Williams Lake is a city in the Central Interior of

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 the central part of a region known as the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the Caribou (North America), caribou that were once abundant in the reg ...

. Williams Lake is one of the largest cites, by population of metropolitan area, in the Cariboo after neighbouring Quesnel. The city is famous for the Williams Lake Stampede, which is the second largest professional rodeo in Canada, after only the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year a ...

History

Williams Lake is named in honour of Secwepemc chief William, whose counsel prevented the Shuswap from joining the Tsilhqot'in in their uprising against the settler population. The story of Williams Lake (called T'exelc by local

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 ...

communities of the region) begins as much as 4000 years ago. The story of Williams Lake written by those coming into the region from outside begins in 1860 during the

Cariboo Gold Rush The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Colony of British Columbia, which later became the Canadian province of British Columbia. The first gold discovery was made at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by more strikes in 1859 on the Horsefly Ri ...

when Gold Commissioner Philip Henry Nind and William Pinchbeck, a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

with the British Columbia Provincial Police, arrived from Victoria to organize a local government and maintain law and order. At the time, two pack trails led to the goldfields, one from the Douglas Road and the other through the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...

. They met at Williams Lake, which made it a good choice for settlers and merchants. By 1861, Commissioner Nind had built a government house and had requested the funds to build a jail. With the centre of local government being at Williams Lake, the miners and businessmen all had to travel there to conduct their business and soon the town had a post office, a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, a roadhouse and the jail that Nind had requested. Meanwhile, William Pinchbeck had not been idle and had built his own roadhouse, saloon and store. Eventually he would own most of the valley. In 1863, the town was excited by the news of the construction of Cariboo Road, believing it would pass through their already established and important trading centre. However, the roadbuilder Gustavus Blin Wright rerouted the original trail so that it bypassed Williams Lake and went through 150 Mile House instead. The Williams Lake by-pass doomed the city and accusations flew that Gustavus Blin Wright had changed the route for his own personal benefit as he owned a roadhouse at Deep Creek along the new route. Regardless of Wright's motives, Williams Lake was forgotten and wouldn't be reborn until over half a century later in 1919 with the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, later

BC Rail The British Columbia Railway Company , commonly known as BC Rail, is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial ...

and now

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

. On July 5, 1867, the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

established St. Joseph's Mission halfway between Williams Lake and 150 Mile House. In 1891, the mission opened an Indian residential school, called St. Joseph's School. The school became one of the most notorious Indian residential schools over the 90 years it operated. A St. Joseph's School reunion in 2013 in Williams Lake led to the creation of Orange Shirt Day, a memorial to the victims of the Canadian Indian residential school system that is observed nationally. A memorial monument to the victims of the school was also erected in 2013, in Boitanio Park. In July 2017, the province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency with more than 200 fires burning, mostly in the central region of the province. Residents from Williams Lake along with other communities in central British Columbia such as Ashcroft and 100 Mile House were given evacuation orders and most of those affected went to either Prince George or Kamloops. On August 15, 2022, the City of Williams Lake officially proclaimed the third week of August as LGBTQ2S Pride Week for the first time in the city's history, and raised the inclusive pride flag at city hall.

Economy

The primary industries in Williams Lake are

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 ...

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckssawmilling,

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, 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 ap ...

ing. Timber has a long history in Williams Lake, dating back to the 1950s when many independent sawmills such as the Jacobson Brothers operated in town. In the 1990s and 2000s, the independent sawmills sold their businesses or merged to become larger operations. Currently, West Fraser Timber and Tolko Industries operate sawmills in Williams Lake. The Gibraltar Mine is the second-largest open-pit copper mine in Canada, operated by Taseko Mines Limited. It is located just north of Williams Lake and employs many residents.

Climate

Williams Lake 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 ...

with warm summers. Spring is the driest time of year, and summer and winter are the wettest seasons respectively. Williams Lake receives about 2,000 hours of bright sunshine per year, which is more than most of the province. It is also located in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the coastal mountains. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Williams Lake was on 22 January 1943, and the highest temperature ever recorded was on 16 & 17 July 1941. Williams Lake – along with Billings, and nearby McLeese Lake – holds the record for the highest maximum temperature ever recorded in the province during the month of September. This occurred on September 4, 1988. The Williams Lake Airport weather station is at an elevation of while the Williams Lake River weather station is at , a difference of . Thus the average temperature is significantly warmer in the city proper than the airport.

