Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast

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, for ...

, Canada, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2016, Cranbrook's population is 20,047 with a census agglomeration population of 26,083. It is the location of the headquarters of the Regional District of East Kootenay and also the location of the regional headquarters of various provincial ministries and agencies, notably the Rocky Mountain Forest District. According to the Cranbrook Daily Townsman, dated 09 February 2022, Cranbrook has a population of 20,499. This is also indicated in the latest census data on the Government of Canada website. Cranbrook is home to the

Canadian Museum of Rail Travel The Cranbrook History Centre - Formerly The Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, or its brand name "Trains Deluxe", is located in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, a city of about 25,000 on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. The city was develop ...

which presents static exhibits of passenger rail cars built in the 1920s for the

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

and in the 1900s for the

Spokane International Railway The Spokane International Railroad was a short line railroad between Spokane, Washington, and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) at Kingsgate, British Columbia. The line became an important one for the CP with its connections to the Union Paci ...

History

Originally inhabited by Ktunaxa peoples, the land that Cranbrook now occupies was bought by European settlers, notably Colonel James Baker who named his newly acquired land Cranbrook after his home in Cranbrook,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. In 1890, the Kootenay Indian Residential School, also called St. Eugene's, opened in Cranbrook, and operated until 1975. In 1898, Baker had successfully convinced

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 Canad ...

to establish their Crowsnest Pass line through Cranbrook rather than nearby Gold Rush Boom Town Fort Steele. With that accomplishment Cranbrook became the major centre of the region, while Fort Steele declined; however, the latter is today a preserved heritage town. On November 1, 1905, Cranbrook was incorporated as a city. Some of the major industries include mining and forestry services, trades, and health care.

Geography

While much of the city is relatively flat, Cranbrook is surrounded by many rising hills where many residential homes are located. Cranbrook faces the

Purcell Mountains The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Moun ...

to the west and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

to the north and east. There are many lakes in close proximity to Cranbrook. Some of these lakes include Jim Smith Lake, Wasa Lake, Lazy Lake, Moyie Lake, Monroe Lake, Norbury Lake and Elizabeth Lake. Many of these lakes contain opportunities for boating, fishing and camping. There are public recreational beaches and provincial campgrounds.

Climate

Cranbrook features a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(''Dfb'') under the

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, nota ...

Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ...

reports Cranbrook as having the most sunshine hours of any BC city at approximately 2190.5 hours annually. It is a fairly dry city throughout the year, and when

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

does fall a good percentage of it will be in the form of

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...

. Environment Canada also states that the city experiences some of the lightest wind speeds year-round, has few

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

gy days, and has among the highest average

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

of any city in Canada.

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

-free days average 110 days, typically occurring between May 26 to September 14.

Mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ar ...

daily temperatures range from to . However, temperatures can range from in the winter to in the summer months. Overall, its climate is extremely similar to that of Kelowna, in the nearby Okanagan Valley to the west - especially in regard to precipitation patterns and total monthly accumulation. However, Kelowna is significantly warmer throughout all seasons. The highest temperature ever recorded in Cranbrook was on August 10, 2018. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on January 19, 1958.

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 cultu ...

, Cranbrook had a population of 20,499 living in 8,780 of its 9,058 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 20,047. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Ethnicity

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Cranbrook included: *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ...

(11,190 persons or 56.4%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

(8,060 persons or 40.6%) *

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(155 persons or 0.8%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(120 persons or 0.6%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

(85 persons or 0.4%) *

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

(45 persons or 0.2%) * Indigenous Spirituality (25 persons or 0.1%) *

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

(15 persons or 0.1%)

Education

Schools

Public schools are run by

School District 5 Southeast Kootenay School District 5 Southeast Kootenay is a school district in British Columbia. It covers the southeast corner of the province up to the Alberta and Montana borders. This includes the major centres of Cranbrook, Fernie, Elkford, and Sparwood. H ...

, consisting of seven elementary schools and two middle schools that feed into the city's only high school:

Mount Baker Secondary School Mount Baker Secondary School is the only public high school in Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River ...

