Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board. Its population in the 2021 federal census was 27,464.
The city was founded as a North-West Mounted Police fort and later home to a large provincial jail. The original fort was located across the river from the hamlet of Lamoureux, and Fort Saskatchewan opened a replica of the fort next to its original site in 2011. Fort Saskatchewan is bordered by Strathcona County to the south and east, Sturgeon County to the north and west, and the City of Edmonton to the southwest. Sturgeon County is across the North Saskatchewan River.
The city is best known for its proximity to chemical plants, including Dow Chemical, Sherritt International, Nutrien (formerly Agrium), Linde (Praxair), and Shell Canada. It is also known for its flock of 50 sheep that roam the Fort Heritage Precinct throughout the summer months eating the grass.
History
Pre-colonization and founding
Prior to colonization of the region, the area around what is now Fort Saskatchewan was a gathering place and home for many Indigenous nations, including the Cree and Métis. Indigenous peoples of the region commonly travelled the North Saskatchewan River by canoe. The Cree name of the area of modern-day Fort Saskatchewan is (Birch Hills) because birch bark was an important component for making canoes and scrolls with Cree syllabics inscribed on them.
Inspector William D. Jarvis, who led a column of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) during the March West, established Sturgeon Creek Post in 1875. As headquarters of 'G' Division, it hosted patrols that extended as far as Fort Simpson and Chesterfield Inlet.
Swift Runner (Ka-Ki-Si-Kutchin), a Cree man, was considered by locals to be smart and trustworthy, and he had previously served as a guide for local police. The CNR station is a modified third-class station design (100-19 plan); a "special station" that was used by CNR at the most significant stops along their line. It has several unique features, such as a longer footprint than other third-class stations, and a freight shed; these reflected Fort Saskatchewan's status as the centre of an agricultural district and the largest community on the CNR line between Edmonton and North Battleford, Saskatchewan. A second freight shed was built on the west side of the station in 1911; a sign of the growth in population and rail traffic that Fort Saskatchewan experienced. The old piers still stand in the river as of 2022.
As of 1987, all freight and passenger rail connections occur in Edmonton, and a new bridge, downstream and northeast of Fort Saskatchewan's downtown, carries a rail line that goes through Fort Saskatchewan's industrial area without going through residential areas.
Hydroelectric dam
After purchasing the Fort Electric Company in 1910, Town Council voted to purchase land near the mouth of the Sturgeon River, and construct a $30,000 wooden hydroelectric dam and power plant which were expected to last approximately 20 years. Guards were placed at all roads leading into the town, and nobody could enter or leave without a pass from the health board. The warden's house was converted into office space in early 1973. By 1973, the jail employed 220 people and housed 300 male and female offenders. was built south of Highway 15 (Veterans Way) on 101 Street. The cell blocks were demolished in 1992.
Riot
96 inmates rioted in the prison dining room on January 19, 1955, led by 12 ringleaders who barricaded themselves in the prison's bakery. The riot started only 24 hours after the chief guard and two other guards were dismissed. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrived in Fort Saskatchewan from Vegreville via a special train on August 2, 1978. The royal couple met with then-Premier Lougheed on the platform of the CNR station, gave a speech to local residents at Turner Park, and then traveled to Edmonton in a limousine. Abdurahman was elected for a second term in 1983, and she became the first mayor of the City of Fort Saskatchewan after it gained official city status in 1985. She later resigned as mayor to pursue a career in provincial politics, and was succeeded by Pryce Alderson.
Fort Saskatchewan annexed of land from Strathcona County on January 1, 2020. The land is mainly located south of the city's old boundaries. Fort Saskatchewan originally requested from Strathcona County, including industrial land to the north, but the two municipalities negotiated an agreement involving less land. Dow Chemical was constructing a plant on some of this land, and the refinery was expected to generate $4 million in tax revenues once it was complete. Precipitation peaks during summer time, and snowfall peaks from November to January.
Neighbourhoods
thumb|100th Avenue in downtown Fort Saskatchewan
Fort Saskatchewan is divided into seven residential neighbourhoods and two industrial parks. Downtown is the city's oldest neighbourhood, and currently experiencing a larger commercial vacancy rate than the local average due to its low catchment area.<br />
According to its 2023 municipal census, the population of Fort Saskatchewan is 28,624, representing an increase of 6.24% from the 2019 municipal census.
Fort Saskatchewan's population, according to its 2019 municipal census, is 26,942; a change of from its 2018 municipal census population of 26,328.
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Fort Saskatchewan had a population of 24,149 living in 9,261 of its 9,939 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 19,051. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
As of 2016, the top three areas of employment are: Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (3,140 residents), sales and service occupations (2,685), and business, finance and administration occupations (1,915 residents). 1,390 residents identified as Aboriginal in 2016: 415 as First Nations, 965 as Métis, and 15 as Inuk (Inuit).