Demographics

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 ...

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 ...

, Williams Lake had a population of 23,608 living in 4,736 of its 5,066 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 10,753. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. According to the same census, Williams Lake had a census agglomeration population of 23,608.

Ethnicity

Below is the ethnic origin of people from the Williams Lake census agglomeration, as of the

2006 Canadian census The 2006 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The following census was the 2011 census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897. This count was lower t ...

. Note that percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses e.g. German-East Indian, Norwegian-Irish-Polish. In the thirty-year period between 1986 and 2016, the population of Williams Lake has been largely stable, growing slightly from 10,280 to 10,753.

Religion

Education

Williams Lake is served by Cariboo-Chilcotin School District 27. It has five public elementary schools teaching up to grade 6 and three StrongStart BC centres. These are Cataline Elementary (Cataline Strong Start Centre), Chilcotin Road Elementary, Marie Sharpe Elementary (Marie Sharpe StrongStart Centre), Mountview Elementary (Mountview StrongStart Centre), Nesika Elementary. There is also SD 27 OR#1 Wildwood, a StrongStart Outreach Centre. One secondary school, Lake City Secondary School, which was formed by an merger of Columneetza Secondary School and Williams Lake Secondary School in 2013, teaches grade 7 to 12 students. Alternative education provision is met by the Graduation Routes Other Ways (GROW) centre and the Skyline Alternate School program. The GROW Centre offers grades 10–12 for adults.School information – District 027 – Cariboo-Chilcotin
British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2012-05-07.School district profile
British Columbia Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2012-05-07. Anne Stevenson Secondary School was closed in 2003 due to falling numbers of students. There are three independent schools in Williams Lake: Sacred Heart Catholic School (K-7), Maranatha Christian School (K-12) and Cariboo Adventist Academy (K-12).

Colleges and universities

Thompson Rivers University has a campus in Williams Lake and offers a wide variety of programs and courses including university transfers, certificate and diploma programs, health and safety certification, trades and technology, and university and career preparation. The Cariboo Chilcotin Elder College is a local affiliate of Thompson Rivers University that offers programs and opportunities for people who are 50 years of age and older and interested in participating in the programs, courses and special events run by the college.

Sports and recreation

*The Williams Lake Stampeders are the local

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team, playing in the Central Interior Hockey League; their arena is the Cariboo Memorial Complex * The Williams Lake TimberWolves resumed play in September 2009 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 ...

(BCHL). Due to financial obligations, the BCHL has suspended the Williams Lake franchise indefinitely. *Williams Lake Golf and Tennis Club situated on the south side of town is home to a championship 18 hole course and full size tennis courts. *Thunder Mountain Speedway - Thunder Mountain speedway is located on Bond Lake Road across from the SPCA. It is a 3/8 mile, paved, banked oval. The track is 50 feet wide, is banked 12 degrees on corners, 3.5 degrees on the straights and is shaped to provide a longer straight away between turns 3 & 4 than between turns 1 & 2.

Government

Local

Williams Lake is an incorporated municipality, with representation provided through the Williams Lake City Hall. Its mayor is Surinderpal Rathor, who has served in this role since 2022. The city council consists of seven elected positions: the mayor and six council members. The council member serve 4-year terms. * Mayor: Surinderpal Rathor * Councillor: Sheila Boehm * Councillor: Angie Delainey * Councillor: Joan Flaspohler * Councillor: Jazmyn Lyons * Councillor: Michael Moses * Councillor: Scott Nelson

Provincial

Williams Lake is located within the Cariboo-Chilcotin electoral district of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. The riding is represented by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MLA Lorne Doerkson since 2020.

Federal

Williams Lake lies within the Canadian parliamentary riding of Cariboo—Prince George, and is currently represented by

MP Todd Doherty since 2015.