, home to approximately 1,000 students and 90 staff members. Mount Baker is the largest high school in school district five. Prior to 2004, the

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

s were referred to as junior high schools housing grades 8-10 rather than the current 7–9. However, due to declining enrollment, the school district adopted the new system. There is also a local home-school network. The following 13 schools are located in Cranbrook. * Aqamnik Elementary School (First Nations school located in St. Mary's Band) * Amy Woodland Elementary * Gordon Terrace Elementary * Highlands Elementary School * Kootenay Christian Academy * Kootenay Orchards Elementary School * Laurie Middle School *

* Parkland Middle School * Pinewood Elementary School * St. Mary's Catholic Independent School (private school) * Steeples Elementary School * T M Roberts Elementary School

Post-secondary education

Cranbrook is home to the main campus of the

College of the Rockies The College of the Rockies is a Canadian public community college, located in the southeast corner of British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is in Cranbrook, with regional campuses in Creston, Fernie, Golden, Invermere, and Kimberley. C ...

, which has over 2,500 full and part-time students from over 21 countries.

Transportation

Cranbrook is at the junction of major highways 3 and 93/95, and due to its close proximity to the borders of

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 T ...

and the United States, it is an important transportation hub. Cranbrook has a major Canadian Pacific Railway yard, which serves as a key gateway for trains arriving from and departing to the United States. The

McPhee Bridge Highway 95A, the ''Kimberley Highway'', is a 55 km (34 mi) long alternate route to Highway 95 that passes through the city of Kimberley and the community of Ta Ta Creek. The highway was created in 1968, when Highway 95 was re-routed ...

also known as the St. Mary's Bridge rises high above the St. Mary River and is near the Canadian Rockies International Airport and the Shadow Mountain Golf Community. It supports the thousands of people who travel between Kimberley and Cranbrook on highway 95A. Approximately north is the

Canadian Rockies International Airport Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport is an international airport located north of Cranbrook and south-east of Kimberley, British Columbia, in the Canadian Rockies. It is owned by the City of Cranbrook and operated by Elevate Ai ...

, which has recently completed its 12.5 million dollar expansion including the lengthening of its runway from 6000 to 8000 feet in order to accommodate a limited number of international flights and an expansion to the Terminal for more passengers. The airport is served by Air Canada Jazz to Vancouver, Pacific Coastal Airlines to Victoria and Kelowna, and

WestJet Link WestJet Link is a brand name under which Pacific Coastal Airlines operates feeder flights for WestJet. Service was originally planned to commence March 7, 2018, but was delayed until June 21, 2018. The brand was created to primarily connect ...

to Vancouver and Calgary. On February 11, 1978, Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, nearly impacted a snowplow on the runway at the airport in Cranbrook, then lost control and crashed, killing 42 of the 49 people on board. Cranbrook has a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

system operated by BC Transit, which runs

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

on eight different lines.

Health care

Cranbrook has the largest hospital in the region, the East Kootenay Regional Hospital.

Sports and recreation

Western Financial Place (formerly called the RecPlex) is a pool and hockey arena in Cranbrook that opened in 2000, and was formerly the home to the Kootenay Ice until relocating to

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,60 ...

, in 2019. A paved, two-lane trail exists between Cranbrook and Kimberley, BC. This trail constitutes a section of the Trans-Canada Trail and is known as the Rails to Trails. Canadian Pacific Railway donated the rail right-of-way and the teardown of the railway began by CP Rail in 2009. In addition to this trail, there are 2000 acres of wilderness to explore in the community forest.Cranbrook Community Forest Society
web

Media

;Newspapers * '' Cranbrook Daily Townsman'' - Daily paper ;Radio stations * 101.3 FM - CBRR-FM, CBC Radio One (repeats CBTK-FM, Kelowna) * 102.9 FM - CHDR-FM, 102.9 REWIND RADIO * 104.7 FM - CHBZ-FM, B-104, Country * 107.5 FM -

CFSM-FM CFSM-FM (107.5 FM, ''107.5 2Day FM'') is a radio station in Cranbrook, British Columbia. Owned by Vista Radio, it broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format targeting the Kootenay region of British Columbia. History The station was approve ...

