Eckville is a town in

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...

, Canada. It is west of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

on Highway 766 just north of Highway 11.

History

Eckville gets its name from A. E. T. Eckford, a European colonist. Eckville relocated to its current location in 1912, after the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canada, Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonto ...

completed its local line. The current location on the

was briefly known as Kootuk, but the name Eckville prevailed. Eckville was incorporated as a village in 1921 and became a town in 1966. Eckville had a significant

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

population, with 171 Estonians living there by 1910.

Geography

Climate

Eckville experiences 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 cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfb'') which borders on a subarctic climate (''Dfc'').

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; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Town of Eckville had a population of 1,014 living in 425 of its 472 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,125. 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 Eckville recorded a population of 1,125 living in 443 of its 465 total private dwellings, which represents no change from its 2011 population of 1,125. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Culture

Eckville is home to several festivals and events throughout the year: * Eckville Indoor Rodeo * Bull-arena * Eckville 50s & 60s Dance Jamboree * Antisemitism *

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

celebrations * Eckville Winter Carnival * Tree-lighting Ceremony

Education

Eckville has two public schools, Eckville Junior/Senior High School and Eckville Elementary. The town is relatively close to Sylvan Lake and many students from Eckville attend schools there. Eckville is also a short drive from

Red Deer College Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), formerly Red Deer College, is a public polytechnic institute of approximately 10,000 students in credit, non-credit and apprenticeship programming located in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. In 2021, Red Deer College was c ...

. Eckville Junior/Senior High School attracted national attention in 1984 when history teacher and vice-principal

James Keegstra James "Jim" Keegstra (March 30, 1934 – June 2, 2014) was a public school teacher and mayor in Eckville, Alberta, Canada, who was charged under the ''Criminal Code'' with wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, the Jewish peo ...

was charged under the

Criminal Code of Canada The ''Criminal Code'' () is a law of the Parliament of Canada that codifies most, but not all, criminal offences and criminal procedure in Canada. Its official long title is ''An Act respecting the Criminal Law'' (French: ). It is indexed in t ...

for teaching his students

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

material, including

Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...

. Keegstra was stripped of his teaching credentials and convicted. His appeals eventually reached the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

in 1990, where his conviction was upheld in ''

R v Keegstra ''R v Keegstra'', 9903 SCR 697 is a freedom of expression decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the court upheld the ''Criminal Code'' provision prohibiting the wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group as constitutional u ...

''. Keegstra was mayor of Eckville at the time, but was defeated in a subsequent election.

Notable people

Mellisa Hollingsworth Mellisa Hollingsworth (born October 4, 1980) is a retired Canadian athlete who competed from 1995 to 2014. She won the bronze medal in the women's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Hollingsworth also won a silver in the women ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medalist in

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

, former mayor, convicted of

hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...

in a landmark Canadian legal case

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1921 establishments in Alberta Towns in Alberta