Fort Saskatchewan
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Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the
North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...
in
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. It is northeast of
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 provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the
Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board The Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR), also commonly referred to as Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Alberta's provincial capital of Edmonton. The EMR's commonly known boundaries are coincide ...
. Its population in the 2021 federal census was 27,088. The city was founded as a
North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...
fort 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'' ...
and later home to a large provincial
gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
. The original fort was located across the river from the hamlet of Lamoureux, and Fort Saskatchewan opened a replica of the fort next to its original site in 2011. Fort Saskatchewan is bordered by
Strathcona County Strathcona County is a specialized municipality in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region within Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park. It forms part of Census Division No. 11. Strathcona County is both urban and rural in ...
to the south and east,
Sturgeon County Sturgeon County is a municipal district the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is north of Edmonton and west of the North Saskatchewan River. Sturgeon County is located in Division No. 11 and was named for the Sturgeon River. ...
to the north and west, and the City of Edmonton to the southwest. Sturgeon County is across the North Saskatchewan River. The city is best known for its proximity to petrochemical facilities, including Dow Chemical,
Sherritt International Sherritt International is a Canadian resource company, based in Toronto, Ontario. Sherritt is a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt – metals essential for the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Its Technologies Grou ...
,
Nutrien Nutrien is a Canadian fertilizer company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is the largest producer of potash and the third largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer in the world. It has over 2,000 retail locations across North America, South ...
(formerly Agrium), and
Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited (french: Shell Canada Limitée) is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a maj ...
. It is also known for its flock of 50 sheep that roam the Fort Heritage Precinct throughout the summer months, eating the grass.


History


Pre-colonization and founding

Prior to
colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
of the region, the area around what is now Fort Saskatchewan was a gathering place and home for many
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 ...
nations, including the Cree (Néhinaw) and
Nakota Nakota (or Nakoda or Nakona) is the endonym used by those ''Assiniboine'' Indigenous people in the US, and by the Stoney People, in Canada. The Assiniboine branched off from the Great Sioux Nation (aka the ''Oceti Sakowin'') long ago and moved f ...
. Indigenous Peoples of the region commonly traveled the North Saskatchewan River by
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...
. The mouth of the Sturgeon River, located near modern-day Fort Saskatchewan's industrial business park, was an ideal location to gather the materials necessary to construct canoes. The area of modern-day Fort Saskatchewan was called "Birch Hills", as
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
bark was an important component in canoe making. Inspector William D. Jarvis, who led a column of
North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...
(NWMP) during the
March West The March West was the initial journey of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) to the Canadian Prairies, Canadian prairies, made between July 8 and October 9, 1874. It was the result of the force being deployed to what is now southern Alberta in ...
, established Sturgeon Creek Post in 1875. The post was soon renamed "Fort (on the) Saskatchewan", and it became a key northern police garrison. Its location caused outrage among residents of Edmonton, who held a meeting voicing their concern that the police garrison was located far from their settlement.
Chief Factor A factor is a type of trader who receives and sells goods on commission, called factorage. A factor is a mercantile fiduciary transacting business in his own name and not disclosing his principal. A factor differs from a commission merchant in ...
Richard Hardisty, in charge of
Fort Edmonton Fort Edmonton (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now central Alberta, ...
, wanted the police garrison to be located across the river and slightly upstream from his fort. However, Inspector Jarvis preferred the downstream site because he believed that its narrower and shallower river banks were better suited for a future railway crossing. The NWMP made Fort Saskatchewan the headquarters of 'G' Division in 1885, and considered moving it to Edmonton to accommodate an expansion. The residents of Edmonton were enthusiastic about this proposal; they held a meeting to voice their support for the move, and submitted a 250-signature petition to the
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
. However, the existing (temporary) NWMP barracks in Edmonton were so dilapidated that some officers mutinied in 1886 – an event known among police at the time as "the Big Buck". It was cheaper to expand Fort Saskatchewan at its current location than to rebuild and expand the garrison in Edmonton. Despite the efforts of Edmonton's residents, who would continue to protest and voice their discontent until 1888, Fort Saskatchewan remained where it was. The
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...
wall surrounding the fort was dismantled in 1886, and the fort was expanded for a second time in 1889. As headquarters of 'G' Division, it hosted patrols that extended as far as
Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...
and
Chesterfield Inlet Chesterfield Inlet (Inuit: ''Igluligaarjuk'')Issenman, Betty. ''Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing''. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254 is an inlet in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of northwestern Hudson Bay, and the ...
. The NWMP transferred the property to the Alberta government in 1911 for the construction of a provincial jail, and the fort was soon demolished. Artifacts and structural features have been discovered during subsequent digs, including clothing buttons, a possible
privy Privy is an old-fashioned term for an outdoor toilet, often known as an outhouse and by many other names. Privy may also refer to: * Privy council, a body that advises the head of state * Privy mark, a small mark in the design of a coin * Privy Pur ...
deposit, and structural remains of the original palisade wall. The site of the fort has been partially damaged by the installation of underground utilities, and the construction of the provincial jail. Fort Saskatchewan was incorporated as a
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in 1899, a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
in 1904, and a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in 1985.


