 Milton No. 292, Saskatchewan Designated places in Saskatchewan Former villages in Saskatchewan Special service areas in Saskatchewan Populated places disestablished in 2009 1911 establishments in Saskatchewan Division No. 13, Saskatchewan