Merritt, British Columbia
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Merritt is a city in the Nicola Valley of the south-central
Interior of British Columbia The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior ...
, Canada. It is northeast of
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. Situated at the confluence of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, it is the first major community encountered after travelling along Phase One of the Coquihalla Highway and acts as the gateway to all other major highways to the B.C. Interior. The city developed in 1893 when part of the ranches owned by William Voght, Jesus Garcia, and John Charters were surveyed for a town site. Once known as Forksdale, the community adopted its current name in 1906 in honour of mining engineer and railway promoter William Hamilton Merritt III.Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; 1001 British Columbia Place Names; Discovery Press, Vancouver 1969, 1970, 1973, p. 114 The city limits consist of the community, a number of civic parks, historical sites, an aquatic centre, a local arena, a public library (which is a branch of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Library System) and a civic centre. Merritt has dozens of bronzed hand prints of country music stars who have been in the city for the annual Merritt Mountain Music Festival displayed throughout town. Merritt is also home to a local radio station, a weekly newspaper and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology campus. Nearby, there are four
provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...
s, numerous lakes, and several recreational trails. Merritt is known as the "Country Music Capital of Canada" for its wealth of country music attractions, activities, and events. Highway 5, and Highway 97C intersect at Merritt with Highway 97C East connecting the city to
Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...
and
Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...
, Highway 97C Northwest to Logan Lake, Highway 8 to Spences Bridge and
Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...
, Highway 5A South to Princeton, Highway 5A North to
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
, Highway 5 South to
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, and Highway 5 North to
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
. Merritt's economy is dominated by the primary industries of forestry, tourism, and service.


History

For years, the Merritt area was a gathering place for local European colonists and
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
, as the area was a focus of transportation routes used by early pioneers. The grasslands eventually drew the attention of settlers interested in
ranching A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...
, and the first ranches were staked in the mid-19th century. In the 1880s three ranches located at the confluence of the Nicola and Coldwater Rivers, owned by William Voght, Jesus Garcia, and the John Charters Estate, became the focus of a farming community known as "The Forks". With the completion of the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
through
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 ...
in 1885, interest increased in the
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
deposits south of The Forks. Parts of the ranches owned by Voght, Garcia and Charters were surveyed in 1893 for the townsite of Forksdale, but the name did not catch on with locals. Instead, the name was changed in 1906 to honour William Hamilton Merritt III, a mining engineer and railway promoter. By 1907, the
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
mines were in operation and with the completion of the Nicola, Kamloops and Similkameen railway from Spences Bridge, government and other offices starting moving from
Lower Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is sit ...
and Upper Nicola to establish Merritt as the major settlement in the Nicola Valley. Armstrong's Store moved from Lower Nicola to Nicola Avenue in Merritt in the spring of 1907. G.B. Armstrong became Merritt's first
postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
at this location in 1908. In 1910, Armstrong's Department Store moved to 2025 Quilchena Avenue. In 1909, the
Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...
moved from the settlement of Nicola to Merritt. A.E. Howse moved his department store to the west end of Nicola Avenue. The ''Nicola Herald'', founded at Nicola Lake in 1905, moved from Nicola to Merritt in 1909 and the name was changed to the '' Merritt Herald and Nicola Valley Advocate''. Other industries developed in the
Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
, including
ranching A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...
, copper, nickel, gold and silver mining, and
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 ...
, and as a result, new business buildings were constructed. The move toward incorporation began in 1910 and culminated on April 1, 1911, when Merritt was granted its city charter. The first Merritt
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
was built in 1912. The top floor was police headquarters, the second for administration offices, and the bottom for the jail. The building included the fire hall and tower that housed a whistle to summon the volunteer fire fighters. Merritt dedicated the names of its streets and avenues to early settlers. Among the names honoured were Charters, Chapman, Cleasby, Garcia, Voght, Coutlee, Nicola, Granite, and Quilchena. As the town grew, it featured a drug store, a general store, a brewery and a jewellery store. The first electrical power service by the city was provided in February 1913. Merritt and the Nicola Valley experienced prosperity until the passage of restrictive trade legislation in the United States in 1930. Because the city had financially backed one of the major sawmills, the loss of lumber markets caused the city to go into receivership from 1933 to 1952. The next wave of immigrants, primarily
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
, from the
Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
of India, arrived in Merritt in the 1950s, followed by a large influx in the late 1960s and early 1970s to work in the booming forestry sector of the time and adding to the cultural mosaic of Merritt. Known as Indo-Canadians, they continue to play a crucial part in the economy—Aspen Planers Ltd., a major employer in the city, and many other businesses, restaurants and hotels in Merritt are owned by members of this group. In advance polls during the 2015 Canadian elections, an unexpectedly high turnout in Merritt resulted in there being an insufficient quantity of ballots. On November 15, 2021, the entire city was ordered to evacuate after heavy rainfall and flooding caused the municipality's wastewater treatment plant to fail. Residents were asked to shelter with family or friends outside of the community, or in emergency evacuation shelters in
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
and
Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...
.