Hanging of Swift Runner

Five hangings were conducted at the fort between 1879 and 1914. On December 20, 1879, Fort Saskatchewan's police garrison conducted the first hanging in the
North-West Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
(which included present-day Alberta). Swift Runner (Ka-Ki-Si-Kutchin), a Cree man, was considered by locals to be smart and trustworthy, and he had previously served as a guide for local police. He was expelled from Fort Saskatchewan, and later his tribe as well, after developing a severe addiction to whisky. After he eventually arrived back at Fort Saskatchewan alone, it was discovered that he killed and ate his six children, his wife, his brother, and his mother. Possible motives for his acts have been proposed, such as trauma from previously being forced to eat a deceased hunting partner out of necessity, or being possessed by
Wendigo Wendigo () is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from the folklore of Plains and Great Lakes Natives as well as some First Nations. It is based in and around the East Coast forests of Canada, the Great Plains region of the U ...
– a flesh eating spirit in some Indigenous cultures. Charged for murder and cannibalism, Swift Runner was sentenced to death in August 1879 by a jury consisting of three Métis residents, four locals who knew the Cree language, and a Cree translator. Scaffolding was built for his hanging in December, and an
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
pensioner was paid $50 to act as the hangman. Local Indigenous Chiefs were also invited to observe the execution to pacify rumours of unnecessary cruelty inflicted upon the condemned. The hanging was delayed after locals used the trap from the scaffolding as fire kindling, and the hangman forgot straps to bind Swift Runner's arms. At 9:30 am, Swift Runner was hanged in front of 60 onlookers and pronounced dead shortly after. Within an hour, his body was cut from the rope and buried in the snow outside the fort walls.


Early growth


Arrival of the railway

Prior to the arrival of the railway, people travelling to and from Edmonton had to traverse a dirt trail that wound around woods and swamps. 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. Mani ...
(CNR) reached Fort Saskatchewan in 1905, placing the town on what would eventually become a transcontinental rail line. The CNR station is a modified third-class station design (100-19 plan); a "special station" that was used by CNR at the most significant stops along their line. It had several unique features, such as a longer footprint than other third-class stations, and a freight shed; these reflected Fort Saskatchewan's status as the centre of an agricultural district and the largest community on the CNR line between Edmonton and
North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. A second freight shed was built on the west side of the station in 1911; a sign of the growth in population and rail traffic that Fort Saskatchewan experienced. The station is the only surviving model 100-19 railway station in Alberta. In the decade after the railway arrived, the town's population nearly doubled to 993. The first bridge leading to Fort Saskatchewan, crossing the North Saskatchewan River, was also built at this time; CNR paid for it in exchange for free land for its station. It had a train deck on its upper level and a wooden road deck on its lower level. Previously, the only method to cross the river at Fort Saskatchewan was via ferry. At the time of the bridge's construction, the
Edmonton Bulletin The ''Edmonton Bulletin'' was a newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta, published from 1880 until January 20, 1951. It was founded by Edmonton pioneer Frank Oliver, a future Liberal politician and cabinet minister in the Canadian Government. Oliver co-f ...
described it as the second largest bridge in the CNR. The road deck was too narrow to allow more than one-way traffic, and traffic lights were later installed on each side of the bridge to help prevent collisions. Some drivers ignored the traffic lights at night, and proceeded if they did not see any oncoming headlights; even if they had a red light. A heavy vehicle struck the bridge in 1950, and a girder was forced out of alignment by the impact. The safety concerns illustrated by these two factors caused the province to open a new two-lane bridge downstream of the railway bridge. After it opened in 1957, the rail bridge's lower vehicle deck was dismantled. The train station and railway line through Fort Saskatchewan were in use until the late 1980s. Declining rail traffic and safety concerns regarding the transportation of dangerous goods prompted the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
to divert the line away from the city's non-industrial areas. The station and its property, including the railway track directly in front of it, were sold to the Province of Alberta, which immediately re-sold it to Fort Saskatchewan. The train bridge was demolished soon after the rail line was diverted. The old piers still stand in the river as of 2022. As of 1987, all freight and passenger rail connections occur in Edmonton, and a new bridge, located upstream near the Clover Bar and Beverly bridges (
Anthony Henday Drive Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) is a freeway that encircles Edmonton, Alberta. It is a heavily travelled commuter and truck bypass route with the southwest quadrant serving as a portion of the CANAMEX Corridor that links C ...
), carries a rail line that goes through Fort Saskatchewan's industrial area without going through residential areas.


