Fort Chipewyan
Hamlet
Aerial view of Fort Chipewyan
Aerial view of Fort Chipewyan
Fort Chipewyan is located in Alberta
Fort Chipewyan
Fort Chipewyan
Location of Fort Chipewyan
Coordinates: 58°42′52″N 111°09′30″W / 58.71444°N 111.15833°W / 58.71444; -111.15833
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
RegionNorthern Alberta
Census division16
Specialized municipalityRM of Wood Buffalo
Settled1788[1]
Government
 • TypeUnincorporated
 • MayorDon Scott
 • Governing body
Wood Buffalo Municipal Council
  • Mike Allen
  • Krista Balsom
  • John Bruce Inglis
  • Sheila Lalonde
  • Nicholas Keith McGrath
  • Phillip John Meagher
  • Verna Francine Murphy
  • Jeff Peddle
  • Jane Stroud
  • Claris Voyageur
Area
 (2021)[2]
 • Land9.93 km2 (3.83 sq mi)
Elevation
[3]
221 m (725 ft)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total798
 • Density80.4/km2 (208/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
Postal code
T0P 1B0
Area code+1-780
ClimateDfc

Fort Chipewyan /ˈtʃɪpəwaɪən, -pwaɪ-, ˈtʃɪpəwən/, commonly referred to as Fort Chip, is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada, within the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo.[4] It is located on the western tip of Lake Athabasca, adjacent to Wood Buffalo National Park, approximately 223 kilometres (139 mi) north of Fort McMurray.

History

Fort Chipewyan 1900 and SS Grahame
Fort Chipewyan HBC post in 1900

Fort Chipewyan is one of the oldest European settlements in the Province of Alberta. It was established as a trading post by Peter Pond of the North West Company in 1788.[1] The fort was named after the Chipewyan people living in the area.

One of the establishers of the fort, Roderick Mackenzie of Terrebonne, always had a taste for literature, as was seen years later when he opened correspondence with traders all over the north and west, asking for descriptions of scenery, adventure, folklore and history. He also had in view the founding of a library at the fort, which would not be only for the immediate residents of Fort Chipewyan, but for traders and clerks of the whole region tributary to Lake Athabasca, so that it would be what he called, in an imaginative and somewhat jocular vein, "the little Athens of the Arctic regions." This library, built in 1790, held over 2000 books,[5] and became one of the most famous in the whole extent of Rupert's Land.[6][7]

From about 1815 to 1821 the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) maintained a competing Fort Wedderburn (named after Andrew Colvile's family) on Coal Island 2.4 km (1+1⁄2 mi) from the North West Company's fort.[8] This fort was established by John Clarke, and Sir George Simpson arrived here in 1820–1821, where he began to reorganize the fur trade.[5]

Sir John Franklin set out from Fort Chipewyan on his overland Arctic journey on 1820. In 1887–1888 there was a great famine. Electric lights did not arrive in Fort Chipewyan until 1959.[5]

Historic sites

Old Fort Point, the site of the first Fort Chipewyan established in 1788 by Roderick Mackenzie, southeast of Fort Chipewyan was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1930.[9] Historic places in the community include the site of the third Fort Chipewyan established in 1803,[10] the Anglican Church built in 1880 and Day School built in 1874,[11] and the Roman Catholic Mission Church built in 1909.[12]

Climate

Fort Chipewyan has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, very cold, dry winters and short, warm, wetter summers. The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort Chipewyan was 39.3 °C (102.7 °F) on 30 June 2021.[13] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −51.1 °C (−60 °F) on 1 February 1917.[14]