! colspan="2" |2016
! colspan="2" |2011
! colspan="2" |2006
! colspan="2" |2001
|-
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| European
| 22,200
|
| 20,795
|
| 16,965
|
| 14,005
|
| 12,490
|
|-
| Indigenous
| 1,915
|
| 1,420
|
| 1,105
|
| 440
|
| 240
|
|-
| Southeast Asian
| 990
|
| 570
|
| 260
|
| 55
|
| 20
|
|-
| South Asian
| 505
|
| 350
|
| 95
|
| 25
|
| 40
|
|-
| African
| 410
|
| 180
|
| 215
|
| 45
|
| 30
|
|-
| Latin American
| 175
|
| 70
|
| 45
|
| 50
|
| 30
|
|-
| East Asian
| 155
|
| 210
|
| 85
|
| 120
|
| 50
|
|-
| Middle Eastern
| 70
|
| 95
|
| 0
|
| 10
|
| 0
|
|-
| Other/multiracial
| 160
|
| 70
|
| 0
|
| 15
|
| 10
|
|-
! Total responses
! 26,565
!
! 23,770
!
! 18,795
!
! 14,760
!
! 12,905
!
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total population
! 27,088
!
! 24,169
!
! 19,051
!
! 14,957
!
! 13,121
!
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="11" |
|}
Language
Regarding the official languages of Canada, 22,160 residents are proficient only in English, 15 are only proficient in French, 1,385 residents are bilingual, and 60 residents are not proficient in either official language. the largest Canadian industrial area west of Toronto. Companies with operations in the area include Dow Chemical, Sherritt International, Nutrien (formerly Agrium) and Shell Canada. These plants are major employers for residents of Fort Saskatchewan and the surrounding area.
The city has attracted a number of major retailers including Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Safeway, Federated CO-OP, and Freson Bros. On September 15, 2015, Haro Developments opened phase one of its redevelopment of the site, which it renamed Fort Station Mall. The majority of the old mall was demolished and replaced with outward-facing commercial units. A report commissioned by the City of Fort Saskatchewan noted: "As of 2019, there is another phase of the site, yet to be redeveloped, but the project continues to progress towards completion."
Attractions
Recreational
thumb|The Dow Centennial Centre|alt=
The centerpiece of Fort Saskatchewan's recreation and culture is the Dow Centennial Centre, a multi-use facility that includes an ice arena, gymnasium, field house, indoor track and fitness centre. The facility, which opened in September 2004, also features a 550-seat performing arts theatre, a permanent art gallery with monthly shows, a banquet hall and the local pottery guild.
The city has two other indoor ice arenas the Jubilee Recreation Centre and the Sportsplex, that are used during the winter months by hockey, ringette and figure skating associations. In the summer months, the lacrosse association uses them. Fort Saskatchewan also has Harbour Pool: An indoor swimming pool with a hot tub, sauna, and slide. The city opened Taurus Field in 2018 – a FIFA-certified artificial turf field for soccer and football matches.
There is one nine-hole golf course located within the city's boundaries, and a six-sheet curling club; they are both operated by the Fort Golf and Curling Club. A pedestrian bridge crossing the North Saskatchewan River has been under construction since 2019; once completed it will connect Fort Saskatchewan's trail network to Sturgeon County's trails. This is part of the Trans Canada Trail network, reflecting Fort Saskatchewan's status as a hub for numerous provincial and national trails.
Cultural
The 11 hectare (27 acre) Fort Heritage Precinct is a municipally operated museum and historic site. It contains a variety of historically significant buildings from the area which form a historical village. The Fort Heritage Precinct features a full-scale replica of the original NWMP fort, which can be explored in guided tours. Phase one of the replica fort, which included the Men's Quarters and the Officers' Quarters, opened in 2011.
The replica fort was constructed beside the site of the original fort to preserve the original site's archaeological integrity. The city has placed eight wooden markers to show the position of the original fort: one marker is at each of the four corners where the wall once stood, and two sets of markers indicate the positions of the original east and west gates (which provided access to the settlement and to the river respectively).
The historical society hosts a two-day event called "The Peoples of the North Saskatchewan" every May, which educates students about Métis and settler cultures. A flock of sheep are kept at the Heritage Precinct every summer to maintain the grass, and members of the public are allowed to interact with them. The city is also home to a local theatre group, called The Sheeptown Players Drama Society, which regularly performs throughout the community.
Sports
The Pyramid Corp. Hawks of the Capital Junior Hockey League play out of the Jubilee Recreation Centre. The Fort Saskatchewan Traders, of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, relocated to St. Albert in 2007, and renamed the St. Albert Steel.