Combined fire and town hall

Town council, meeting in the Odd Fellows' Hall, approved the construction of a combined fire and town hall in 1905. The building would also contain two cells for police use. Council originally voted to purchase land for the building behind the Queen's Hotel for $675, but a public petition successfully persuaded council to instead purchase land on the north-west corner of 100 Avenue and 103 Street for $1,250. Local taxpayers voted for $6000 to be spent on the construction of the building, and $7000 on fire-fighting equipment. The fire and town hall was completed in 1906; the fire department occupied the bottom level, and the town hall and council chamber were located on the upper floor. The fire department occupied the bottom floor until 1958, while the town hall was located in the building until 1970. The building is now privately owned and used as commercial space.


Hydroelectric dam

After purchasing the Fort Electric Company in 1910, Town Council voted to purchase land near the mouth of the Sturgeon River, and construct a $30,000 wooden hydroelectric dam and power plant which were expected to last approximately 20 years. The town had to take over construction of the dam and plant in 1911 after the contracted firm went bankrupt. There were two separate instances in June 1911 where water rose above the dam and flooded the construction area. By its completion in December 1911, Fort Saskatchewan had spent $80,000 on the project. Minor leaks were detected throughout the next few months, and the plant was shut down in April 1912 after a washout at the
penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...
damaged the canal, a bulkhead, and parts of the natural riverbank. This incident was blamed on faulty construction. The town decided in September 1912 that there was no cost-effective way to repair the dam. It instead retrofitted its old power house for $3000, and absorbed the financial losses associated with prematurely decommissioning the dam. The power plant on the grounds of the gaol supplied the entire town for eight years, during-which Fort Saskatchewan faced numerous issues with residents neglecting to pay their power bills. The town finalized an agreement for
Calgary Power TransAlta Corporation (formerly Calgary Power Company, Ltd.) is an electricity power generator and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a privately owned corporation and its shares are traded publicly. It ...
to purchase the town's equipment for $26,000 in June 1928, and supply the town with power for ten years.


Public emergencies


= Downtown fire

= A fire swept through a large portion of the town's business section on January 21, 1913. It is thought to have started in the Queen's hotel, before quickly leaping across the street to nearby buildings. The fire department struggled to start their engine, and their hose froze; by the time they fixed their equipment, the fire was too large to be contained. Five businesses, primarily located in the Fetherstonhaugh Block, were lost to the fire — costing a total of $24,000 in damages. In the spring of 1913, construction began on $69,500 worth of buildings in the business section. These new buildings included the Williamson Block, which replaced the Fetherstonhaugh Block, and a new Queen's Hotel.


= Influenza epidemic of 1918–1919

= In response to the worsening
Spanish Influenza The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
outbreak, the local Board of Health placed Fort Saskatchewan under quarantine on October 30, 1918. Guards were placed at all roads leading into the town, and nobody could enter or leave without a pass from the health board. The town reached 86 cases of the Spanish Flu in November 1918, representing approximately nine percent of its total population. Fort Saskatchewan did not have its own hospital, so a local home owner, Mrs. Graham, donated her house to be used as a temporary medical facility; four residents were treated there. Three residents died from the Spanish Flu. The town's quarantine lasted for three weeks, and was lifted on November 17, 1918.


