Eckville 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 bordered ...

, Canada. It is west of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

on Highway 766 just north of Highway 11.

History

Eckville gets its name from A. E. T. Eckford, a pioneer citizen. Eckville relocated to its current location in 1912, after the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Man ...

completed its local line. The current location on the

was briefly known as Kootuk, but the name Eckville prevailed. Eckville was incorporated as a village in 1921 and became a town in 1966.

Geography

Climate

Eckville experiences a

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 freez ...

(

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, nota ...

''Dfb'') which borders on a subarctic climate (''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 cultu ...

, the Town of Eckville had a population of 1,014 living in 425 of its 472 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,125. 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 Eckville recorded a population of 1,125 living in 443 of its 465 total private dwellings, which represents no change from its 2011 population of 1,125. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Culture

Eckville is home to several festivals and events throughout the year: * Eckville Indoor Rodeo * Bull-arena * Eckville 50s & 60s Dance Jamboree *

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

celebrations * Eckville Winter Carnival * Tree-lighting Ceremony

Education

Eckville has two public schools, Eckville Junior/Senior High School and Eckville Elementary. The town is relatively close to Sylvan Lake and many students from Eckville attend schools there. Eckville is also a short drive from

Red Deer College , mottoeng = To Greater Things Through Learning , established = 1964 , type = Public polytechnic institute , president = Stuart Cullum , city = Red Deer , state = Alberta , country = Canada , students = 7,500 , undergrad = , campus = U ...

. Eckville Junior/Senior High School attracted national attention in 1984 when history teacher and vice-principal

James Keegstra James "Jim" Keegstra (March 30, 1934 – June 2, 2014) was a public school teacher and mayor in Eckville, Alberta, Canada, who was charged and convicted of hate speech in 1984. The conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal of Alberta but ...

was charged under the

Criminal Code of Canada The ''Criminal Code'' (french: Code criminel)The citation of this Act by these short titles is authorised by thEnglishantexts of section 1. is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is ''A ...

for teaching his students

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

material, including

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

. Keegstra was stripped of his teaching credentials and convicted. His appeals eventually reached the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

in 1990, where his conviction was upheld in ''

R v Keegstra ''R v Keegstra'', 9903 SCR 697 is a freedom of expression decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the court upheld the ''Criminal Code'' provision prohibiting the wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group as constitutional un ...

''. Keegstra was mayor of Eckville at the time, but was defeated in a subsequent election.

Notable people

* Mellisa Hollingsworth,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medalist in

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

, former mayor, convicted of

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

in a landmark Canadian legal case

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1921 establishments in Alberta Towns in Alberta