Wabasca, also known as Wabasca-Desmarais, is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in northern

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 Ter ...

, Canada within the Municipal District (MD) of Opportunity No. 17. It is located between and along the South and North Wabasca Lakes, at the intersection of Highway 813 and Highway 754. It is approximately northeast 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 ...

. Wabasca, which is the location of the MD of Opportunity No. 17's municipal office, consists of two historical communities – ''Wabasca'' and ''Desmarais''. The hamlet has a population of 1,585 which is largely

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

. Another 2,157 additional residents live on five "Indian reserves" in the immediate surrounding area. These

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 ...

reserves include Wabasca 166, 166A, 166B, 166C and 166D of the

Bigstone Cree Nation The Bigstone Cree Nation ( cr, ᐅᐸᓯᑯᓂᐍᐤ, opasikoniwew) is a First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. As Woodland Cree, they are a western branch of the larger Cree nation, and are a party to Treaty 8 with Canada. The Bigst ...

, and the

Woodland Cree The ''Saāwithiniwak'' or Woodland Cree, are a Cree people, calling themselves Nîhithaw in their own dialect of the language. They are the largest indigenous group in northern Alberta and are an Algonquian people. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

people. The name ''Wabasca'' originates from 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 ...

word ''wâpaskâw'', meaning "white grass," the name for the

Wabasca River The Wabasca River is the largest tributary of the Peace River watershed in northern Alberta, Canada. The Wabasca River has a total drainage area of . Course The Wabasca River originates in the ''Sandy Lake'', north-east of Slave Lake, then ...

. ''Desmarais'' was named after Father Alphonse Desmarais, the first missionary in this area.

History

Early history

The Hudson's Bay company opened their first trading post in the Wabasca area in the 1880s. This was followed by the St. John’s Anglican Mission in 1894 and St. Martin’s Catholic Boarding School in 1901. 1899 saw the signing of

Treaty 8 Treaty 8, which concluded with the June 21, 1899 signing by representatives of the Crown and various First Nations of the Lesser Slave Lake area, is the most comprehensive of the one of eleven Numbered Treaties. The agreement encompassed a la ...

and this combined with a booming

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 ...

attracted more settlers and indigenous to the region. The first Indian reserve in the area,

Wabasca 166 Wabasca 166 is an Indian reserve of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Alberta, located within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17. It is 80 kilometres north of Slave Lake Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded ...

was surveyed in 1913.

2019 wildfire

In May 2019, the McMillan complex forest fire burning to the West of the hamlet was characterized as out of control. On May 29, strong easterly winds pushed smoke into the community and an overnight evacuation order was placed at 8:44 pm affecting 3,300 people. The fire, suspected of being caused by arson, would go on to burn of forest in the MD of Opportunity No. 17, and kept residents from returning to their homes until June 11, 2019. The fire came as close as to the Bigstone Cree Nation communities on the western shore of the lakes.

Geography

Wabasca is located in the

Boreal Plains The Boreal Plains Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a terrestrial ecozone in the western Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It also has minor extensions into northeastern British C ...

of Northern Alberta, part of the largest

intact forest An intact forest landscape (IFL) is an unbroken natural landscape of a forest ecosystem and its habitat–plant community components, in an extant forest zone. An IFL is a natural environment with no signs of significant human activity or habitat f ...

on earth. Two large lakes border the town along the west, North Wabasca Lake and

South Wabasca Lake South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. The Wabasca River runs along downtown and connects the two lakes before continuing to the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

as part of the Mackenzie River watershed. Wabasca's hamlet boundary includes three census geographic units – the Wabasca and Desmarais

designated place A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...

s and the Desmarais

Indian settlement An Indian settlement is a census subdivision outlined by the Canadian government Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada for census purposes. These areas have at least 10 status Indian or non-status Indian people who live, m ...

– as well as additional lands.

Climate

Wabasca has a

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 ...

(

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 ...

''Dfc'').

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 ...

