Alsask is a

special service area Communities in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, include Incorporation (municipal government), incorporated municipalities, Unincorporated area#Canada, unincorporated communities and First Nations in Canada, First Nations communities. Types ...

in the

Rural Municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

of Milton No. 292, in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. Alsask is located west of the town of

Kindersley Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, at its junction with Highway 21. ...

. Highway 44 runs to the east of Alsask, and Highway 7 lies a few kilometres to the north. The community had a population of 113 in the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

(a 1.8% increase from 111 in the

2016 Canadian census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...

). The community's name combines the names of ''Al''berta and ''Sask''atchewan, although it is a misconception that it straddles the border between the two provinces. It lies approximately east of the

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

border and while the community lies completely within Saskatchewan, the local cemetery is actually in Alberta. Alsask's most notable landmark is one of three remaining radar domes that for many years operated as Canadian Forces Detachment Alsask as part of the

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North American Aerospace Defense Comm ...

, operated by the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

. Southeast of the town is

Alsask Lake Alsask Lake is a closed basin lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, about south-east of Alsask. The lake is a natural source for sodium sulfate and until 1991 an extraction plant was operated by Francanna Minerals (Sodium Sulfate C ...

History

Former military base by Alsask Saskatchewan - panoramio

Alsask incorporated as a village November 22, 1910;Municipal History - Urban Incorporated Dates
/ref> two years later on November 1, 1912, it was decided the village was large enough to incorporate into a town. By 1916 the population of Alsask had reached 300. The

Great Depression in Canada The worldwide Great Depression of the early 1930s was a social and economic shock that left millions of Canadians unemployed, hungry and often homeless. Few countries were affected as severely as Canada during what became known as the "Dirty Thirt ...

hit Alsask hard, and the village struggled with maintaining its population. The town was reverted to a village on January 1, 1947. Things began to change; in 1959 with the establishment of

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

Station Alsask, a base was established next to the town site, and by the early 1970s the population had reached over 800, though the village never reverted to town status. The base was disbanded in 1987. Since the closure of the RCAF Station Alsask, the village population continued to decline; by 2009, the Village of Alsask was dissolved as a political entity, and a motion was accepted to join the Rural Municipality of Milton as a ''

'' on July 30, 2009.

Heritage sites

CFD Alsask Canadian Forces Station Alsask (CFS Alsask) was a military radar station in the Rural Municipality of Milton No. 292, just north of the hamlet of Alsask, Saskatchewan, Canada, a village on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It is within the Milton_ ...

became a designated heritage site in 2002. The site is the former

Alsask Station, a

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

era, military base and

radar dome, open to public only a handful of days per year for guided tours operated by the Canadian Civil Defense Museum.Military Heritage Site
- Google Maps Few of the original buildings remain. Most notably, the "Gopher Dip" indoor swimming pool as it was known during the lifespan as a military site, is still in use. During the summer months the swimming pool is well used, attracting many children and families from surrounding communities. The site also includes a bowling alley built to entertain families of the RCAF and Alsask and area residents. The Old Alsask School operated from its opening in 1913 until 1976 when the property was taken over by the Village of Alsask. In 2002 the building was restored as a community centre and is now listed as a Municipal Heritage Property.

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; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Alsask had a population of 113 living in 50 of its 67 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 111. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Health

Alsask was part of the Heartland Regional Health Authority which was amalgamated with the

Saskatchewan Health Authority The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is the single health region of the province of Saskatchewan. Established on December 4, 2017, it amalgamated the province's 12 former regional health authorities into one unified organization. The SHA is re ...

Climate

Alsask experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''

BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK ...

''). Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short and warm. Precipitation is low, with an annual average of , and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. There is a weather station located about southeast of the community, adjacent to Alsask Lake.

Notable people

Notable persons who were born, grew up or lived in Alsask: * Bob Adams – Track and field athlete * Karin Plato – Canadian jazz vocalist and composer *

Lorne Shantz Lorne Hugh Shantz (February 4, 1920 – October 2, 1999) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. He represented North Okanagan in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1952 to 1963 as a British Columbia Social Credit Party, Soc ...

– Politician, and former MLA in the

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Legislature

References

{{Authority control Milton No. 292, Saskatchewan Designated places in Saskatchewan Former villages in Saskatchewan Special service areas in Saskatchewan Populated places disestablished in 2009 1911 establishments in Saskatchewan Division No. 13, Saskatchewan