Provincial gaol

A $200,000 provincial
gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
opened in 1915 on the site of the old fort, to replace the 34-cell guard house that had been used since the NWMP fort was constructed in 1875. This was necessary because by the early 1900s, the guard house was often filled beyond capacity; in August 1912, it held up to 71 prisoners at one time. The fort was demolished after the gaol opened, and in 1927 the prison's warden unveiled a
cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
on the site of the old guard room, made from stones taken from its foundation, to commemorate the old fort. There were various additions to the jail throughout the next 70 years, including more cell blocks, a gymnasium, a stand-alone power plant, and carpentry, auto body, and license plate shops. The prison grew food for inmates on a nearby 324 hectare (800 acre) farm. A new house for the warden and his family was completed in 1937, replacing the commanding officer's quarters of 1889. The warden's house was symbolically constructed on municipal grounds near the prison, rather than on the prison grounds themselves — providing convenient access to the prison for the warden while normalizing life for his wife and children. The warden's house was converted into office space in early 1973.The prison was primarily used to house people awaiting their trials or serving sentences of under two years, and 29 prisoners were hanged on-site between 1914 and 1960. Noteworthy prisoners who were executed include
Florence Lassandro Florence Lassandro (; born Filumena Costanzo ; 1900 – May 2, 1923) was an Italian-Canadian bootlegger who was the only woman to be hanged in Alberta. Early life Lassandro was born in Cosenza, Italy, immigrating with her family to Canada in 1 ...
(the only woman hanged in Alberta), and Robert Raymond Cook (the last man to be hanged in Alberta). By 1973, the jail employed 220 people and housed 300 male and female offenders. The jail was replaced in 1988 when a new provincial correctional centre, which houses 546 inmates, was built south of Highway 15 (Veterans Way) on 101 Street. The cell blocks were demolished in 1992. The warden's house is the only remaining structure linked to the old gaol; the last building on the actual prison grounds, the facility workshop, was demolished in 2014.


Riot

96 inmates rioted in the prison dining room on January 19, 1955, led by 12 ringleaders who barricaded themselves in the prison's bakery. The riot started only 24 hours after the chief guard and two other guards were dismissed. Dishes and furniture were thrown and smashed, and a store room in the bakery was destroyed by fire after the ringleaders torched clothing, boots, and other supplies that they found. Prisoners in a cell block believed to contain rioters shouted phrases such as "get the story straight" to nearby reporters. They claimed that they rioted because of the food at the gaol. The fire was doused by the local fire department, and the riot was put down by 50
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
officers from Edmonton, who were armed with tear gas and smoke grenades. After the ringleaders were pulled from the bakery, they were returned to their cells. The prison had previously seen an inmate sit-down in October 1950, and a small disturbance in March 1949, but this was the most significant act of aggression by inmates that the prison had seen. The riot caused $10,000 worth of damage.


1950–present

Sherritt Gordon Mines Sherritt International is a Canadian resource company, based in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. Sherritt is a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt – metals essential for the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Its Technolo ...
started construction on a $25-million nickel refinery in 1952, which started production in 1954. As a result, more industries constructed plants in Fort Saskatchewan. Between 1951 and 1956, the town's population doubled from 1,076 to 2,582. Dow Chemical acquired 700 acres in Fort Saskatchewan in 1959, opening its plant in 1961 and further expanding it in 1967. The population increased from 2,972 in 1961, when operations at Dow began, to 4,152 in 1966. The Fort Saskatchewan Town Police force (est. 1904) was disbanded in 1972, and the RCMP resumed policing duties in the town for the first time since 1917. As part of a
royal tour A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...
during the XI Commonwealth Games,
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
and
Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
arrived in Fort Saskatchewan from
Vegreville Vegreville ( uk, Веґревіль) is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is on Highway 16A approximately east of Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. It was incorporated as a town in 1906, and that year also saw the founding of the ''Vegrev ...
via a special train on August 2, 1978. The royal couple met with then-Premier Lougheed on the platform of the CNR station, gave a speech to local residents at Turner Park, and then traveled to Edmonton in a limousine.
Muriel Abdurahman Muriel Ross Abdurahman (April 29, 1938 – December 22, 2013) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 1997. Political career Fort Saskatchewan Town Council Abdurahman was elected to ...
was elected as Fort Saskatchewan's first female mayor in 1980. Abdurahman was elected for a second term in 1983, and she became the first mayor of the City of Fort Saskatchewan after it gained official city status in 1985. She later resigned as mayor to pursue a career in provincial politics, and was succeeded by Pryce Alderson. Fort Saskatchewan annexed of land from Strathcona County on January 1, 2020. The land is mainly located south of the city's old boundaries. Fort Saskatchewan originally requested from Strathcona County, including industrial land to the north, but the two municipalities negotiated an agreement involving less land. Since Fort Saskatchewan was incorporated as a town in 1904, it has had 30 residents serve as its mayor as of 2021.


