High Prairie is a town in
northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the cent ...
, Canada within
Big Lakes County
Big Lakes County, formerly the Municipal District of Big Lakes, is a municipal district in north-central Alberta, Canada.
It is located in Census Division 17, around the Lesser Slave Lake. Utikuma Lake and Winagami Lake are also located i ...
. It is located at the junction of
Highway 2 and
Highway 749, approximately northeast of
Valleyview and west of
Slave Lake
Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton. It is located on the southeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake at the junction o ...
.
History
The name describes the nature of the surrounding countryside. A post office opened in 1910. Its early name was Prairie River. In 1914, the alignment of the
Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway, later known as the
Northern Alberta Railway
Northern Alberta Railways was a Canadian railway which served northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Jointly owned by both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, NAR existed as a separate company from 1929 until 19 ...
, was chosen to go through High Prairie instead of
Grouard
Grouard, also known as Grouard Mission, is a hamlet in northern Alberta within Big Lakes County. It was previously an incorporated municipality between 1909 and 1944.
Grouard is located north of Highway 2, approximately northeast of Grande ...
to the northeast.
As a result, many residents and businesses from Grouard relocated to High Prairie once the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway was built.
[
With an estimated population of 600 people, High Prairie was incorporated as a village on April 6, 1945] and subsequently as a town on January 10, 1950.[
]
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 cultur ...
, the Town of High Prairie had a population of 2,380 living in 941 of its 1,119 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,564. 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 High Prairie recorded a population of 2,564 living in 949 of its 1,116 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 2,600. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
Economy
High Prairie's main industries include agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
, oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
and gas, and service industry.
One of its main employers is the Tolko
Tolko Industries Ltd. is a privately owned Canadian forest products company based in Vernon, British Columbia. It manufactures and markets specialty forest products to world markets. Tolko's products include lumber, plywood, veneer and oriented ...
OSB Mill that was built in 1994, the plant was closed in 2008 due to the economic downturn. In 2018 the mill was reopened and now employs 174 people.
West Fraser Mills purchased the Buchanan lumber mill in 2014 and is another main employer for High Prairie with 150 employees.
Attractions
Due to its proximity to the western shores of Lesser Slave Lake
Lesser Slave Lake (french: Petit lac des Esclaves)—known traditionally as "Beaver Lake" (ᐊᒥᐢᐠ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ amisk sâkâhikan in the Plains Cree language, and T’saat’ine migeh in Dene Zhatıé) or "Beaver people were over the ...
, High Prairie has a thriving tourism industry, particularly in the warmer summer months. There are many attractions at the lake, including events such as the Golden Walleye Classic.
Winagami Lake Provincial Park
Winagami Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada, located on three sides of Winagami Lake and accessible from Highway 2, about 30 km north of High Prairie. The park was established on November 13, 1956.
Winagami Wildland Pa ...
, approximately to the north of High Prairie, and Kimiwan Lake, approximately to the northwest, are attractions for bird-watching enthusiasts. Winagami Lake
Winagami Lake () is a large and shallow lake in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Big Lakes County and Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, northeast of the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 679. It lies in the hydrographic basin ...
and Kimiwan Lake are within the general area where three major migration paths meet – the Central Flyway
The Central Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Great Plains in the United States and Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include the Canadian Prairies and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; the migration rout ...
, the Mississippi Flyway
The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi, Missouri, and Lower Ohio Rivers in the United States across the western Great Lakes to the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay in Canada. The main endpoints of t ...
, and the Pacific Flyway
The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...
.
Government
High Prairie is governed by a town council, a mayor and six council members, each of whom serve four-year terms. Federally, it is part of the Fort McMurray—Athabasca
Fort McMurray—Athabasca (formerly Athabasca) was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 2015. It was a predominantly rural riding in northeastern Alberta, representing ...
electoral district. In the next federal election, it will become part of the newly formed riding of Peace River—Westlock
Peace River—Westlock is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015.
Peace River—Westlock was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and w ...
.
Medical services
The High Prairie Community Health and Wellness Clinic, which is run by Alberta Health Services
Alberta Health Services (AHS) which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta is the single health authority for the Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. AHS delivers medical care on beha ...
(AHS), was established to replace the Associate Medical Clinic in 2014. The Community Health and Wellness Clinic, which is family-focused and includes primary care services, has a collaborative, inter-professional healthcare team, that responds to the higher incidents of patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and breathing disorders in High Prairie, according to AHS. The Clinic has chronic disease management nurses and nurse practitioners (NPs), as well as physicians. In September 2014, after Dr. Danie Du Toit announced the decision to leave High Prairie and return to South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, the AHS announced plans to add two physicians who had been newly-recruited. By June 2017, the High Prairie Community Health and Wellness Clinic had moved from 4620 - 53 Ave, the site of the old hospital site to its new location in their new facility in the High Prairie Health Complex. A newly-recruited doctor, who will work at the AHS Clinic, arrived on February 13, 2022, and will increase the total number of physicians in the area. High Prairie also has a privately-run clinic, the High Prairie Medical Clinic, operated for decades by Dr. Pam Edwards, who is now retired, and her partner Dr. Robin Laughlin, who has worked in High Prairie since 1975.
Media
Media outlets serving High Prairie and surrounding area include CKVH The Fox, CIRE-TV
CIRE-TV is a community channel (Canada), community channel in the community of High Prairie, Alberta, High Prairie, Alberta.
External links
*
Independent television stations in Canada, IRE
Canadian community channels
Television stations ...
(the local community channel), and the South Peace News, a local community newspaper.
Notable people
* Tom Lysiak
Thomas James Lysiak (April 22, 1953 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Selected in the first round, second overall, of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames, he was additionally selected by the Houston A ...
, former professional hockey player
* Randy Ragan
Randolph "Randy" Lee Ragan (born June 7, 1959) is a former Canadian elite professional soccer player, who was considered one of the top midfield players in Canada in the 1980s.
Professional
Ragan attended Simon Fraser University where he play ...
, former professional soccer player
* Larry Shaben
Lawrence "Larry" Ralph Shaben (March 20, 1935 – September 6, 2008) was a Canadian politician of Lebanese descent and the first Muslim Cabinet Minister in Canada. He was also one of the first Muslims to be elected to higher office in North ...
, Canada's first Muslim Cabinet Minister
* Cheyanne Turions, curator, artist, writer
Recognition
In 2001, High Prairie was recognized for its state-of-the-art water treatment system and it was awarded 4 'blooms' by Communities in Bloom
Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization that fosters friendly competition between Canadian communities to beautify their civic spaces. It was established in 1995 as a national competition between 29 communities, and has since e ...
, a non-profit organization that encourages environmental responsibility and beautification in Canadian communities.
In popular culture
The news satire
News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...
program This Is That ha
an episode
in which they discussed a (fictional) attempt by High Prairie to attract tourism by inventing a fake accent.
See also
*List of communities in Alberta
The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal district ...
* List of francophone communities in Alberta
*List of towns in Alberta
A town is an urban municipality status type used in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta towns are created when communities with populations of at least 1,000 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller than ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1945 establishments in Alberta
Big Lakes County
Towns in Alberta