Cold Lake, Alberta

History

Cold Lake was first recorded on a 1790 map, by the name of Coldwater Lake. Originally three communities, Cold Lake was formed by merging the Town of Grand Centre, the Town of Cold Lake, and Medley (Canadian Forces Base 4 Wing) on October 1, 1996. Grand Centre was renamed Cold Lake South, and the original Cold Lake is known as Cold Lake North. Because of its origins, the area is also known as the Tri-Town.

Geography

The city is situated in Alberta's "Lakeland" district, 300 km (190 mi) northeast of Edmonton, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan provincial border. The area surrounding the city is sparsely populated, and consists mostly of farmland. The Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, located to the north of the city, is the Canadian equivalent to the United States Air Force's Nellis Air Force Range.

Climate

Cold Lake's climate is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb).

Demographics

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Cold Lake recorded a population of 14,961 living in 5,597 of its 6,657 total private dwellings, a change of 7000810000000000000♠8.1% from its 2011 population of 13,839. With a land area of 59.92 km² (23.14 sq mi), it had a population density of 249.7/km² (646.7/sq mi) in 2016.

The population of the City of Cold Lake according to its 2014 municipal census is 15,736, a change of 7000930000000000000♠9.3% from its 2012 municipal census population of 14,400.

In the 2011 Census, the City of Cold Lake had a population of 13,839 living in 5,150 of its 5,626 total dwellings; this is a change of 15.4% from its 2006 population of 11,991. With a land area of 59.3 km² (22.9 sq mi), it had a population density of 233.4/km² (604.4/sq mi) in 2011.

About 8.7% of residents identified themselves as aboriginal at the time of the 2006 census.

Almost 89% of residents identified English and more than 7% identified French as their first language. Almost 1% identified German, 0.5% identified Chinese, 0.4% each identified Dutch and Ukrainian, and 0.3% each identified Cree and Arabic as their first language learned.

About 82 percent of residents identified as Christian at the time of the 2001 census, while more than 17 percent indicated they had no religious affiliation. For specific denominations Statistics Canada found that 40% of residents identified as Roman Catholic, 14% identified with the United Church of Canada, 5.5% identified as Anglican, 3% as Baptist, 2.5% as Lutheran, and 2% as Pentecostal.

Economy

The city's economy is inextricably linked to military spending at CFB Cold Lake. The region also supports oil and gas exploration and production. The Athabasca Oil Sands project in Fort McMurray is having a growing influence in the region as well. The Cold Lake oil sands may become a significant contributor to the local economy.

Every year Cold Lake hosts military forces from around the world for Exercise Maple Flag, a training exercise where pilots and support staff of NATO allies can take advantage of the Air Weapons Range and relatively open rural air space. Running from 4 to 6 weeks and starting in May of each year, commercial accommodations in the entire region are left with little to no vacancy. This annual exercise contributes a substantial amount of capital into these industries and other hospitality-related businesses.

Sports

Cold Lake has a variety of sports, including:

Government

The last local election was held in October 2013, seeing 7 councillor candidates and no mayoral candidates. The incumbent mayor was acclaimed, and all 6 incumbent councillors were re-elected to council.

The current councillors of Cold Lake are Bob Buckle, Duane Lay, Victoria Lefebvre, Darrell MacDonald, Kelvin Plain, and Chris Vining.

At the provincial level, the city is in the district of Bonnyville-Cold Lake. Its current representative is Scott Cyr, from the Wildrose Party.

At the federal level, the city is in the district of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. Its current representative is David Yurdiga, from the Conservative Party of Canada.

Education

Portage College operates a campus at Cold Lake. Program offerings include academic upgrading, accounting, community social works, nursing, power engineering and university studies among others.

Lakeland Catholic School District No. 150 and Northern Lights School Division No. 69 operate public schools within Cold Lake. Cold Lake also hosts a Francophone school named École Voyageur that offers French programming for kindergarten through grade 12, as well as the Cold Lake Cadet Summer Training Centre.

Media

The Cold Lake Sun is a local weekly newspaper that serves Cold Lake.

Recreation

Cold Lake is situated near a large number of campgrounds due to its proximity to the lake. The M.D. campground has powered sites, shower facilities with flush toilets, a covered camp picnic area, and a lookout. The Cold Lake Provincial Park has a large number of sites, and is more secluded than the M.D. site (which is surrounded by development). The Provincial campground boasts a wilderness trail system, a beach, boatlaunch and a powered section. Nearby Meadow Lake Provincial Park to the east, across the border in Saskatchewan, has facilities similar to Cold Lake Provincial Park.

Kinosoo Beach is a favorite destination during the hot summer months between June and August.

The Iron Horse Trail, a recreational trail situated on a former railway line (see rail trail) has its eastern-most terminus in Cold Lake.

Recreational past times include, among others:

Notable people