Annexation dispute

Fort Saskatchewan submitted a bid to annex of industrial land to its east from Strathcona County in 1988. Dow Chemical was constructing a
plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
on some of this land, and the refinery was expected to generate $4 million in tax revenues once it was complete. After Fort Saskatchewan declined to split Dow's taxes between the two municipalities, and in protest over being "chiseled away" by its urban neighbours, Strathcona County submitted a counter-bid to the Local Authorities Board in 1989 to retake of land from Fort Saskatchewan. The claim encompassed most of Fort Saskatchewan's tax-rich industrial land, which had been ceded to the city in 1959. In the late 1980s, Fort Saskatchewan had the richest tax base in the Edmonton Area, with 74% involving commercial or industrial properties, and it had the lowest homeowners tax in the region. After the provincial government tried unsuccessfully to mediate an agreement between the two sides in late 1989, the Edmonton Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission voted in 1990 in favour of Fort Saskatchewan's bid, and rejected Strathcona County's counter-bid. As the dispute continued into late 1990, Fort Saskatchewan purchased a full-page advertisement in the ''
Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...
'', urging the provincial government to respect the Local Authorities Board's "non-political decision", regardless of what its verdict was. The province announced that Fort Saskatchewan's bid was successful in 1991, stating that the city would annex of land from Strathcona County on December 31, 1991. In turn, the county would be protected from further annexations for 20 years, and the two municipalities would have to reach an agreement on tax-sharing. The two sides continued to face difficulties negotiating with one-another, and neither believed that an arbitration process could be agreed upon. In March 1992, a Court of Queen's Bench judge ruled in favour of Strathcona County. He declared that over the next 19 years, the county was to receive approximately $27 million in tax revenue from the land annexed by Fort Saskatchewan, while the city would receive about $55 million of tax revenue over that same period. Mayor Pryce Alderson of Fort Saskatchewan, and Reeve Iris Evans of Strathcona County, issued a joint statement that welcomed the decision, stating that they would work together moving forward.


Geography


Climate

Fort Saskatchewan has 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 freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Dfb'') with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation peaks during summer time, and snowfall peaks from November to January.


Neighbourhoods

Fort Saskatchewan is divided into seven residential neighbourhoods and two industrial parks. Downtown is the city's oldest neighbourhood, and currently experiencing a larger commercial vacancy rate than the local average due to its low catchment area. Bridgeview, Clover Park, Pineview, and Sherridon are mature residential neighbourhoods, and Westpark and Southfort — the city's newest neighbourhoods — are still under development as of 2021. Eastgate Business Park and the Industrial Business Park both sit on the eastern edge of the city.


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 ...
, the City of Fort Saskatchewan had a population of 27,088 living in 10,420 of its 10,896 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 24,169. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Fort Saskatchewan's population, according to its 2019 municipal census, is 26,942; a change of from its 2018 municipal census population of 26,328. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Fort Saskatchewan had a population of 24,149 living in 9,261 of its 9,939 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 19,051. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. According to the 2016 census, the largest visible minority populations in the community are Filipino with 535 residents, followed by South Asian with 350 residents. 1,390 residents identified as Aboriginal in 2016: 415 as
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 ...
, 965 as
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
, and 15 as Inuk (Inuit). 15 residents also claimed multiple Aboriginal identities, bringing the total number of Aboriginal identity claims to 1,410. Regarding the
official languages of Canada The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada," according to Canada's constitution. "Official ...
, 22,160 residents are proficient only in English, 15 are only proficient in French, 1,385 residents are bilingual, and 60 residents are not proficient in either official language. As of 2016, the top three areas of employment are: Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (3,140 residents), sales and service occupations (2,685), and business, finance and administration occupations (1,915 residents). The three most common levels of education are: Post secondary certificate, diploma or degree (10,420 residents), secondary (high) school diploma or equivalency certificate (5,735 residents), and college,
CEGEP A CEGEP ( or ; ), also written cégep, CÉGEP and cegep, is a publicly funded college providing technical, academic, vocational or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, i ...
or other non-university certificate or diploma (4,565 residents).


Economy

Fort Saskatchewan's main industries are commercial and heavy industry. It is part of Alberta's Industrial Heartland, the largest Canadian industrial area west of
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Companies with operations in the area include Dow Chemical, Sherritt International, Nutrien (formerly Agrium) and Shell Canada. These plants are major employers for residents of Fort Saskatchewan and the surrounding area. The city has attracted a number of major retailers including
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
,
The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...
,
Canadian Tire Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...
,
Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...
, Federated CO-OP, and Freson Bros. Fort Saskatchewan has also developed as a regional hub for stores and services; in 2019 it served a catchment area of approximately 75,000 people, both locally and from communities to its north and east, including
Lamont Lamont or LaMont may refer to: People *Lamont (name), people with the surname or given name ''Lamont'' or ''LaMont'' * Clan Lamont, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Lamont, Alberta, a town in Canada * Lamont County, a municipal district in Albert ...
,
Bruderheim Bruderheim is a town in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is located just north of the junction of Highway 15 and Highway 45, approximately northeast of Edmonton. The town's name is derived from two German words: "Br ...
, and Redwater.