, 107.5 2day FM, Adult Contemporary ;Television * Channel 5: (Air) Channel 4: (Cable) CFCN-TV-9,

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

(analogue repeater of

CFCN-DT CFCN-DT (channel 4) is a television station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside cable-exclusive CTV 2 Alberta (based in Edmonton with sister station ...

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, maki ...

) *

Shaw TV Shaw Spotlight (formerly Shaw TV) is the name of locally based community channel services operated by cable TV provider Shaw Communications. The channels are available only to Shaw Cable subscribers and are produced in communities throughout w ...

(community cable channel)

Notable people

The following notable people come from or were born in Cranbrook: *

Ray Allison Raymond Peter Allison (born March 4, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League for the Hartford Whalers and Philadelphia Flyers. Allison was born in Cranbrook, British Columb ...

, retired NHL player *

Greg Andrusak Greg Andrusak (born November 14, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Andrusak played 43 games in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored a goal and scored seven poi ...

, retired NHL player * Bowen Byram, NHL player * Brent Carver, actor * Glen Cochrane, retired NHL player *

Tanya Fir Tanya Fir (born 1975) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Peigan in the 30th Alberta Legislature. She is a member of the United Conservative Party. On Ap ...

, Member of the Alberta Leglislature, 2019- * James Heilman, doctor *

Jim Hiller James Andrew Hiller (born May 13, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hiller played 63 games in the NHL with the Lo ...

, retired NHL player *

Dryden Hunt Dryden Hunt (born 24 November 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing who is currently playing for the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey Leagu ...

, NHL player *

Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...

, retired professional wrestler * Jon Klemm, retired NHL player * Lillix, former pop rock band * Bernie Lukowich, retired NHL player * Brad Lukowich, retired NHL player *

Donald C. MacDonald Donald Cameron MacDonald (December 7, 1913 – March 8, 2008) was a Canadian politician. Referred to in the media as the "best premier Ontario never had," he represented the provincial riding of York South in the Legislative Assembly of O ...

, politician * Jason Marshall, retired NHL player *

Bob McAneeley Robert William McAneeley (born November 7, 1950) is a former World Hockey Association player. He played 174 games for the Edmonton Oilers. He is the twin brother of NHL and WHA player Ted McAneeley and the two were teammates with the Oilers in 197 ...

, former WHA player *

Ted McAneeley Edward Joseph McAneeley (born November 7, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played three seasons in the National Hockey League with the California Golden Seals and one in the World Hockey Association with the Edmont ...

, retired NHL and WHA player * Evah McKowan, novelist * Bob Murdoch and

Don Murdoch Donald Walter Murdoch (born October 25, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, and Detroit Red Wings between 1976 and 1982. He was featured i ...

, retired NHL players *

Riley Nelson Riley Nelson (born November 8, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most notably played 11 seasons for minor league team, the Colorado Eagles in the ECHL. He is the all-time franchise leader in goals, assists and points fo ...

, retired ECHL player and captain for the Colorado Eagles * Rob Niedermayer, retired NHL player * Scott Niedermayer, retired NHL player *

Kate Pullinger Kate Pullinger is a Canadian novelist and author of digital fiction, and a professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, England. She was born 1961 in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, and went to high school on Vancouver Island. She dr ...

, author * Tom Renney, former NHL and Olympic ice hockey coach *

Ben Rutledge Ben Rutledge (born November 9, 1980, in Cranbrook, British Columbia) was a Canadian Olympic rower and is currently a Mortgage Broker. In Seville, Spain 2002 he was a member of Canada's inaugural Men's 8+ crew to win a gold medal at a World Cham ...

, Olympic gold medal rower * Joel Savage, retired NHL player * Terry Segarty, businessman and BC Minister of Labour * Corey Spring, retired NHL player *

Frank Spring Franklin Patrick Spring (born October 19, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 61 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 13 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He was born in Rossland, British Colu ...

, retired NHL player *

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing ...

, retired NHL player *

Tom Shypitka Thomas Glenn Shypitka is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election.Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (United States)

References

External links

* * {{authority control Cities in British Columbia