High Prairie is a town in

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

Big Lakes County Big Lakes County, formerly the Municipal District of Big Lakes, is a List of municipal districts in Alberta, municipal district in north-central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Division No. 17, Alberta, Census Division 17, around the Lesser ...

. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 749, approximately northeast of Valleyview and west of

Slave Lake Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton. It is located on the southeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake at the junction ...

History

The name describes the nature of the surrounding countryside. A post office opened in 1910. Its early name was Prairie River. In 1914, the alignment of the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway, later known as the Northern Alberta Railway, was chosen to go through High Prairie instead of Grouard to the northeast. As a result, many residents and businesses from Grouard relocated to High Prairie once the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway was built. With an estimated population of 600 people, High Prairie was incorporated as a village on April 6, 1945 and subsequently as a town on January 10, 1950.

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 ...

, the Town of High Prairie had a population of 2,380 living in 941 of its 1,119 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,564. 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 High Prairie recorded a population of 2,564 living in 949 of its 1,116 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 2,600. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

High Prairie's main industries include

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and gas, and service industry. One of its main employers is the Tolko OSB Mill that was built in 1994, the plant was closed in 2008 due to the economic downturn. In 2018 the mill was reopened and now employs 174 people. West Fraser Mills purchased the Buchanan lumber mill in 2014 and is another main employer for High Prairie with 150 employees.

Attractions

Due to its proximity to the western shores of

Lesser Slave Lake Lesser Slave Lake is located in northern Alberta, Canada, northwest of Edmonton. It is the second largest lake entirely within Alberta boundaries (and the largest easily accessible by vehicle), covering and measuring over long and at its wid ...

, High Prairie has a thriving tourism industry, particularly in the warmer summer months. There are many attractions at the lake, including events such as the Golden Walleye Classic.

Winagami Lake Provincial Park Winagami Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada, located on three sides of Winagami Lake and accessible from Highway 2, about 30 km north of High Prairie. The park was established on November 13, 1956. Winagami Wildland P ...

, approximately to the north of High Prairie, and Kimiwan Lake, approximately to the northwest, are attractions for bird-watching enthusiasts.

Winagami Lake Winagami Lake () is a large and shallow lake in northern Alberta, Canada. It is in Big Lakes County and Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, northeast of the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 679. It lies in the hydrographic basin of the ...

and Kimiwan Lake are within the general area where three major migration paths meet – the

Central Flyway The Central Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Great Plains in the United States and Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include the Canadian Prairies and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; the migration route ...

, the

Mississippi Flyway The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi, Missouri, and Lower Ohio Rivers in the United States across the western Great Lakes to the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay in Canada. The main endpoints of t ...

, and the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

Government

High Prairie is governed by a town council, a mayor and six council members, each of whom serve four-year terms. Federally, it is part of the

Fort McMurray—Athabasca Fort McMurray—Athabasca (formerly Athabasca) was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 2015. It was a predominantly rural riding in no ...

electoral district. In the next federal election, it will become part of the newly formed riding of Peace River—Westlock.

Medical services

The High Prairie Community Health and Wellness Clinic, which is run by

Alberta Health Services Alberta Health Services (AHS) is the single Health regions of Canada, health authority for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the "largest integrated provincial health care system" in Canada. Headquartered ...

(AHS), was established to replace the Associate Medical Clinic in 2014. The Community Health and Wellness Clinic, which is family-focused and includes primary care services, has a collaborative, inter-professional healthcare team, that responds to the higher incidents of patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and breathing disorders in High Prairie, according to AHS. The Clinic has chronic disease management nurses and nurse practitioners (NPs), as well as physicians.

Media

Media outlets serving High Prairie and surrounding area include CKVH The Fox, CIRE-TV (the local community channel), and the South Peace News, a local community newspaper.

Notable people

Tom Lysiak Thomas James Lysiak (April 22, 1953 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Selected in the first round, second overall, of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames, he was additionally selected by the Houston A ...

, former professional hockey player * Randy Ragan, former professional soccer player * Larry Shaben, Canada's first Muslim Cabinet Minister * Cheyanne Turions, curator, artist, writer

Recognition

In 2001, High Prairie was recognized for its state-of-the-art water treatment system and it was awarded 4 'blooms' by

Communities in Bloom Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization that fosters friendly competition between Canadian communities to beautify their civic spaces. It was established in 1995 as a national competition between 29 communities, and has since e ...

, a non-profit organization that encourages environmental responsibility and beautification in Canadian communities.

In popular culture

The

news satire News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...

program

This Is That ''This Is That'' was a news satire program broadcast on CBC Radio, which aired comedic news stories presented in the style of a real CBC Radio public affairs program.Natasha LedermanCBC Radio satirical show 'This Is That' sparks as much outra ...

ha
an episode
in which they discussed a (fictional) attempt by High Prairie to attract tourism by inventing a fake accent.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1945 establishments in Alberta Big Lakes County Towns in Alberta