Irma is a village 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 bordere ...
, Canada. It is located northwest of
Wainwright and 178 km southeast of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
along
Highway 14 and
Highway 881.
History
The Village of Irma came into being in 1908 when the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...
came through. Irma was later incorporated as a Village on May 30, 1912. The village was supposedly named after the daughter of the GTPR second vice-president General William Wainwright. Records show three major fires in the downtown area. These broke out in 1911, 1931 and 1963. Most of the buildings on the main street (now 50 Street) were reconstructed after the 1931 fire. Alberta's first rural high school was located in Irma; it was eventually replaced and the new school opened on November 4, 2019.
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 Village of Irma had a population of 477 living in 207 of its 240 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 521. 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 Irma recorded a population of 521 living in 221 of its 242 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 457. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
Notable people
*
Jean Paré
Jean Paré, CM (December 7, 1927 – December 24, 2022) was a Canadian caterer, author of the '' Company's Coming'' cookbook series, and founder of Company's Coming Publishing Limited. She was one of the top-selling cookbook authors in t ...
– cookbook author and publisher
*
Gord Mark
Gordon F. Mark (born September 10, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the sixth round, 105 overall, in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Mark played 85 National Hockey League games for the New Jersey Devils ...
- NHL player, drafted by New Jersey Devils, round 6 #105 overall, 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Played with Devils (1986-1988) and Edmonton Oilers (1993-1995)
*
Carson Soucy
Carson Soucy (born July 27, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Minnesota Wild, 137th overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
...
- NHL player, drafted by Minnesota Wild, round 5 #137 overall, 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Played with Wild (2017-2018)
*Parker MacKay - University of Minnesota-Duluth (2015-2019), captain for 2018-2019
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 villages in Alberta
A village is an urban municipality status type used in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta villages are created when communities with populations of at least 300 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller ...
References
External links
*
{{Subdivisions of Alberta, villages=yes
1912 establishments in Alberta
Villages in Alberta