Foremost is a village in

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 ...

, Canada. It is located southwest of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

, along the

Red Coat Trail The Red Coat Trail is a route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their March West from Fort Dufferin to Fort Whoop-Up. Route description A number of highways in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and A ...

, in the County of Forty Mile No. 8. Foremost has a strong agriculture industry. Recreation facilities include an ice arena, swimming pool, curling rink, ice fishing, and ball diamonds. Every June the residents hold a parade, rodeo and tough truck competition. Hockey is a big sport in Foremost. The local team is called the Foremost Flyers. They have multiple provincial and regional titles. The school has a long history of winning sports teams. The Foremost Falcons and Forettes have won many provincial titles in basketball, volleyball, track and field and cross country running. The village also has a strong arts community presenting community theatre as well as a school dramatic department.

Geography

Climate

Foremost 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'').

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 Village of Foremost had a population of 630 living in 212 of its 222 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 541. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Foremost recorded a population of 541 living in 229 of its 257 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 526. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

Foremost Centre for Unmanned Systems

Foremost hosts the Foremost UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Test Range at the Foremost Aerodrome. Established by the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS) in 2008, the Foremost Centre supports training for pilots in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights - the only one in Canada. The location was selected for reasons including number of sunny days, low population density, flat prairie terrain, low number of dwellings and minimal man-made obstructions. The site's range stretches across the County of 40 Mile, encompassing almost 700 square nautical miles and reaches up to 18,000 feet above sea level. The site received

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

's approval as Canada’s "first permanent restricted airspace for Unmanned Air Systems (UAS, drone)" in November, 2016. Drone Delivery Canada began testing at the site in 2017 with the goal of commercially rolling out drone delivery in 2018. The community, noted former mayor Ken Kultgen, expects the Centre "will be used by national and international businesses, universities and manufacturing companies."

References

External links

* {{Alberta Regions South Saskatchewan 1950 establishments in Alberta County of Forty Mile No. 8 Villages in Alberta