Westlock is a town 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. Founded in 1913, the town is primarily an agricultural, business, and government administration centre serving communities and rural areas within surrounding

Westlock County Westlock County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada that is north of Edmonton. The county was formerly known as the Municipal District of Westlock No. 92, and was created in 1943 from the merger of five smaller municipal district ...

Geography

Westlock is located 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 ancho ...

, Alberta's provincial capital and Canada's sixth largest

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...

. Westlock sits at the junction of Highway 44 and Highway 18. It is surrounded by Westlock County within Census Division 13. Westlock lies on the Alberta plain, one of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. It lies just to the north of the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

between the

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

and

North Saskatchewan The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventua ...

river basins A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

, and to the east of the

Pembina River Pembina River may refer to: *Pembina River (Alberta), a river in central Alberta, Canada *Pembina River (Manitoba – North Dakota) The Pembina River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Nationa ...

, a tributary of the Athabasca. The town is about

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Westlock sits within the

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 ...

zone, on the northern edge of the

aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...

belt, a once heavily treed region that was cleared for agriculture at the turn of the 20th century. It is a relatively fertile region of dark soils. To the north lies the

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

zone. The mean annual precipitation averaged from one meteorological station within the county measured 468 millimetres (mm), based on data from 1980 to 1990. The mean annual temperature averaged 1.9 °C, with the mean monthly temperature reaching a high of 16.8 °C in July, and dropping to a low of −11.4 °C in January.

History

Prior to European settlement, the area around Westlock was inhabited by

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people, notably the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

. Although the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

had been active in Alberta since 1754 when

Anthony Henday Anthony Henday ( fl. 1750–1762) was one of the first Europeans to explore the interior of what would eventually become western Canada. He ventured farther westward than any white man had before him. As an employee of the Hudson's Bay Compan ...

explored the area, the Westlock district was not mentioned in writing until David Thompson came through in April 1799. Edison, Alberta (1906)

White settlement did not begin until 1902 at that time centred on a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

community about east of present-day Westlock. The founding family was named Edgson, but this was considered too hard to pronounce.

Edson, Alberta Edson is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Yellowhead County, west of Edmonton along the Yellowhead Highway and east of the intersection with Highway 47. History The town was founded as Heatherwood, but the name wa ...

already existed, so the site was called Edison by its Irish-Canadian founders, after the American inventor

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

. The community in 1912 consisted of a total of no more than 13 buildings: a harness shop, a blacksmith shop, several homes, two churches, and one family living in a tent. There was also a post office but this was closed in 1911 when

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

came to power and fired many Liberals from

the postal service The Postal Service are an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band released their only album, '' Give Up'', in 2003 on S ...

. In 1911 the railway reached nearby

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

to the east, and in 1912 the ''E.D. & B.C. Railway'' (later 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 ...

, now part of CN) mapped a new townsite where Westlock now stands to the west. Edison was now caught between the two. In 1914, the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church building was picked up and moved down the road to Westlock, an indication of the new settlement's ascendancy over the older one. The name of the new town is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsreeve was George MacTavish, and in that same year, the first

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

was built. The first

bank branch A branch, banking center or financial center is a retail location where a bank, credit union, or other financial institution (including a brokerage firm) offers a wide array of face-to-face and automated services to its customers. History and ...

, the Merchant's Bank opened its doors in 1918. A permanent brick

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

house was built in 1925. The

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

of St. Vincent de Paul of Halifax operated a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

out of a former house in 1927, and a purpose-built hospital, the Immaculata, was opened in 1928. Westlock became a town on 7 January 1947 with a population of 854. That same year, the

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

was also built. In 1992 the Memorial Hall burned down, later to be replaced. In 1995, the hospital was replaced by the Westlock Health Care Centre, a somewhat controversial decision because several other communities in Alberta were facing hospital closures at the time. In 1997, the old hospital was demolished.

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 Westlock had a population of 4,921 living in 2,151 of its 2,385 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 5,101. 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 Westlock recorded a population of 5,101 living in 2,142 of its 2,333 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 4,823. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The population of the Town of Westlock according to its 2015 municipal census is 5,147, a } change from its 2008 municipal census population of 4,964. ''NB The following sections present select demographic statistics arising out of the Canada 2006 Census. Population and dwelling unit figures presented within are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 by

''. ;Dwelling characteristics Westlock had 2,060 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in 2006. 74.8% of the occupied housing in the town was single-detached (the average in Alberta was 63.4%), while 17.7% were apartments in buildings with fewer than five storeys (14.7% in Alberta as a whole). Of the total private dwellings, there were 1,410 housing units (houses or apartments) which were owned, and 650 which were rented. The majority of the housing stock (1,630) was constructed before 1986, while 430 units were built between 1986 and 2006. The average value of owned dwellings was $148,083 (compared to Albertan average of $293,811). ;Families and households There were 2,060 households, of which 1,355 were considered ''census families'' in 2006, with an average of 2.8 persons per family, compared to an Alberta average of 3.0. The median incomes in 2005 were $41,487 per household and $47,853 per census family, compared to the Alberta median incomes of $63,988 and $73,823 respectively. ;Mother tongue In 2006, there were 3,945 people who claimed English as their

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

, 125 who chose French, and 10 who indicated both. In addition, 600 claimed another language (besides English and French) as a mother tongue. Every person in town claimed at least a working knowledge of English, 4,450 said it was their only language, 220 said they also knew French, not one person was unilingually Francophone. ;Immigration, citizenship, and generation Of the population only 385 were immigrants, the majority of those (300) having arrived in Canada before 1991. All but 55 people were Canadian citizens. Most of the Canadian-born residents were from third generation or more (2,470), or the second generation (955). ;Mobility status The majority of the population (3,980) had lived in the same house a year earlier, and most of those (2,525) had been in the same house five years earlier as well. ;Aboriginals and visible minorities There were 310 people who had Aboriginal identity. There were 145 who reported being

visible minorities A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...

