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Cochrane ( ) is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. The town is located west of the Calgary city limits along Highway 1A. Cochrane is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada, and with a population of 32,199 in 2021, it is one of the largest towns in Alberta. It is part of Calgary's census metropolitan area and a member community of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB). The town is surrounded by Rocky View County.

History

Cochrane was established in 1881 as the Cochrane Ranche, after Matthew Henry Cochrane, a local rancher. It became a village in 1903 and it had a newspaper and volunteer fire department by 1909. Cochrane incorporated as a town in 1971.

  • Bow Meadows
  • Bow Ridge
  • Cochrane Heights
  • Downtown
  • East End
  • Fireside
  • Glenbow
  • GlenEagles
  • Greystone
  • Heartland
  • Heritage Hills
  • Jumping Pound Ridge
  • Precedence
  • Rivercrest
  • Riversong
  • Riviera
  • Riverview
  • Rolling Range Estates
  • Rolling Trails
  • Southbow Landing
  • South Ridge
  • Sunset Ridge
  • Sunterra Ridge Estates
  • The Willows
  • West Pointe
  • West Terrace
  • West Valley

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Cochrane had a population of 32,199 living in 12,096 of its 12,578 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 25,853. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. a change of from its 2018 municipal census population of 27,960. At its current population, Cochrane is one of the largest towns in the province and is eligible for city status. According to Alberta's Municipal Government Act, a town is eligible for city status when it reaches 10,000 residents.

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Cochrane recorded a population of 25,853 living in 9,757 of its 10,225 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 17,580. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

! colspan="2" |2011

! colspan="2" |2006

! colspan="2" |2001

|-

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

|-

| European

| 27,320

|

| 23,015

|

| 16,160

|

| 13,050

|

| 11,170

|

|-

| Indigenous

| 1,470

|

| 1,075

|

| 510

|

| 285

|

| 260

|

|-

| Southeast Asian

| 980

|

| 540

|

| 160

|

| 60

|

| 0

|

|-

| South Asian

| 510

|

| 220

|

| 125

|

| 20

|

| 65

|

|-

| East Asian

| 350

|

| 305

|

| 145

|

| 65

|

| 65

|

|-

| African

| 350

|

| 180

|

| 105

|

| 45

|

| 40

|

|-

| Latin American

| 280

|

| 140

|

| 55

|

| 0

|

| 0

|

|-

| Middle Eastern

| 100

|

| 90

|

| 0

|

| 20

|

| 10

|

|-

| Other/multiracial

| 115

|

| 80

|

| 0

|

| 45

|

| 0

|

|-

! Total responses

! 31,470

!

! 25,640

!

! 17,290

!

! 13,590

!

! 11,610

!

|- class="sortbottom"

! Total population

! 32,199

!

! 25,853

!

! 17,580

!

! 13,760

!

! 12,041

!

|- class="sortbottom"

| colspan="15" |

|}

Arts and culture

Cochrane Ranche provided the corral setting for the 1954 National Film Board of Canada documentary Corral, by Colin Low, whose father had worked as a foreman at the ranch. This film played theatrically across Canada and was named Best Documentary at the Venice Film Festival.

Cochrane was used for many of the filming locations for the 1986 Film "Rad" (AKA "Helltrack") starring Bill Allen and Lori Loughlin. In the film, the town of Cochrane was used to represent the fictional town of Cochrane, Oregon, USA. Scenes for the film were shot in many different locations around town and at Spray Lake Sawmills (now known as "West Fraser Cochrane"). A former mayor of Cochrane, Jeff Genung 2017-2025, was included as an extra on the film.

Cochrane houses attractions such as Cochrane Ranche Historic Site and Bert Sheppard Stockmen's Foundation Library And Archives, located in the Cochrane Ranchehouse.

Cochrane is home to many annual events each year:

  • Pumpkin lantern festival: October
  • Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair: Early May
  • Canada Day (July 1)
  • Cochrane and Area Events Society, with support from the Town of Cochrane presents the Canada Day Community Celebration: Canada Day (July 1)

Provincial politics

Cochrane is located within the provincial electoral division of Airdrie-Cochrane. It has been represented in the Alberta Legislature by UCP MLA Peter Guthrie since the 2019 provincial election.

