Conklin 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 cen ...

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

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 significan ...

and Lac La Biche. It lies near the west end of Christina Lake at an elevation of , and was named for John Conklin, a railroad employee. The hamlet is located in Census Division No. 16 and in the federal riding of

Fort McMurray-Athabasca A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

History

The hamlet of Conklin was named for John Conklin, a railroad employee. It was originally situated at the extreme northwestern end of Christina Lake, adjacent to its outlet at the Jackfish River. When the

Alberta and Great Waterways 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 ...

(which eventually became part of 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 ...

and later the

Athabasca Northern Railway The Athabasca Northern Railway is a shortline railway in Alberta, Canada. Originally built as the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway between 1909 and 1925, the line runs between Boyle, Alberta and Fort McMurray, Alberta. It eventually became par ...

) reached Conklin in 1921, the town was relocated alongside the railway tracks. Conklin was an important centre for the local

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 ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

from 1940 to 1960.

Mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera '' Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": ...

pelts from several mink farms in the area were transferred by canoe and dogsled to the railway siding at Conklin for shipment to markets. From 1940 to 1960 there was heavy commercial fishing in Christina Lake, and a fish processing plant was located at the outlet to the Jackfish River. Conklin lies within the Athabasca Oil Sands region, and

Cenovus Energy Cenovus Energy Inc. (pronounced se-nō-vus) is an integrated oil and natural gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Cenovus was formed in 2009 when Encana Corporation split into two distinct companies, with Cenovus becoming focused on oi ...

has been operating its Christina Lake project in the area since 2000. The Christina Lake project is a steam-assisted gravity drainage (

SAGD Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD; "Sag-D") is an enhanced oil recovery technology for producing heavy crude oil and bitumen. It is an advanced form of steam stimulation in which a pair of horizontal wells is drilled into the oil reservoir, on ...

) project that recovers

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

from the

McMurray Formation The McMurray Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous age (late Barremian to Aptian stage) of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta. It takes the name from Fort McMurray and was first described from outcrops a ...

, which lies at a depth of at that location.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

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 ...

, Conklin had a population of 154 living in 57 of its 91 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 185. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of Conklin according to the 2018 municipal census conducted by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is 229, a decrease from its 2012 municipal census population count of 318. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Conklin had a population of 185 living in 71 of its 112 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 211. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

References

{{Alberta, hamlets=yes Hamlets in Alberta Designated places in Alberta Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

History

Demographics

See also

References