Transportation

*Williams Lake is located on the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 20. *

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

offers freight service north to Prince George *Local public transportation consists of the

BC Transit BC Transit is a provincial Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, Bri ...

and HandyDART bus service. *Town Taxi and Williams Lake Taxi are two local cab companies in the city. * Ebus offers round trip scheduled bus service to Kamloops, Prince George, and Surrey BC. The Williams Lake Airport is located northeast of the city. It was opened in 1956 by

Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...

and on January 1, 1997, the ownership of the airport was transferred to the City of Williams Lake. The airport is served by Pacific Coastal Airlines, and Central Mountain Air with daily flights to Vancouver. There was a small

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

base at Williams Lake Water Aerodrome but it is no longer in operation.

Local attractions

Williams Lake Stampede

Held annually, on the Canada Day long weekend, the Williams Lake Stampede features Canadian Professional Rodeo Association action including

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

, barrel racing, Bareback riding, tie-down roping,

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it fall ...

team roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a Cattle#Terminology, steer (typically a Corriente) and two equestrianism, mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the fr ...

and chuckwagon races. The Williams Lake Stampede plays host to many top

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

s and international

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 ...

competitors from Canada and the United States, most of which continue on the circuit to the

, the following weekend. The Stampede festivities also include a parade of floats from local organizations, such as 4-H groups, native bands, community service groups, the stampede royalty and local merchants. There is also a carnival with rides and games located near the stampede grounds.

Scout Island

Scout Island, which is in size, is both a park and a nature area. It consists of a beach, picnic area, boat launch and several trails through mainly natural environment. Scout Island is actually two islands that are connected to the west end of Williams Lake by a causeway. Located on the island is the Nature House, which provides a view of the marsh next to the island. It is run by the Williams Lake Field Naturalists and provides information, displays and programs dealing with the local environment. The island is leased to Williams Lake by the owners, the Nature Trust of British Columbia.

Media

Television

* Shaw TV – local Community Access Channel (only available on

Shaw Cable Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

)

Radio

* AM 570 – CKWL, Country, "Country 570" formerly "The Wolf" * FM 97.5 –

CFFM-FM CFFM-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 97.5 FM in Williams Lake, British Columbia, with an active rock format as ''The Goat''. The station also rebroadcasts at 94.9 FM in Quesnel and at 99.7 FM in 100 Mile House. CFFM-FM is own ...

, Rock, "The GOAT," formerly "The Rush" and earlier "The Max". * "The Goat" and "Country 570" are owned by Vista Radio and use www.MyCaribooNow.com website * FM 92.1 – CBYK,

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

* FM 94.3 – CISK Sikh Radio * FM 95.1 – VOAR Christian Radio (broadcasting from Newfoundland) * FM 96.1 – VF2235,

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

, "Canadian First Nations Radio or CFNR" * FM 100.7 – CJLJ-FM, community radio

Other radio services

There was a Loran-C station at Williams Lake.

Publications

* ''Williams Lake Tribune'' (owned by

Black Press Black Press Group Ltd. (BPG) is a Canadian commercial printer and newspaper publisher founded in 1975 by David Holmes Black. Based in Surrey, British Columbia, it was previously owned by the publisher of ''Toronto Star'' ( Torstar, 19.35%) and B ...

) * ''Cariboo Advisor'' (owned by

) * Welcome to Williams Lake local news site

Notable people

* Don Alder - finger style guitarist * Ian Billcliff - Canadian cricketer * Ed Crombie - American racing driver * Todd Doherty -

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

MP for Cariboo-Prince George. * Rick Hansen - athlete and disabilities activist * Jake Ilnicki - rugby player * Roberto McLellan - professional boxer * Kayla Moleschi - rugby player, Olympian * Carey Price - hockey player * Amrik Virk - politician, government official * Phyllis Webstad - creator of Orange Shirt Day * Matt Weingart - former rugby player and co-founder of Dryworld

Surrounding communities

Bibliography

* ''Cariboo-Chilcotin Pioneer People and Places'' Irene Stangoe

References

Notes

External links

* * {{authority control Cities in British Columbia Geography of the Cariboo Populated places in the Cariboo Regional District