{|class="wikitable" style="width:400; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"

|+Cochrane provincial election results

! colspan="2" scope="col" | Year

! colspan="2" scope="col" | United Cons.

! colspan="2" scope="col" | New Democratic

|-

| style="width: 0.25em; background-color: |

! 2019

| | 63%

| style="text-align:right; background:#005D7C;"| 9,802

| | 29%

| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| 4,482

|-

|}

Federal politics

Cochrane is located in the federal electoral district of Banff-Airdrie and is represented by Blake Richards in the House of Commons. He also represented Cochrane from 2008-2015 as the MP for the federal electoral district of Wild Rose. He replaced long standing MP Myron Thompson, who was originally elected as a member of the Reform Party in 1993.

{|class="wikitable" style="width:400; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"

|+Cochrane federal election results

! colspan="2" scope="col" | Year

! colspan="2" scope="col" | Liberal

! colspan="2" scope="col" | Conservative

! colspan="2" scope="col" | New Democratic

! colspan="2" scope="col" | Green

|-

| rowspan="2" style="width: 0.25em; background-color: |

! 2021

| | 10%

| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"| 1,759

| | 60%

| style="text-align:right; background:#6495ED;"| 10,038

| | 15%

| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| 2,503

| | 1%

| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| 224

|-

! 2019

| | 8%

| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"| 1,312

| | 74%

| style="text-align:right; background:#6495ED;"| 12,512

| | 10%

| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| 1,718

| | 3%

| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| 574

|-

|}

Transit

On October 7, 2019 the town launched COLT (Cochrane On-Demand Local Transit). An app based local transportation service, described as an "Uber bus system". COLT has a partnership with On-It regional transit, providing a connection between Cochrane and Calgary.

Education

Cochrane is home to schools from the public Rocky View School Division No. 41, the separate Calgary Catholic School District, and the Conseil Scolaire FrancoSud.

As of 2025, there were twelve public and separate schools in operation within the town boundaries.

  • Rocky View School Division No. 41
  • Cochrane High School: Grades 9–12
  • Bow Valley High School: Grades 9–12
  • Rancheview School: Kindergarten, Grades 1-8
  • Elizabeth Barret Elementary School: Kindergarten, Grades 1–4
  • Glenbow Elementary School: Kindergarten, Grades 1–4
  • Mitford School: Grades 5-8
  • Manachaban Middle School: Grades 5-8
  • Cochrane Christian Academy: Kindergarten, Grades 1-8
  • Fireside School: Kindergarten, Grades 1-8
  • Calgary Catholic School District
  • Holy Spirit: Kindergarten, Grades 1–6
  • St. Timothy: Grades 7–12
  • Conseil Scolaire FrancoSud (FrancoSud School Board)
  • Notre Dame Des Vallées: Kindergarten, Grades 1-12 (Catholic)

In November 2006 the Rocky View School Division accepted a proposal by the Cochrane Christ-Centred Education Society to set up a Protestant Christian education program in Cochrane. The Cochrane Christian Academy opened its doors at Mitford Middle School in September 2007, offering kindergarten to grade 4. Approval for expansion to include grade 5 for the 2008–09 school year was given by the board of trustees in April 2008.

There are two trustees (one from each board) elected to represent Cochrane Schools at their respective boards.

The FrancoSud School Board (previously the Greater Southern Alberta Catholic Francophone Region #4) has one trustee for the Region from Cochrane.

Cochrane is also home to the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary, the flagship seminary of the Canadian National Baptist Convention, the Canadian branch of the largest US Protestant denomination.

Notable people

  • Paul Brandt, musician
  • Rohan Campbell, actor
  • Rob Cote, professional football player
  • Justin Dowling, professional ice hockey player
  • Dillon Dubé, professional ice hockey player
  • George Fox, musician
  • Ethan Gage, professional soccer player
  • John Hufnagel, president and GM of Calgary Stampeders
  • Mason Raymond, professional ice hockey player
  • Sarah Wozniewicz, professional ice hockey player

See also

  • List of communities in Alberta
  • List of francophone communities in Alberta

Notes

References