Climate data for Fort Chipewyan (Fort Chipewyan Airport)
Climate ID: 3072658; coordinates 58°46′N 111°07′W / 58.767°N 111.117°W / 58.767; -111.117 (Fort Chipewyan Airport); elevation: 232.0 m (761.2 ft); 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1883–present[lower-alpha 1]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.5
(50.9)		 15.0
(59.0)		 14.5
(58.1)		 27.1
(80.8)		 32.3
(90.1)		 39.3
(102.7)		 36.1
(97.0)		 34.1
(93.4)		 31.2
(88.2)		 26.5
(79.7)		 17.0
(62.6)		 13.9
(57.0)		 39.3
(102.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −16.5
(2.3)		 −12.5
(9.5)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 5.5
(41.9)		 13.8
(56.8)		 20.4
(68.7)		 23.0
(73.4)		 20.9
(69.6)		 14.0
(57.2)		 4.8
(40.6)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −13.2
(8.2)		 4.1
(39.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −21.9
(−7.4)		 −18.4
(−1.1)		 −11.3
(11.7)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 7.7
(45.9)		 14.1
(57.4)		 17.0
(62.6)		 14.9
(58.8)		 8.7
(47.7)		 0.6
(33.1)		 −11.1
(12.0)		 −18.2
(−0.8)		 −1.5
(29.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −27.1
(−16.8)		 −24.3
(−11.7)		 −18.0
(−0.4)		 −6.6
(20.1)		 1.5
(34.7)		 7.8
(46.0)		 11.0
(51.8)		 8.9
(48.0)		 3.4
(38.1)		 −3.6
(25.5)		 −15.4
(4.3)		 −23.2
(−9.8)		 −7.1
(19.2)
Record low °C (°F) −50.0
(−58.0)		 −51.1
(−60.0)		 −47.8
(−54.0)		 −35.6
(−32.1)		 −25.6
(−14.1)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −3.9
(25.0)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −12.2
(10.0)		 −30.0
(−22.0)		 −39.8
(−39.6)		 −49.4
(−56.9)		 −51.1
(−60.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 14.9
(0.59)		 14.1
(0.56)		 15.8
(0.62)		 16.0
(0.63)		 27.2
(1.07)		 44.4
(1.75)		 67.4
(2.65)		 50.2
(1.98)		 44.0
(1.73)		 28.8
(1.13)		 24.5
(0.96)		 18.4
(0.72)		 365.7
(14.40)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 0.3
(0.01)		 0.1
(0.00)		 0.2
(0.01)		 6.2
(0.24)		 24.5
(0.96)		 44.4
(1.75)		 67.4
(2.65)		 50.2
(1.98)		 43.2
(1.70)		 13.3
(0.52)		 0.4
(0.02)		 0.2
(0.01)		 250.4
(9.86)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 14.8
(5.8)		 14.4
(5.7)		 15.7
(6.2)		 9.8
(3.9)		 2.7
(1.1)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.7
(0.3)		 15.5
(6.1)		 24.7
(9.7)		 18.5
(7.3)		 116.9
(46.0)
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada[15][16][14][13][17][18]

Demographics

Fort Chipewyan fur trader 1890s with $35,000 worth of furs
Population history
of Fort Chipewyan
YearPop.±%
1941441—    
1951466+5.7%
1956304−34.8%
1961717+135.9%
19661,026+43.1%
19711,122+9.4%
19761,179+5.1%
1981944−19.9%
1986922−2.3%
19911,004+8.9%
1996935−6.9%
2001902−3.5%
2006756−16.2%
2011847+12.0%
2016852+0.6%
2021798−6.3%
Source: Statistics Canada
[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][2]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Chipewyan had a population of 798 living in 309 of its 387 total private dwellings, a change of -6.3% from its 2016 population of 852. With a land area of 9.93 km2 (3.83 sq mi), it had a population density of 80.4/km2 (208.1/sq mi) in 2021.[2]

The population of Fort Chipewyan according to the 2018 municipal census conducted by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is 918,[32] a decrease from its 2012 municipal census population count of 1,008.[33]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Chipewyan had a population of 852 living in 295 of its 372 total private dwellings, a change of 0.6% from its 2011 population of 847. With a land area of 10.7 km2 (4.1 sq mi), it had a population density of 79.6/km2 (206.2/sq mi) in 2016.[31]

The hamlet's population is predominantly made up of Cree and Chipewyan (Dene) First Nations and Métis people.