Fort Station Mall

The original Fort Mall was located on a parcel on the east side of downtown, and contained of retail space. On September 15, 2015, Haro Developments opened phase one of its redevelopment of the site, which it renamed Fort Station Mall. The majority of the old mall was demolished and replaced with outward-facing commercial units. Future plans for development include the construction of additional commercial units, apartments, and an assisted-living facility for seniors. A report commissioned by the City of Fort Saskatchewan noted: "As of 2019, there is another phase of the site, yet to be redeveloped, but the project continues to progress towards completion."


Attractions


Recreational

The centerpiece of Fort Saskatchewan's recreation and culture is the
Dow Centennial Centre The Dow Centennial Centre (DCC) is a multipurpose recreational facility in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada. Constructed in 2003–2004 for the city's centennial, the complex cost $22 million. The DCC is notable for its arts facilities, w ...
, a multi-use facility that includes an ice arena, gymnasium, field house, indoor track and fitness centre. The facility, which opened in September 2004, also features a 550-seat performing arts theatre, a permanent art gallery with monthly shows, a banquet hall and the local pottery guild. The city has two other indoor ice arenas the Jubilee Recreation Centre and the Sportsplex, that are used during the winter months by hockey,
ringette Ringette is a contact sport, non-contact winter team sport played on ice hockey rinks using Ice skates#Ice hockey skates, ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a #Equipment, blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice ...
and figure skating associations. In the summer months, the
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
association uses them. Fort Saskatchewan also has Harbour Pool: An indoor
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
with a hot tub, sauna, and slide. The city opened Taurus Field in 2018 – a
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
-certified artificial turf field for soccer and football matches. It features seating for more than 1000 people, a press box, four large dressing rooms, and lights surrounding the field. There is one nine-hole golf course located within the city's boundaries, and a six-sheet curling club; they are both operated by the Fort Golf and Curling Club. The city's west end features a boat launch into the North Saskatchewan River, called Red Coat Landing, and a provincially preserved natural area called the Fort Saskatchewan Prairie.
Elk Island National Park Elk Island National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the Plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" is east of Edmonton, alo ...
is located southeast of the city.


Trail network

Fort Saskatchewan has over of paved multi-use trails as of 2021, including approximately throughout the river valley and the city's parks. A pedestrian bridge crossing the North Saskatchewan River has been under construction since 2019; once completed it will connect Fort Saskatchewan's trail network to Sturgeon County's trails. This is part of the
Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the A ...
network, reflecting Fort Saskatchewan's status as a hub for numerous provincial and national trails.


Cultural

The 11 hectare (27 acre) Fort Heritage Precinct is a municipally operated museum and historic site. It contains a variety of historically significant buildings from the area which form a historical village. The Fort Heritage Precinct features a full-scale replica of the original NWMP fort, which can be explored in guided tours. Phase one of the replica fort, which included the Men's Quarters and the Officers' Quarters, opened in 2011. The fort also features a horse stable, a guard room with jail cells, and an ice house which was completed in the summer of 2015. The replica fort was constructed beside the site of the original fort to preserve the original site's archaeological integrity. The city has placed eight wooden markers to show the position of the original fort: one marker is at each of the four corners where the wall once stood, and two sets of markers indicate the positions of the original east and west gates (which provided access to the settlement and to the river respectively). The historical society hosts a two-day event called "The Peoples of the North Saskatchewan" every May, which educates students about Métis and settler cultures. A flock of sheep are kept at the Heritage Precinct every summer to maintain the grass, and members of the public are allowed to interact with them. The city's mascot is a sheep mascot named Auggie, which is a reference to the North West Company's Fort Augustus which was located nearby. Fort Saskatchewan is served by a public library located in the same building as City Hall. The city is also home to a local theatre group, called The Sheeptown Players Drama Society, which regularly performs throughout the community.


Sports

The Pyramid Corp. Hawks of the
Capital Junior Hockey League The Capital Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Alberta, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The league was established in 1972 as the Edmonton Metropolitan Junior Hockey League. League playoff winners face off against the ...
play out of the Jubilee Recreation Centre. The
Fort Saskatchewan Traders The Fort Saskatchewan Traders were an ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. They played in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, at the Jubilee Recreation Centre, capacity 2000. :Founded: 1976–77 :Division titles won: 1983–84 :R ...
, of the
Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...
, relocated to St. Albert in 2007, and renamed the
St. Albert Steel The St. Albert Steel were an ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They played in St. Albert, Alberta, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada at Servus Place with a seating capacity of 2,044. The team relocated to Whitecourt in the 201 ...
. Fort Saskatchewan is home to the Heartland Roller Derby Association, a flat-track roller-derby league formed in 2016. There are youth sports associations for hockey, soccer (indoor and outdoor), baseball, ringette, indoor lacrosse, and figure skating, and sports associations for cross-country skiing and swimming.


