Claresholm is a town located within southern Alberta, Canada. It is located on

Highway 2 The following highways are numbered 2. For roads numbered A2, see list of A2 roads. For roads numbered B2, see list of B2 roads. For roads numbered M2, see list of M2 roads. For roads numbered N2, see list of N2 roads. International * AH2, As ...

, approximately northwest of the City of

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

and south of the City of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. One of the Famous Five involved in the

Persons Case ''Edwards v Canada (AG)''also known as the ''Persons Case'' (french: l'Affaire « personne »)is a famous Canadian constitutional case that decided in 1929 that women were eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. The legal case was put forward b ...

, Louise McKinney, lived in Claresholm and was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the area in the 1917 provincial election.

History

The location was originally a watering stop for steam engines on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

line along the Macleod Trail when the trains first arrived in the area in 1891. The first settlers arrived in 1902, and the village was established in 1903. Claresholm was incorporated as a town in 1905, the year Alberta became a province. The community was named after Clare Niblock, a pioneer citizen. In 1913, Alberta established a demonstration farm and School of Agriculture at Claresholm. The first hospital in Claresholm opened in 1921 and was replaced by the current hospital in 1939. Royal Canadian Air Force Station Claresholm was established near the town in 1941 to train pilots for service in World War II. It first opened June 9, 1941 as a

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

base. No. 15 Service Flying Training School operated at the base from its opening until March 1945. In 1951, the base was used to train pilots for the Korean War and operated as No. 3 Flying Training School. It also trained NATO pilots. The base closed in 1958 and the hangars were converted to industrial use. A portion of the former base operates as

Claresholm Industrial Airport Claresholm Industrial Airport (formerly known as RCAF Station Claresholm) is located south southwest of Claresholm, Alberta, Canada. The airport opened in 1941 as RCAF Station Claresholm as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan ...

. Among the artifacts in the Claresholm Museum from the air base is a Link Trainer. The Claresholm highway massacre took place just north of Claresholm on Alberta Highway 2 on December 15, 2011. The suspect killed three people then turned the gun on himself in a murder–suicide.

Geography

Climate

Claresholm experiences a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Dfb''). During winter, Chinook winds have been known to move temperatures from well below freezing to well above in a matter of hours.

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 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 ...

, the Town of Claresholm had a population of 3,804 living in 1,709 of its 1,826 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,790. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Claresholm recorded a population of 3,780 living in 1,644 of its 1,742 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 3,758. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

References

External links