Redwater is a town in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of

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 T ...

, Canada that is surrounded by Sturgeon County. It is located on Highway 38, approximately north 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 an ...

. Its population was 2,053 in the 2016 census, while the town's municipal census conducted in 2012 counted a population of 2,116.

History

In the early 1900s, the area where Redwater stands was settled first by

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 ...

settlers, and followed by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

settlers. The name Redwater is a reference to the nearby

Redwater River The Redwater River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 110 mi (177 km), in eastern Montana in the United States. It rises in on the northern slope of the Big Sheep Mountains, in northwestern Prairie County, and flo ...

, an ochre-coloured tributary that drains into the North Saskatchewan River. The survey of the Redwater area was registered on September 7, 1906. The original post office, established in 1907 at a location to the east of present-day Redwater, was moved in 1919 to the current town site when Redwater was established as 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 ...

. On December 31, 1949 it 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 ...

, becoming 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 o ...

a year later on December 31, 1950. Originally, Redwater was primarily a farming community. The 1948 discovery of oil in the area transformed the hamlet of about 160 people into a town of 1,306 by 1951.

Geography

Redwater is surrounded by wide, flat expanses of some of the best farming soil in Alberta. Some of the major geographical features in the area are the Sturgeon River which travels roughly east-south-east about south of the town and flows into the North Saskatchewan River. To the east and south-east, there are vast areas of sandy soil known locally as sand hills, some of which support a thriving

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...

sand and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

industry. These differing zones support two major types of forest;

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

, including

Jack Pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

, Scots Pine,

White Spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...

Black Spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Lab ...

, and some Balsam Fir; broadleaf trees including

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'' cont ...

, Poplar and

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (C ...

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 Redwater had a population of 2,115 living in 910 of its 1,000 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,053. 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 Redwater recorded a population of 2,053 living in 862 of its 946 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,915. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The Town of Redwater's 2012 municipal census counted a population of 2,116. The census also counted 921 total dwellings within the town, 77 more than the 844 counted by Statistics Canada in 2011.

Economy

In addition to the farming industry that surrounds the town, numerous large industrial operations are located in the nearby

Alberta's Industrial Heartland Alberta's Industrial Heartland (also known as Upgrader Alley or the Heartland) is the largest industrial area in Western Canada and a joint land-use planning and development initiative between five municipalities in the Edmonton Capital Region to ...

to the south. The largest industrial operation is the North West Redwater Partnership's (NWRP)

Sturgeon Refinery The Sturgeon Refinery also NWR Sturgeon Refinery is an crude oil upgrader—built and operated by North West Redwater Partnership (NWRP) in a public private partnership with the Alberta provincial government. It is located in Sturgeon County ...

, an crude oil upgrader located near Redwater. The Sturgeon Refinery, also known as the NWR Sturgeon Refinery, built, owned and operated by NWRP, under a multi-year agreement with the Alberta provincial government, which has provided multi-billion dollar loans for the operation as well as a 30-year commitment to supplying the refinery with bitumen feed. On their website, NWRP estimated that the economic value of the Sturgeon Refinery to Alberta is about $CDN90 billion over 30 years". Other notable operations include a fertilizer plant Agrium Inc, a chemical production plant Evonik Industries, a petrochemical plant Pembina, a pipeline storage and shipping facility Access Pipeline INC and the Shell Scotford upgrader and refinery. These industries have spawned an array of offshoot businesses such as shipping, oilfield services,

heavy equipment Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...

and other support services.

Attractions

Redwater boasts many attractions for a community of its size such as: A nine-hole golf course with grass greens is located within Redwater, a multi use recreational facility Pembina place, an outdoor swimming pool, the sand hills natural area which is home to some of the best ATV trails in central Alberta, a public library, and the world's largest oil derrick.

Infrastructure

Health care

The town is home to the Redwater Health Centre.

Emergency services

Redwater has a

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 and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

detachment, ambulance services and a volunteer

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

Education

Schools in Redwater include Ochre Park School and Redwater School; providing instruction for kindergarten through grade 4, and for grades 5 through 12 respectively.

Media

''The Review'' is a local weekly newspaper that serves Redwater.

Notable people

Todd Fedoruk Todd Julian Fedoruk (born February 13, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for six different teams. Todd has Ukrainian origin. Playing career Fedoruk spent h ...

, professional hockey player

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Alberta, towns=yes 1949 establishments in Alberta Edmonton Metropolitan Region Towns in Alberta