Infrastructure


Emergency services


Policing

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's K Division maintains a detachment which serves Fort Saskatchewan and the surrounding region. In 2015, the detachment moved into a new station, which also houses the city's protective services and municipal enforcement personnel. A local police official predicted that the new location, which provides direct access to Highway 21 (Veterans Way), would allow officers to cut emergency response times by 60–90 seconds. The station features a boardroom that local organizations are able to use. The Families First Society, a local not-for-profit resource centre for families, parents, and children, moved into the old police station in April 2016.


Fire department

The Fire Department (est. 1906), based at the Walter Thomas Fire Station, is staffed by 12 full-time firefighters who are supported by paid volunteers, and three full-time administrative staff. The full-time firefighters rotate between a 10-hour day shift and a 14-hour night shift. The full-time staffing model was introduced in early 2020. Prior to its introduction, the fire station was vacant every evening, and paid on-call volunteers would have to travel to the station before they could respond to an emergency. The introduction of full-time staff has reduced response times from up to 15 minutes, to a standard of 105 seconds in 2019. New sleeping quarters were constructed at the fire station to accommodate the full-time staff. The city purchased property for a second fire station in 2017, reflecting the increase in call volumes coming from its newer neighbourhoods. Fort Saskatchewan was also home to Canada's longest serving firefighter: Walter Thomas (1922–2017). Walter joined the department on May 1, 1947, and served until May 2017, a few months before he died. Walter's last position in the department was as its official
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
.


Public health

Fort Saskatchewan has one hospital — the 38-bed
Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital The Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital is an acute care hospital located in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The facility opened in 2012, replacing the former Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre. Services and programs The main services and programs t ...
. It opened in 2012 to replace the city's aging health centre. It is attached to a new health facility that provides home care, mental health, rehabilitation, community health, and child and family services. The city also has a 58-bed, publicly operated, supportive-living seniors lodge, called Dr. Turner Lodge. Southfort Bend, a privately operated facility, also has supportive living for seniors. The lone assisted-living facility in Fort Saskatchewan, the Rivercrest Care Centre, is also home to a
hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
. Fort Air Partnership (FAP) monitors the air quality of the
airshed An airshed is a part of the atmosphere that behaves in a coherent way with respect to the dispersion of emissions. It typically forms an analytical or management unit. Also: a geographic boundary for air-quality standards. Alternatively - an airs ...
located immediately north and east of Edmonton. FAP maintains 10 continuous monitoring stations — three of which are located in Fort Saskatchewan — and 47 passive monitoring stations.


Public transit

Fort Sask Transit Fort Sask Transit (FST) is a public transit service in the city of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. It operates two routes within the city, and a third route is contracted to Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) to connect with its service network. Histor ...
(FST) operates two daily routes, which mostly traverse the same parts of the city but go in opposite directions. To help facilitate regional travel,
Edmonton Transit Service The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In , the system had ...
is contracted by Fort Saskatchewan to provide peak-hour service between Fort Saskatchewan and the
Clareview Transit Centre Clareview station is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It serves the Capital Line and is currently the northern terminus of the line. It is a ground-level station located near 42 Street and 139 Avenue, and is na ...
in Edmonton. All three routes converge at the FST park and ride, and at a North Transfer Station on 99th Ave. All of FST's buses are accessible to riders with mobility issues, and the Special Transportation Service Society, a volunteer service operated by the Fort Saskatchewan
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 , ...
, offers a specialized minivan service for people who cannot use regular transit options because of physical disabilities. Fort Saskatchewan is a member of the
Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Services Commission The Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Services Commission (EMTSC) is a regional public transport, public transit service which serves eight municipalities within the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The EMTSC is currently developing it ...
, which will begin service in mid-2022.


Utilities

Fort Saskatchewan's water is supplied by the Capital Region Northeast Water Services Commission. The commission purchases water from the Edmonton-based utilities company
EPCOR EPCOR Utilities Inc., formerly known as Edmonton Power Corporation, is a utility company based in Edmonton, Alberta. EPCOR manages water, wastewater, natural gas, and electricity distribution systems in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British ...
, which supplies treated water from the North Saskatchewan River. Waste water is treated at a facility in Strathcona County, which is owned by the Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission. EPCOR provides the Regulated Retail Offering for electricity in Fort Saskatchewan, and the wire service (distribution and transmission) is provided by Fortis Alberta. Direct Energy Regulated Services provides regulated natural gas to the city, and its distribution is provided by
ATCO Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...
.


