Canwood ( 2021 population: ) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the Canadian province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

within the

Rural Municipality of Canwood No. 494 The Rural Municipality of Canwood No. 494 ( 2021 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 16 and Division No. 5. The RM is located in the north-central portion of the prov ...

and Census Division No. 16.

History

Since it was settled, Canwood has gone through four name changes. Records kept by the post office show the original name of the settlement was Parksiding, but no evidence has shown it ever operated under that name. The post office opened September 1, 1911, operating under the name McQuan; this was a typographical error, and three months later the name was corrected to McOwan. This name honoured Alexander McOwan, a pioneer settler who was an immigration agent, estate manager, and author. On June 1, 1912, the community's name was changed again to Forgaard to honour Jens Forgaard, a Norwegian-born settler who had emigrated from Minnesota. Exactly one year later, on June 1, 1913, the name was changed for the last time to Canwood, which is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsHighway 55 The following highways are numbered 55: International * European route E55 * Arab Mashreq route M55 Argentina * San Luis Provincial Route 55 Australia * Carnarvon Highway * Castlereagh Highway * Karoonda Highway Belgium * N55 road (Belgiu ...

, and neighbours the towns of Debden and Shellbrook. The

Canwood Regional Park The Rural Municipality of Canwood No. 494 ( 2021 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 16 and Division No. 5. The RM is located in the north-central portion of the provi ...

is located southeast from Canwood along Highway 55. It has 20 campsites, a nine-hole golf course, and three baseball diamonds, and is open May through September.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population 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 sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Canwood had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Canwood recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Education

Canwood Community School is the only educational institution in Canwood. Part of the

Saskatchewan Rivers School Division The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division #119 comprises 33 schools in the Prince Albert, Saskatchewan area, and is the third largest school division in the province. This division has over 9500 students enrolled, with 365 support personnel, 475 teac ...

#119, it educates students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Higher education can be pursued out of town at the

Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology Saskatchewan Polytechnic (formerly the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology or SIAST) is Saskatchewan's primary public institution for post-secondary technical education and skills training, recognized nationally and internat ...

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, or

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university, public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the Unive ...

Urban legend

An urban legend says

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

played goal for the Canwood Canucks one winter while travelling to find peace and silence for his work on the

Theory of Relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...

. This story has been found to be implausible by media observers; in addition to the unlikeliness of Einstein visiting the rural community of Canwood, the Canwood Canucks hockey team was formed in 1958, three years after his death.

References

External links