Oyen is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada near the

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

boundary and north 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, ...

. It is on Highway 41, south of its junction with Highway 9. Early name, Bishopburg, was changed in 1912 to honour Andrew Oyen, an early settler who sold his homestead for the townsite. Oyen is the service centre for a large but sparsely populated

dryland farming Dryland farming and dry farming encompass specific agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated cultivation of crops. Dryland farming is associated with drylands, areas characterized by a cool wet season (which charges the soil with virtually ...

area. In the surrounding area

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

, and

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...

are important crops, and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

are raised.

Geography

Climate

Oyen 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 BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...

''). Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short and warm. Precipitation is low, with an annual average of 322 mm, and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. Oyen's precipitation is narrowly below being 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 freezing ...

, a type it closely resembles in terms of yearly temperatures.

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 Oyen had a population of 917 living in 352 of its 404 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,001. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town of Oyen according to its 2017 municipal census is 1,022, a change of from its 2015 municipal census population of 1,006. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Oyen recorded a population of 1,001 living in 400 of its 422 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 973. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Attractions

Oyen has a golf course and a local

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

. Oyen also contains an arena, curling rink, and outdoor pool. Oyen is also home to the Badlands Badgers baseball academy for high school students.

Infrastructure

A major highway rest stop is located north of the town at the junction of Highway 41 and Highway 9. It is developed with a service station, A&W restaurant, a motel and a visitor information centre operated by Travel Alberta. There is

Oyen Municipal Airport Oyen Municipal Airport is located south of Oyen, Alberta, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, ...

nearby. Oyen also has a hospital.

Education

Oyen is home to a regional public high school and a small

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

elementary school. The high school is known as South Central High School (SCHS) with students grade seven to twelve. Oyen Public School (OPS) hosts students from kindergarten to grade nine. Assumption Roman Catholic school has students from kindergarten to grade six.

Notable people

Rick Strankman Richard Strankman (born June 20, 1953) is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Drumheller-Stettler, from 2012 to 2019. Strankman serves on both the Standi ...

, Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

for

Drumheller-Stettler Drumheller-Stettler is a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district (riding) in Alberta, Canada. The electoral district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alb ...

, April 23, 2012 – April 16, 2019. *

Melody Davidson Melody Davidson (born 1962 or 1963) was the head coach of the Canadian national women's hockey team. She was the head coach of the gold medal winning 2006 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics Canadian women's team. A graduate of the Universi ...

, head coach of the gold medal winning 2006 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics Canadian women's hockey team, and director of the team that won gold in 2014.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1913 establishments in Alberta Special Area No. 3 Towns in Alberta