Transportation

The Fort Chipewyan Winter Road traverses the Peace-Athabasca Delta

Air

The hamlet is served by the Fort Chipewyan Airport, opened on June 18, 1966.[5] Air is one of two methods of access to Fort Chipewyan in the summer.[34]

Water

In the summer, the hamlet also can be accessed by boat [34] from Fort McMurray via the Athabasca River.

Road

There are no all-weather roads to Fort Chipewyan,[35] but it can be reached via winter roads in the winter.[36] These include roads from Fort Smith to the north and from Fort McMurray to the south. In June 1998, and as part of the Northwestern Canadian Integrated Road Network Plan, the Alberta government conducted studies on all-weather road access by extending the existing Highway 63 from Fort McMurray.[37] As of 2008 Highway 63 has been extended from Fort McMurray to Syncrude; there are currently no plans on extending it further to Fort Chipewyan.[37] In December 2005, one-third of Fort Chipewyan's residents signed a petition to request the government to build a 50 km (31 mi) all-weather road to connect with existing roads to the northwest that provide access to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. The major expenditure would be a bridge over the Slave River.

Solar energy

In September 2014, the community of Fort Chipewyan in collaboration with Keepers of the Athabasca installed a 1.8 kW solar array on the roof of the Elder Lodge to be used for emergency backup power.[38] An energy baseline study was completed for Fort Chipewyan by the Pembina Institute in 2012.[39]

The table below shows the mean daily global insolation (kWh/m2) in Fort Chipewyan for each month of the year using five different fixed solar array orientations and one which tracks the sun. The data was provided by Natural Resources Canada's Municipality database of photovoltaic potential and insolation [40] which used data collected over 50 years from 144 locations compiled from Environment Canada's CERES CD.[41]

Mean daily global insolation (kWh/m2) in Fort Chipewyan
MonthSouth facing (tilt = vertical)South facing (tilt = latitude)South facing (tilt = lat+15oSouth facing (tilt = lat-15oTwo-axis sun-trackingHorizontal (tilt=0o)
January2.642.462.632.142.860.56
February4.234.174.333.775.021.42
March5.485.925.885.657.743.02
April4.956.265.786.419.384.71
May3.825.554.846.029.595.82
June3.385.24.435.789.766.23
July3.385.094.375.619.265.82
August3.665.044.515.348.194.5
September3.354.043.824.035.562.8
October2.682.852.862.693.511.49
November2.162.072.181.842.420.65
December1.981.821.961.562.090.34
Annual3.474.23.964.246.293.12

Fort Chipewyan Solar Farm

The Fort Chipewyan Solar Farm was developed by Three Nations Energy LP, and constructed in 2019 through 2020. ATCO was the designer and builder, and operates the system. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125 own the project. The solar farm is expected to supply approximately 25 percent of Fort Chipewyan's energy and annually replace 800,000 litres of diesel fuel. A battery storage system will store 1.5 MWh of power.

Phase 1 was planned to include 1,500 panels (400 kW) but was reported at the project completion as a 600 kW facility, while phase 2 was planned include 6,000 panels and was reported at the project completion to include 5,760 panels with the planned output of 2,200 kW. The Government of Canada provided $4.5M and the Government of Alberta provided $3.3M of the project's $7.8M cost.[42][43]