Fort Saskatchewan is home to the Heartland Roller Derby Association, a flat-track roller-derby league formed in 2016. There are youth sports associations for hockey, soccer (indoor and outdoor), baseball, ringette, indoor lacrosse, and figure skating, and sports associations for cross-country skiing and swimming.
Infrastructure
Emergency services
Policing
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's K Division maintains a detachment which serves Fort Saskatchewan and the surrounding region. In 2015, the detachment moved into a new station, which also houses the city's protective services and municipal enforcement personnel. A local police official predicted that the new location, which provides direct access to Highway 21 (Veterans Way), would allow officers to cut emergency response times by 60–90 seconds.
Fire department
thumb|Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department's Walter Thomas Station|alt=
The Fire Department (est. 1906), based at the Walter Thomas Fire Station, is staffed by 14 full-time firefighters who are supported by part time firefighters and three full-time administrative staff. The full-time firefighters rotate between a 10-hour day shift and a 14-hour night shift. Prior to its introduction, the fire station was vacant every evening, and paid on-call volunteers would have to travel to the station before they could respond to an emergency.
Fort Saskatchewan was also home to Canada's longest serving firefighter: Walter Thomas (1922–2017). Walter joined the department on May 1, 1947, and served until May 2017, a few months before he died. Walter's last position in the department was as its official historian. It opened in 2012 to replace the city's aging health centre. It is attached to a new health facility that provides home care, mental health, rehabilitation, community health, and child and family services.
Fort Air Partnership (FAP) monitors the air quality of the airshed located immediately north and east of Edmonton. FAP maintains 10 continuous monitoring stations — three of which are located in Fort Saskatchewan — and 47 passive monitoring stations. To help facilitate regional travel, Strathcona County Transit is contracted by Fort Saskatchewan to provide peak-hour service between Fort Saskatchewan and the Bethel Transit Terminal in Sherwood Park. The commission purchases water from the Edmonton-based utilities company EPCOR, which supplies treated water from the North Saskatchewan River. EPCOR provides the Regulated Retail Offering for electricity in Fort Saskatchewan, and the wire service (distribution and transmission) is provided by Fortis Alberta. Direct Energy Regulated Services provides regulated natural gas to the city, and its distribution is provided by ATCO. The three-stream system was introduced in June 2018, after a successful pilot program. This was because objects could get jammed in the blue bins, and crews could not easily tell if the loads inside blue bins were contaminated like they could with blue bags. The last election was held on October 18, 2021, where Gale Katchur was re-elected for a fourth term as Mayor; becoming the longest-serving Mayor in Fort Saskatchewan's history. The mayor is elected separately from the councilors, who are elected at-large (as opposed to the ward system).
{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:400; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|+Fort Saskatchewan 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
| | 8%
| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"| 1,149
| | 59%
| style="text-align:right; background:#6495ED;"| 8,197
| | 22%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| 3,016
| | 1%
| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| 154
|-
! 2019
| | 7%
| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"| 1,064
| | 76%
| style="text-align:right; background:#6495ED;"| 10,750
| | 12%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| 1,762
| | 2%
| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| 299
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:400; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|+Fort Saskatchewan 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
| |<span style="color:#FFFFFF"> 47%</span>
| style="text-align:right; background:#005D7C;"|<span style="color:#FFFFFF"> 5,477</span>
| | 36%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| 4,191
|-
|}
At the provincial level of government, Fort Saskatchewan is part of the Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville riding, which has been represented by Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk (United Conservative Party) since 2019.
At the federal level, Fort Saskatchewan is part of the Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan riding and is represented by Garnett Genuis (Conservative Party of Canada).
Education
Fort Saskatchewan has no post-secondary schools that are open to the public, but its corrections centre partners with NorQuest College to provide academic upgrading, personal development courses, and employment training courses to inmates. Most residents of Fort Saskatchewan commute or move to Edmonton to attend post-secondary classes at the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, or NAIT.
Fort Saskatchewan's schools are governed by two different school boards – Elk Island Public Schools and Elk Island Catholic Schools. Both school boards have their head offices located in Sherwood Park. Fort Saskatchewan's elected trustees on the EIPS board are Heather Wall and Harvey Stadnick. Al Stewart is the lone Fort Saskatchewan trustee on the EICS board.
Media
Fort Saskatchewan has two local newspapers. The Fort Saskatchewan Record (The Fort Record) is a weekly home-delivered newspaper published on Thursdays. It took over the offices and plant of The Conservator, the previous weekly newspaper, and was first published on April 5, 1922. The Sturgeon Creek Post, established in 1996, is a weekly newspaper published on Wednesdays that is available at local businesses and newsstands. The Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun are also distributed in the community.
Fort Saskatchewan has one local radio station that broadcasts live. It is branded Mix 107.9 FM, and owned by Kenner Media Ltd. Fort Saskatchewan had an internet radio station named FortRadio.com, which came online in November 2010.
See also
- List of communities in Alberta