Cityscape

Merritt is composed of four distinct residential areas: Bench, Collettville, Central and Diamondvale. The Bench is a residential mountain bench, hence the name, sited on the northwest side of the valley. Collettville, on the southwest edge of the community south of the Coldwater River, was the newest addition to Merritt. Central is situated at the south of the city centre. Diamond Vale is in the heart of the valley, and is the most populated. Each area is served by an elementary school: Bench Elementary, Collettville Elementary and French Immersion, Central Elementary, Diamond Vale Elementary. Also, a high school, Merritt Secondary School, that services the area. The main office for School District 58 Nicola-Similkameen, which operates the schools in the area, is also located in Merritt. The town is also served by the Nicola Valley Museum and Archives.


Commerce and industry

Today,
ranching A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...
,
farming 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 ...
,
transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
ation and
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
are the primary industries. Merritt is the nearest large community to the
Douglas Lake Cattle Company The Douglas Lake Cattle Company is Canada's largest working cattle ranch, usually known as the Douglas Lake Ranch. Founded June 30, 1886, it has been operating continuously since. This date also marks the completion of the last leg of the firs ...
, Canada's largest working cattle ranch. Merritt was once host to an annual Merritt Mountain Music Festival that is estimated to have drawn as many as 148,000 people at its peak in the summer of 2005. The Mountain Music Festival, combined with the development of the Merritt Walk of Stars - a display of bronzed handprints of Mountainfest artists placed around the community - the Merritt Walk of Stars Mural Project, painted by artist Michelle Loughery, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, Music in the Square and in the Park along with other tourism development activities have been used to solidify the city's branding as the Country Music Capital of Canada. Merritt's prime location has provided the opportunity to host many events, the West Coast Rally Association's Pacific Forest Rally, an off-road rally conducted as part of the Canadian Rally Championship series every October, also the annual winter Thunderbird Rally often begins and ends in Merritt. The Bass Coast Festival held annually on the BC Day weekend and supports electronic music and creative arts draws attendees from all over North America. The annual Labour Day Rodeo and Fall Fair are long standing traditions in this ranching valley, drawing participants from all over Canada and the US.


As a filming location

Merritt provided the backdrop for the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated movie '' The Sweet Hereafter''. The debut episode of ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' was partly filmed on location in Merritt.
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
's '' The Pledge'' and the 2006 remake of '' The Wicker Man'' were also filmed partly in the area. In 2013 '' Shana: The Wolf's Music'' directed by Nino Jacusso was released, it is a drama about a First Nations girl coming of age set in a First Nations location. Scheduled to be released theatrically on June 11, 2021 ''
Jurassic World Dominion ''Jurassic World Dominion'' is a 2022 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Emily Carmichael (filmmaker), Emily Carmichael from a story by Derek Connolly and Tre ...
'' began filming on February 25, 2020 in Merritt and concluded in early March 2020, with the shoot including the city's downtown area. The Nicola Valley is also host to the shooting of numerous commercials. Merritt is a member of the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission, which is a full-time, full service film commission representing the Thompson Nicola Regional District.