, Wabasca-Desmarais had a population of 1,594 living in 522 of its 619 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,480. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wabasca-Desmarais hadby combining the Wabasca and Desmarais designated places and the Desmarais Indian settlement, the Hamlet of Wabasca had a population of 1,585 living in 527 of its 677 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 1,569. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

Located west of the Wabasca oil field, oil and gas exploration and extraction is Wabasca's primary industry. Forestry also plays a role in the local economy with Alberta Pacific Forest Industries operating an office out of the community. The community is also within vicinity of the Wabasca oil sands, the fourth largest deposit of

oil sands Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...

in Alberta.

Government

Municipal government

Wabasca does not have a local council and is instead represented by three councillors on the MD of Opportunity No. 17 Council. Other communities represented by the council include Calling Lake, Red Earth Creek, and

Chipewyan Lake Chipewyan Lake is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17. It is located on the southern shore of Chipewyan Lake approximately north of Wabasca and west of Fort McMurray. The commun ...

. As of 2021, the councillors representing Wabasca are Larry Cardinal, Robin Guild and Darlene Jackson while the MD's "reeve" is Marcel D'auger .

Provincial government

The hamlet lies within the Lesser Slave Lake electoral district. In the 2019 Alberta general election, 189 votes were cast in Wabasca of which 67 went to the current incumbent

Pat Rehn Pat Rehn (born 1965 or 1966) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Lesser Slave Lake in the 30th Alberta Legislature. Elected as a member of the United Conservative P ...

, formerly of the UCP who now sits as an independent.

Federal government

At the federal level, Wabasca is represented within the Fort McMurray - Cold Lake federal electoral district. This district represents a large portion of northeast Alberta, totalling more than . In the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Member of Parliament (Canada), Members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the Fixed election dates in ...

, Wabasca cast 302 votes, 146 of which went for David Yurdiga, the current incumbent.

Crime

Wabasca is the location of the Desmarais Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada's national police service. This detachment serves a large remote area including most of the MD of Opportunity No. 17. In September 2019, the RCMP moved to a new building located on Airport Road in the industrial area of the hamlet. In 2019, the Desmarais Detachment reported a crime severity index of 339.46. This is higher than the 128.91 reported in

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 ...

, the closest major city to Wabasca. Located downtown, the Wabasca/Desmarais Provincial Court of Alberta is a circuit court that sits on Thursdays each week.

Arts and culture

The Wabasca Public Library is located in the Lakeview Centre. Opened in October 2003, the library is a member of the Peace Library System which joins 39 communities across northern Alberta in a single library network. Wabasca hosts numerous events on an annual basis including the RCMP Fish Derby, the Wabasca Road Race, and the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

Ski-Doo Rally among others. Wabasca has four churches including St. Charles Catholic Church, St. John's Anglican Church, St. Martins Catholic Church, and the Wabasca Revival Centre.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

Geography has played a key role in the layout of streets and roads in Wabasca. The community is spread along the shores of the lakes following a North-South corridor. Mistassiny Road is the main connector running from Bigstone Cree Nation 166A and downtown in the south, to the predominantly residential areas in the north. Streets are named after local families, native

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

, and other such practical names with no numbered system currently in use. There is also no grid system in place and the streets naturally follow the shape of the lake and avoid

muskeg Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or ...

in the area. The Hamlet of Wabasca is accessed by Highway 813 from the southeast and Highway 754 from the southwest. Chipewyan Lake Road, also known as the ALPAC Road, is an unpaved industrial road heading north of Wabasca destined for the community of Chipewyan Lake.

Airports

The Wabasca Airport is located in the industrial area of Wabasca, north of downtown and east of North Wabasca Lake along Mistassiny Road and Airport Road. The airport serves as a gateway to the Wabasca oil sands as well as private flights and medical air transport for the region. Currently there are no scheduled services operating to the airport. The runway is long, wide, and maintained and operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Public transit

Bigstone Health Commission operates a shuttle service between Wabasca,

and

. The shuttle runs daily during the week and offers a single departure on Sunday.