. ;Educational attainment A large minority (1,385) of those residents aged 15 years and older (3,825) had no certificate, diploma, or degree. 1,100 of residents aged 15 years and older has a high school certificate or equivalent. ;Occupation and industry The total workforce was 2,155 people. The most common occupations were in sales and service (660) and trades, transport and equipment operation (410). The most common industries were ''other services'' (360), health care and social services (355), and retail trade (320). ;Work location and transportation Most people claimed to work in Westlock, and only (255) indicated working in another municipality. The majority (1,485) of those that had a regular workplace that was not their own home (1,950) commuted to work by private automobile. ;Income Of all persons in Westlock aged 15 years and older with income in 2005, 11.0% reported being below the low income cutoff before taxes. For those under the age of 18, the rate was 10.4% (compared to Alberta averages of 12.2% and 14.2% respectively).

Economy

The area around Westlock is primarily

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

, although there is some

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

activity. The main employers in town include the hotels and inns that cater to oilpatch workers, the

farm implement Agricultural equipment is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor. Tractor and power *Tractor / Two-wheel tractor * Tracked tractor / Caterpillar tractor Soil cultiv ...

dealerships, and some small manufacturing such as Wabash Mfg. Inc. - custom manufacturing, and a

Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...

cement plant. Additionally, Westlock still retains its original purpose as a centre for the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

, as CN still accepts grains from the remaining grain elevators, now owned by a new generation co-operative, Westlock Terminals (NGC) LTD. Also, Westlock is a centre of government as it is the location of Westlock County's municipal office and home of public and Catholic schools, a courthouse, a public library, and a modern hospital. As such, Westlock is the central town of the region where rural families do business, send their children to school, and obtain government services. Many rural people retire in the town, and there are several old age homes. Westlock is too far from Edmonton to serve as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

but some people do commute. Of increasing importance to the community since the Second World War has been highway traffic heading to oilfields 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 ...

. Recent retail developments have shifted from the railway era

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

to larger malls and businesses along the highway. One recent proposal was for a residential development adjoining Westlock Airport which would allow people to commute to the oilsand projects in

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...

and other northern developments, but this has not been started as yet.

Government

Westlock's current MP is

Arnold Viersen Arnold Viersen (born May 3, 1986) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Peace River—Westlock in the 2015 Canadian federal election. Background Viersen attended Covenant Canadian Reformed School in Neerlandia ...

, representing the riding of Peace River-Westlock. In the 2015 Canadian Federal Election Westlock became part of the newly formed

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 ...

federal electoral district. The MLA who represents Westlock is

Glenn van Dijken Glenn Jerry van Dijken (born September 6, 1962) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock in the 30th Alberta Legislature The 30th Alberta L ...

. The town's mayor is Ralph Leriger.

Media

* Newspaper: Westlock News (originally Westlock Witness which began in 1919) * FM Radio: CKWB 97.9 "Real Country" (previously 97.9 "the Range", CFOK 1370, and "The FOX")

Education

The town is within the

Pembina Hills Public Schools The Pembina Hills School Division, (formerly known as Pembina Hills Regional Division No. 7 and Pembina Hills Public Schools) is a school division headquartered in Barrhead, Alberta. The division, with 16 schools having a total of about 3,700 st ...

, which formed in 1995 as a merger of three school districts.

Notable people

W.A.C. Bennett William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving prem ...

, former

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Rollie Boutin Roland David Boutin (born November 6, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender who played for the Washington Capitals. He was selected by the Capitals in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. Career Boutin was born in Westlock, Alberta and raised i ...

, retired professional hockey player *

David Chatters David Cameron Chatters (April 15, 1946 – January 25, 2016) was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Athabasca until the 2004 election, after which he represented ...

, former MP *

Kyle Chipchura Kyle Douglas Glen Chipchura (born February 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with Severstal Cherepovets of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was select ...

, professional hockey player *

Herbert Greenfield Herbert W. Greenfield (November 25, 1869 – August 23, 1949) was a Canadian politician and farmer who served as the fourth premier of Alberta from 1921 until 1925. Born in Winchester, Hampshire, in England, he immigrated to Canada in his late tw ...

, former

Premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The ...

* Carolyn Dawn Johnson,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer *

Greg Polis Gregory Linn Polis (August 8, 1950 – March 18, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Polis played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Washington Capitals. Early ...

, retired professional hockey player * Colleen Soetaert, Canadian politician, former Liberal MLA *

Claudette Tardif Claudette Tardif (born July 27, 1947) is a Canadian retired senator from Alberta. She was appointed to the senate by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister Paul Martin, on March 24, 2005, representing the Liberal Par ...

, current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

* Dale C. Thomson, academic, author, advisor to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

* Simeon Rottier, professional football player

References

External links

* {{Alberta Regions Upper Athabasca 1916 establishments in Alberta Populated places established in 1913 Towns in Alberta Westlock County