Oyen is a town in

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

, Canada near the

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 ...

boundary and north of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

. It is on Highway 41, south of its junction with Highway 9. Early name, Bishopburg, was changed in 1912 to honour Andrew Oyen, an early settler who sold his homestead for the townsite. Oyen is the service centre for a large but sparsely populated

dryland farming Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

area. In the surrounding area

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, and

canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...

are important crops, and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

are raised.

Geography

Climate

Oyen 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''). Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short and warm. Precipitation is low, with an annual average of 322 mm, and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. Oyen's precipitation is narrowly below being 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 ...

, a type it closely resembles in terms of yearly temperatures.

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 ...

, the Town of Oyen had a population of 917 living in 352 of its 404 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,001. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town of Oyen according to its 2017 municipal census is 1,022, a change of from its 2015 municipal census population of 1,006. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Oyen recorded a population of 1,001 living in 400 of its 422 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 973. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Attractions

Oyen has a golf course and a local

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

. Oyen also contains an arena, curling rink, and outdoor pool. Oyen is also home to the Badlands Badgers baseball academy for high school students.

Infrastructure

A major highway rest stop is located north of the town at the junction of Highway 41 and Highway 9. It is developed with a service station, A&W restaurant, a motel and a visitor information centre operated by Travel Alberta. There is Oyen Municipal Airport nearby. Oyen also has a hospital.

Education

Oyen is home to a regional public high school and a small

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

elementary school. The high school is known as South Central High School (SCHS) with students grade seven to twelve. Oyen Public School (OPS) hosts students from kindergarten to grade nine. Assumption Roman Catholic school has students from kindergarten to grade six.

Notable people

* Rick Strankman, Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

for

Drumheller-Stettler Drumheller-Stettler is a Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district (riding) in Alberta, Canada. The electoral district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Al ...

, April 23, 2012 – April 16, 2019. * Melody Davidson, head coach of the gold medal winning 2006 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics Canadian women's hockey team, and director of the team that won gold in 2014.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1913 establishments in Alberta Special Area No. 3 Towns in Alberta