Health care

Located in downtown Wabasca, the Wabasca/Desmarais Health Care Centre offers 24-hour emergency services, ambulatory and general medicine, laboratory services, x-ray, advanced life support ambulance service, and Indigenous health services. Also located downtown, the Golden Opportunity Medical Clinic offers

primary care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care t ...

services. In August 2022, Wosler Diagnostics opened an ultrasound clinic located within the Golden Opportunity Medical Clinic and provides a wide range of diagnostic services to patients in the region. The Keekenow Senior Facility opened on June 15, 2020. The assisted living facility features 60 beds in a two-storey building and was completed at a cost of $16M.

Sports and recreation

The community is home to a recreation centre that includes a pool, jacuzzi, steam room and fitness centre. In February 2013, the Lakeview Sports Centre opened providing the community with an indoor field house complete with gymnasium, running track, stage, and concessions. Sam g's park wabasca summer 2019

Wabasca also has an ice arena, Marian Wolitiski Arena. The rink contains a single sheet of ice and concessions. The George Stoll Recreation Grounds feature baseball diamonds, batting cage, basketball courts, skateboard park, playground, and winter outdoor ice rinks. In downtown Wabasca, Sam G's Park is a central gathering place anchored around the Blue

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

Bridge. Spanning the Wabasca River, the bridge offers summer fishing. The park also contains several picnic areas and a mini-golf course. The Wabasca visitor information centre can also be found in Sam G's Park seasonally, from May to October each year. Eli Cardinal Park, formerly Fisherman’s Wharf, is an outdoor park located in the north end of the hamlet. A concrete ramp provides boat access to North Wabasca Lake in the summer and access to the ice for

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longe ...

in the winter.

Outdoor recreation

Wabasca features opportunities for hunting and trapping year round. Common big game species in the area include

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

and

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

. Many game birds are found in the forest around the hamlet, including

spruce grouse The spruce grouse (''Canachites canadensis''), also known as Canada grouse, spruce hen or fool hen, is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is the only member of the genus ''C ...

ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...

, and

sharp-tailed grouse The sharp-tailed grouse (''Tympanuchus phasianellus''), also known as the sharptail or fire grouse, is a medium-sized prairie grouse. One of three species in the genus '' Tympanuchus'', the sharp-tailed grouse is found throughout Alaska, much of ...

. Fishing yields species such as

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

, and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...

. Eagle Point Golf Course is a 18 hole course that opened in 2013. Situated along North Wabasca Lake and surrounded by

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

, the course also features a driving range, practice green, and pro shop. It also has a clubhouse that features a full-service restaurant. The Wabasca Lions Campground contains 35 camping sites along the shores of North Wabasca Lake. A public sandy beach and boat launch are also located on site. There are many multi-use trails surrounding and running through Wabasca. Common users of these trails include ATVs,

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

cross country skiers Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...

, and mountain bikers. There is a paved path running along the eastern edge of North Wabasca Lake between Wabasca and Desmarais.

Education

The Northland School Division operates three schools in the community – St. Theresa School for students in kindergarten through grade 6, Mistassiniy School for students in grades 7 through 12, and an outreach school for junior and senior high students. The Bigstone Cree First Nation Education Authority operates the Bigstone Community School or Oski Pasikoniwew Kamik (OPK). OPK offers preschool to grade 9 with plans on building a future high school. A campus of

Northern Lakes College Northern Lakes College is a publicly funded comprehensive community college in northern Alberta, Canada. Administrative offices are located in Slave Lake and Grouard, Alberta, with a staff of more than 275 working in more than 25 community campuse ...

is located in Wabasca. The college provides part-time and full-time programming for adult upgrading, apprenticeships, university studies, workforce development, and other careers.

References

External links

Wabasca website
{{authority control Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 Designated places in Alberta First Nations in Alberta Hamlets in Alberta