ATCO will buy the solar farm's energy under a long-term purchase agreement and supply it to the local power grid, which is disconnected from the province-wide grid. ATCO stated that with the completion of the 2.2 MW-capacity project, about 25 fewer tanker trucks will trek across the winter ice road connecting the community with Fort McMurray, 220 kilometres to the south. In the summer, the community is only accessible by air or barge.[44]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Athabasca Tribal Council – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Archived 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Alberta Private Sewage Systems 2009 Standard of Practice Handbook: Appendix A.3 Alberta Design Data (A.3.A. Alberta Climate Design Data by Town)" (PDF) (PDF). Safety Codes Council. January 2012. pp. 212–215 (PDF pp. 226–229). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Specialized and Rural Municipalities and Their Communities" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ft. Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum, 2013,
  6. ↑ Bryce, George (1910). MacKenzie - Selkirk - Simpson - The Makers of Canada. Toronto: Morang & Co. pp. 21–30. ISBN 978-1-4067-3242-9.
  7. ↑ Bryce, George (1911). The Scotsman in Canada. Toronto: Musson Book Co.
  8. ↑ Raffan, James (2007). Emperor Of The North: Sir George Simpson and the Remarkable Story of the Hudson's Bay Company. HarperCollins Canada. pp. 108–119. ISBN 978-1-4434-0139-5.
  9. ↑ Fort Chipewyan. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Fort Chipewyan III. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  11. ↑ 1880 Anglican Church of St. Paul the Apostle and the 1874 Day School. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  12. ↑ Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Roman Catholic Church. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Daily Data Report for June 2021". Canadian Climate Data. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Daily Data Report for February 1917". Canadian Climate Data. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Fort Chipewyan A". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 (in English and French). Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Fort Chipewyan". Canadian Climate Data. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Daily Data Report for July 2021". Canadian Climate Data. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Daily Data Report for September 2011". Canadian Climate Data. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  19. ↑ Ninth Census of Canada, 1951 (PDF). Vol. SP-7 (Population: Unincorporated villages and hamlets). Dominion Bureau of Statistics. March 31, 1954. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  20. ↑ Census of Canada, 1956 (PDF). Vol. Population of unincorporated villages and settlements. Dominion Bureau of Statistics. October 25, 1957. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  21. ↑ 1961 Census of Canada: Population (PDF). Series SP: Unincorporated Villages. Vol. Bulletin SP—4. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. April 18, 1963. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  22. ↑ Census of Canada 1966: Population (PDF). Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Places. Vol. Bulletin S–3. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. August 1968. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  23. ↑ 1971 Census of Canada: Population (PDF). Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Settlements. Vol. Bulletin SP—1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. March 1973. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Geographical Identification and Population for Unincorporated Places of 25 persons and over, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada (PDF). Supplementary Bulletins: Geographic and Demographic (Population of Unincorporated Places—Canada). Vol. Bulletin 8SG.1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1978. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  25. ↑ 1981 Census of Canada (PDF). Place name reference list. Vol. Western provinces and the Territories. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1983. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  26. ↑ 1986 Census of Canada (PDF). Population. Vol. Unincorporated Places. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. July 1988. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  27. ↑ 96 Census (PDF). A National Overivew: Population and Dwelling Counts. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. April 1997. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. July 20, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  31. 1 2 "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  32. ↑ "census2018 Municipal Census Report" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Municipal Census 2012: Count Yourself In!" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Fort Chipewyan". Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Parks Canada". Parks Canada. June 5, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Fort Chipewyan Winter Road". Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  37. 1 2 "Northern Highways Strategy" (PDF). Northern Alberta Development Council. October 2008.
  38. ↑ "MAKING A STATEMENT IN FORT CHIP". Alberta EcoTrust. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  39. ↑ Huot, Marc. "Fort Chipewyan Community Energy Baseline" (PDF). Keepers of the Athabasca. Pembina Institute. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Photovoltaic and solar resource maps". Natural Resources Canada. April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  41. ↑ Pelland, S (August 20, 2006). "The Development of Photovoltaic Resource Maps for Canada" (PDF). 31st Annual Conference of the Solar Energy Society of Canada (SESCI). Aug. 20-24th 2006, Montréal Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  42. ↑ "Fort Chipewyan Off-Grid Solar & Storage". ATCO. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Fort Chipewyan Solar Farm". Alberta Government. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Indigenous-owned solar farm opens in remote northern Alberta community". CBC. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

Notes

  1. ↑ Climate data was recorded at Fort Chipewyan from October 1883 to October 1967 and at Fort Chipewyan Airport from November 1967 to present.
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