Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville. The community derives its name from Father Bonnin, a Roman Catholic priest.

Geography

Bonnyville is located on the north shore of

Jessie Lake Jessie Lake is a kettle lake in east-northern Alberta, Canada. The northern shore of Jessie Lake borders the town of Bonnyville and extends almost five kilometres from east to west. On the west side it is intersected by a tertiary highway runni ...

. The lake is an important staging area for thousands of migrating birds, and therefore attracts birdwatchers. Other nearby lakes include Moose Lake and

Muriel Lake Muriel Lake is a lake located on Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in tota ...

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 Bonnyville had a population of 6,404 living in 2,537 of its 2,986 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 5,975. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town of Bonnyville according to its 2017 municipal census is 6,422, a change of from its 2014 municipal census population of 6,921. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Bonnyville recorded a population of 5,975 living in 2,281 of its 2,706 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 6,216. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Population controversy

The determination of the Town of Bonnyville's population has been subject to controversy since 2006. Most recently, Statistics Canada's February 2017 release of the population and dwelling counts from the 2016 census reported an overall population of 5,417, which was residents fewer than 6,921 permanent residents the municipality counted in its own census conducted in 2014, and less than the 6,216 counted in Statistics Canada's 2011 census. The population count as initially reported by Statistics Canada resulted in a change of -12.9%, which gave Bonnyville the distinction of being the municipality in Canada, among those with at least 5,000 inhabitants, that experienced the greatest percentage loss in population between 2011 and 2016. The Town of Bonnyville disputed the 2016 census results and conducted its own census in 2017 that counted a population of 6,422, which was higher than the 2016 population published by Statistics Canada and less than what the town had counted in 2014. Later in 2017, Statistics Canada issued a revised 2016 population count of 5,975 for Bonnyville, higher than the originally reported population of 5,417.

Language

Although English is the dominant language in Bonnyville, it is home to a notable Franco-Albertan minority. Its most common non-official mother tongues are

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

Visible minorities and Aboriginals

Economy

Bonnyville's economy is based on nearby oil reserves and agricultural resources, and benefits from its location between the markets of St. Paul and Cold Lake.

Attractions

In celebration of Bonnyville's centennial year (2007), the town constructed the Centennial Centre, an educational and recreational centre, as an extension of the R. J. Lalonde Arena and the Bonnyville & District Agriplex. Its construction was somewhat controversial as its cost exceeded the original estimate and required a tax hike for both residents of the town and the municipal district.

Sports

Bonnyville is home to the

Bonnyville Pontiacs The Bonnyville Pontiacs are a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. They play in Bonnyville, Alberta, Canada at the R. J. Lalonde Arena. History The Bonnyville Pontiacs entered the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) a ...

, a junior hockey team playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and also a senior hockey team, The Bonnyville Senior Pontiacs. The teams plays out of the R. J. Lalonde Arena, which is part of the Bonnyville & District Centennial Centre. Bonnyville is also home to the Bonnyville Voyageurs a high school football team who play at Walsh field.

Government

Bonnyville Town Council is composed of a mayor and six councilors, all directly elected at large. The current mayor, as of the 2021 election, is Elisa Brosseau. The offices of the Municipal District of Bonnyville are located within the town. Bonnyville is located within the

Bonnyville-Cold Lake Bonnyville-Cold Lake was a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post ...

provincial electoral district. The current MLA is Dave Hanson, the

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...

, first elected in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

. Previous MLAs include Genia Leskiw and Denis Ducharme. Federally, Bonnyville falls within the electoral district of Lakeland, a newly re-created riding which is currently held by

Shannon Stubbs Shannon Stubbs MP (born December 8, 1979) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Lakeland in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. She was re-elected to represent the same riding in the 20 ...

of the

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 ...

, also first elected in

Financial institutions

Options for banking services in Bonnyville include: Lakeland Credit Union, ATB Financial, RBC Royal Bank of Canada, TD Canada Trust and CIBC.

Education

Lakeland Catholic School District No. 150 and Northern Lights School Division No. 69 operate public schools within Bonnyville. ;Lakeland Catholic School District No. 150 *École Notre Dame Elementary School (offering kindergarten through grade 4 English and French programming) *École Dr. Bernard Brosseau School (offering grade 5 through grade 8 English and French programming) *École Notre Dame High School (offering grade 9 through grade 12 programming and a great handball team) ;Northern Lights School Division No. 69 *Duclos School (offering kindergarten through grade 4 programming) *H.E. Bourgoin School (offering grade 5 through grade 8 programming) *Bonnyville Centralized High School (offering grade 9 through grade 12 programming) *Bonnyville Outreach School (offering grade 9 through grade 12 programming) Conseil scolaire Centre-Est *École des Beaux-Lacs (French school offering kindergarten through grade 12 programming)

Media

*Bonnyville is served by CKSA-TV-2 (

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

channel 9), a rebroadcaster of

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television ...

affiliate

CKSA-DT CKSA-DT (channel 2) is a Citytv-affiliated television station in Lloydminster, a city located on the border of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is owned by Stingray Radio alongside CTV affiliate CITL-DT (channel 4). Both st ...

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...

. *Bonnyville is home to 2 FM radio stations, Hot 101.3 FM (CJEG-FM), owned by Stingray Digital with a CHR/Top 40 format, and Country 99 (CFNA-FM) at 99.7 with a Country format, owned by

Vista Radio Vista Radio Ltd. (also formerly known as Vista Broadcast Group) is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company only owned stations in British Columbia until 2007, when it expanded outside the province by acquiring an existing station in ...

. *Bonnyville's local newspaper is the ''Bonnyville Nouvelle'', which recently became a regional paper under the name of ''Lakeland This Week''. It features news from Bonnyville, St. Paul, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche, and Elk Point.

Notable people

* Denis Ducharme, former provincial politician * Tyler Ennis, professional hockey player * Justin Fontaine, professional hockey player * Ernie Isley, former provincial politician and mayor *

Jon Kalinski Jonathon Brent Kalinski (born May 25, 1987) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played parts of two National Hockey League (NHL) seasons as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. Playing career The Philadelphia Flyers s ...

, professional hockey player * Eugenia "Genia" Leskiw, Canadian politician, Progressive Conservative (MLA 2008-2015) *

Tanner Boser Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight division. He had previously competed for Unified MMA, where he won the ...

, mixed martial artist

References

External links

* {{Coord, 54, 16, N, 110, 45, W, region:CA_type:city, display=title 1929 establishments in Alberta Towns in Alberta