Morinville is a town in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region 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 ...

, Canada. It is approximately north 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 an ...

along Highway 2.

History

Morinville was settled by Jean-Baptiste Morin, a priest and missionary of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

, who brought many French settlers in the late 1800s, followed by several German pioneers. The monument located in St. Jean Baptiste Park lists the many names of pioneers and settlers to Morinville. Once situated on the street at 100 Avenue and 100 Street, the monument was moved to its present location in 2000, as it was a safety hazard and very difficult to enjoy with all the traffic at the intersection. The first post-office opened in 1894. The Roman Catholic Church of the St. Jean Baptiste Parish was built in 1907. The church, along with its adjacent but now inoperative convent Morinville Convent, was declared a historical site in 1975. In 2005, the grounds of the church were landscaped with a clock tower, new grass, trees and shrubs, in celebration of Alberta's 100th anniversary as a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

. On June 30 2021, the church was completely destroyed by a suspicious fire, still under investigation. Morinville has a long history of successful business ventures as one of the first locations in Western Canada to open a Royal Bank of Canada in 1910 and a credit union in 1940. A series of successful international business ventures include Champion Pet Foods, which exports around the world.

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 ...

, the Town of Morinville had a population of 10,385 living in 3,768 of its 3,981 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 9,848. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town of Morinville according to its 2020 municipal census is 10,578, a change from its 2016 municipal census population of 9,893. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Morinville recorded a population of 9,848 living in 3,491 of its 3,611 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 8,569. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

As of 2010, 93% of Morinville's tax base is residential in nature. One of the town's larger businesses, Champion Pet Foods, employs approximately 50 people.

Attractions

Recreation amenities in Morinville include walking trails, a splash park, a trout pond, a skateboard park, a hockey arena, a curling rink, numerous parks and playgrounds, and outdoor fitness equipment stations along the trail system and at the splash park among other amenities. Other recreation amenities are available in St. Albert and Edmonton to the south. The Morinville Leisure Centre (MLC) opened in May 2019. The facility contains an arena, a multi-use court space and a small gym. Future expansion of this facility is in consideration.

Education

The Sturgeon Public School Division operates 2 schools in MorinvilleÉcole Morinville Public (ECE to Grade 4) and Four Winds Public School (Grade 5–9). Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division offers faith-based education in three schoolsÉcole Notre Dame Elementary, Georges H. Primeau Middle School and Morinville Community High School. Prior to 2011, Morinville had only Catholic schools, and no secular or Protestant schools. This led to non-Catholic parents starting an advocacy campaign to introduce a secular option for education in Morinville. In response, Sturgeon School Division and the Town of Morinville agreed to provide space for a secular education program for grades 1–4 for the 2011–2012 school year. Further, the Government of Alberta committed to conducting a census in Morinville, Legal, St. Albert and a portion of Sturgeon County to determine the minority faith in the area as a precursor to developing a long-term solution to address secular education in Morinville.

Media

Morinville is served by four local weekly newspapers — ''The Free Press'', ''Farm 'n' Friends'', the ''St. Albert Gazette'', and ''The Morinville News''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1901 establishments in the Northwest Territories Edmonton Metropolitan Region Towns in Alberta