Conklin is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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 ce ...

, 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 significa ...

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.

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 (which eventually became part of the Northern Alberta Railway 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 ...

) 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": the A ...

pelts from several mink farms in the area were transferred by canoe and dogsled to the railway siding at Conklin for shipment to markets. Christina Lake was the site of commercial fishing soon after Conklin was settled. 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 The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventi ...

region, and Cenovus Energy has been operating its Christina Lake project in the area since 2000. The Christina Lake project is a steam-assisted gravity drainage ( SAGD) project that recovers

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

from the

McMurray Formation The McMurray Formation is a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous Geochronology, age (late Barremian to Aptian stage) of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta. It takes the ...

, which lies at a depth of at that location.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, 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