Waste management

Fort Saskatchewan's residents separate their household waste into three categories: organic waste is put into green bins, garbage is picked up in black bins, and recycling is collected in blue bags. The three-stream system was introduced in June 2018, after a successful pilot program. Garbage is collected bi-weekly, organics are collected weekly or bi-weekly depending on the time of year, and recycling is collected weekly. Blue bins were used for recycling in the pilot program, but the city reverted to blue bags when launching the new waste system city-wide. This was because objects could get jammed in the blue bins, and crews could not easily tell if the loads inside blue bins were contaminated like they could with blue bags. Prior to the introduction of this system, the municipality contracted out collection of garbage and recycling only; recycling was collected in blue bags, but garbage cans were not regulated by the city.


Government

Fort Saskatchewan is directly governed by a city council consisting of one mayor and six councillors. Municipal elections, which are non-partisan, occur every four years on the third Monday in October. The last election was held on October 18, 2021, where
Gale Katchur Gale Katchur is a Canadians, Canadian politician and current mayor of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Biography Katchur was born Gale Lewchuk in Fort St. John, British Columbia, but raised on a farm near Spirit River, Alberta. Katchur served as a ci ...
was re-elected for a fourth term as
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
; becoming the longest-serving Mayor in Fort Saskatchewan's history. The mayor is elected separately from the councilors, who are elected at-large (as opposed to the ward system). At the provincial level of government, Fort Saskatchewan is part of the
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting. The electoral district ...
riding, which has been represented by Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk (
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 ...
) since 2019. At the federal level, Fort Saskatchewan is part of the
Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is a federal electoral district in 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 borde ...
riding and is represented by
Garnett Genuis Garnett Genuis (born January 23, 1987) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament for the riding of Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan (in Alberta) since 2015. Early life Genuis was born in 1987 and grew up in Strath ...
(
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
).


Education

Fort Saskatchewan has no post-secondary schools that are open to the public, but its corrections centre partners with
NorQuest College NorQuest College is a publicly funded community college in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The student body is approximately 10,900 full-time or part-time credit students, and approximately 8,500 non-credit or continuing education students. Approximate ...
to provide academic upgrading, personal development courses, and employment training courses to inmates. Most residents of Fort Saskatchewan commute or move to Edmonton to attend post-secondary classes at the University of Alberta,
MacEwan University , mottoeng = , type = Public University , established = , closed = , founder = , parent = , academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...
, or NAIT. Fort Saskatchewan's schools are governed by two different school boards – Elk Island Public Schools and Elk Island Catholic Schools. Both school boards have their head offices located in Sherwood Park. Fort Saskatchewan's elected trustees on the EIPS board are Heather Wall and Harvey Stadnick. Al Stewart is the lone Fort Saskatchewan trustee on the EICS board.


Media

Fort Saskatchewan has two local newspapers. The ''
Fort Saskatchewan Record The ''Fort Saskatchewan Record'' is a once-weekly (Thursdays) free newspaper in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, a city on the northeast side of the Edmonton metropolitan area. It is the oldest paper in the city. History The paper bega ...
'' (''The Fort Record'') is a weekly home-delivered newspaper published on Thursdays. It took over the offices and plant of ''The Conservator'', the previous weekly newspaper, and was first published on Wednesday, April 5, 1922. The ''Sturgeon Creek Post'', established in 1996, is a weekly newspaper published on Wednesdays that is available at local businesses and newsstands. The ''Edmonton Journal'' and the ''
Edmonton Sun The ''Edmonton Sun'' is a daily newspaper and news website published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its 2015 acquisition of Sun Media from Quebecor. It began publishing Sunday April 2, 1978 and shares many cha ...
'' are also distributed in the community. Fort Saskatchewan has one local radio station that broadcasts live on air. It is branded Mix 107.9 FM, and owned by
Golden West Broadcasting Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. is a Canadian radio and digital media company based in Altona, Manitoba. It is the largest independent radio broadcaster in Canada. The company primarily operates small-market radio stations and internet portals in ...
. Fort Saskatchewan had an internet radio station named FortRadio.com, which came online in November 2010.


See also

*
List of communities in Alberta The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal district ...


References


External links

* {{good article 1899 establishments in the Northwest Territories Cities in Alberta Edmonton Metropolitan Region Populated places established in 1875 Populated places on the North Saskatchewan River