Anzac 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 ...

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 ...

, Canada within the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo. It is located on Highway 881 along the east shore of

Gregoire Lake Gregoire Lake is a lake in Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Athabasca River basin. It is located in the wetlands of northern Alberta, adjacent to Highway 881, between Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche. It was known as "Willow Lake" until 1940 w ...

, approximately southeast of

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 ...

History

Anzac was named for the

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway was being built from Carbondale to

Waterways A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

. Originally named after Willow Lake, the previous name of Gregoire Lake, the community were mostly non-status or non-treaty

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 ...

whose ancestors had migrated to the Athabasca Basin area from what was to become northern Manitoba, mostly displacing the original Beaver and

Chipewyan The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene Indigenous Canadian people of the Athabaskan language family, whose ancestors are identified ...

occupants of the area. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a road was built from the rail siding to service and construct a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

base on Stoney Mountain. The area has seen significant growth corresponding to that of Fort McMurray and the oil industry. The hamlet was ordered to be evacuated on May 5, 2016, due to the spread of the

2016 Fort McMurray wildfire On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history, with upwards of 88,000 people forced from their ho ...

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 ...

, Anzac had a population of 506 living in 190 of its 256 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 548. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of Anzac according to the 2018 municipal census conducted by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is 659, an increase from its 2015 municipal census population count of 606. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Anzac had a population of 548 living in 197 of its 286 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 585. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

References

1979 establishments in Alberta Hamlets in Alberta Designated places in Alberta Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo ANZAC {{NorthernAlberta-geo-stub

History

Demographics

See also

References