Music

The Merritt Mountain Music Festival was an outdoor music festival in Merritt. In 2005 the festival hosted a record-breaking attendance of approximately 148,000 people throughout the six-day event. Over the years it has hosted country stars such as
Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...
,
Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...
, and Wynonna Judd. Since cancelling the festival in the summer of 2012, The Merritt Mountain Music Festival is no longer in operation. Starting on the BC Day weekend in 2013 (Friday, August 2 to Monday, August 5, 2013), Bass Coast Music Festival will be making Merritt, BC its new home (after taking place in Squamish, BC its first four years). Bass Coast features a wide variety of music "from daytime soul and reggae jams, to live experimental electronic music, house and techno". 2015 was the first year for the Rockin' River Music Fest, formerly held in Mission B.C., taking place July 30 to August 2. The return of a country music festival to Merritt was the first since the cancellation of the Merritt Mountain Music Festival in 2012. The 2015 headliners included Lady Antebellum.


Sports

Merritt is home to the longest continuously run franchise in the
British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...
, the Merritt Centennials. The Cents moved to the Nicola Valley from White Rock midway through the 1973–74 season. The Centennials play all home games at the city-run Nicola Valley Memorial Arena and their season runs from early September through early March. Merritt also hosts the Nicola Valley Pro
Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
on the Saturday and Sunday of
Labour Day Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the labour movement and its labor rights, achievements. It has its origins in the trade union, labour union movement, specifically the Eight-hour day movement, eight-hour day movement, which advoca ...
weekend every year. Merritt is also home to the Nicola Valley Thunder minor lacrosse club. A round of the Canadian Rally Championship, the Pacific Forest Rally, is held each year in and around Merritt. The international motorsport event is televised on TSN and RDS in Canada, and MotorsTV in Europe. Merritt and the Nicola Valley features two golf courses, the Merritt Golf and Country Club in downtown Merritt and Sagebrush Golf Club, currently rated BC's #1 public course (as of this edit in 2025) and sits just north of town on Nicola Lake. Merritt features a skateboard park, bike park, and numerous walking trails. Monck Provincial Park is located on the western shore of Nicola Lake, north of Merritt. It offers an abundance of camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, boating, water-skiing, wind-surfing and hiking. The Merritt Panthers high school teams compete in boys and girls
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, and rugby. There is also a local slo-pitch softball league and the Merritt Otters swim club, which makes its home at the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre.


Media

Merritt is home to ''Q101 Merritt's Music Mix'', the Nicola Valley's only local radio station. 101.1 FM, CKMQ-FM is locally owned and an independent radio station. Q101 also reports news and broadcasts the BCHL's Merritt Centennials hockey games. The station was originally launched in 1970 on AM 1230 as CJNL. In 2009, Merritt Broadcasting Ltd. received CRTC approval to convert to the FM band, and the station was relaunched on 101.1 FM on August 31 of that year. Simultaneously, the company's former sister division, NL Broadcasting, received approval to launch a separate rebroadcaster of CHNL, the company's talk radio station in
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
, on CJNL's former AM frequency. Merritt has a weekly newspaper, the ''Merritt Herald'', that publishes on Thursdays. Merritt is also served by Shaw TV and by TELUS PureFibre Internet and Optik TV.


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 ...
, Merritt had a population of 7,051 living in 2,975 of its 3,149 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 7,139. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Ethnicity


Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Merritt included: *
Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...
(4,165 persons or 61.7%) *
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
(2,225 persons or 33.0%) *
Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
(185 persons or 2.7%) *
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
(40 persons or 0.6%) * Indigenous Spirituality (40 persons or 0.6%) *
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
(20 persons or 0.3%) *Other (50 persons or 0.7%)


Climate

Merritt 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 cold ...
(''Dfb'').


Surrounding communities


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in British Columbia Nicola Country Populated places in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District