Fitzgerald, Alberta

Fitzgerald
Fort Fitzgerald
Smith's Landing
unincorporated community
Fitzgerald

Location of Fitzgerald in Alberta

Coordinates: 59°51′35″N 111°36′15″W / 59.85972°N 111.60417°W / 59.85972; -111.60417Coordinates: 59°51′35″N 111°36′15″W / 59.85972°N 111.60417°W / 59.85972; -111.60417
Country Canada
Province Alberta
Region Northern Alberta
Census division 16
Specialized municipality RM of Wood Buffalo
Government[1]
 • Mayor Melissa Blake
 • Governing body
Elevation 200 m (700 ft)
Population (2015)
 • Total 9
Postal code T0V 1A0
Area code(s) +1-867
Website RM of Wood Buffalo page

Fitzgerald, also known as Fort Fitzgerald and originally Smith's Landing, is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, located 15.4 kilometres (9.6 mi) south of the Northwest Territories border, and 23 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Fort Smith.

History

The Radium Queen, and other tugboats, pushed barges to and from the portage at Fort Fitzgerald to the railhead at Waterways, Alberta.

Prior to the extension of railway service to Hay River, Northwest Territories, on Great Slave Lake, all cargo being shipped to or from the north had to be portaged from Fitzgerald to Fort Smith, to avoid four impassable rapids.[2] The community was known as Smith's Landing until 1915 when it was renamed Fort Fitzgerald after the late Francis Joseph Fitzgerald.[3]

Services

Most of the community's services are provided from Fort Smith, including fire, law enforcement, health care, social services, and telecommunications.[4] Law enforcement is part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 'G division' in the Northwest Territories.[4] Since telecommunication services, including cellular and internet, are from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, the area code is 867, although Fitzgerald is located in what would be area code 780 in Alberta.[5]

An all-weather road, named Hay Camp Road, links Fort Smith and Hay Camp through Fitzgerald.[6]

Demographics

Fitzgerald had a population of 9 people in the 2015 Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo census.[7] The population of the Thebathi 196 Indian Reserve in the federal 2011 census was 30, a 100% increase from the 2006 census which had a population of 15.[8]

Climate

Fitzgerald has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc).[9] Summers are short and warm, and winters long and cold.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Municipal Officials Search". Alberta Municipal Affairs. November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  2. ↑ On the Banks of the Slave: A History of the Community of Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Published by the Tourism Committee of Fort Smith, Department of Education Northwest Territories, 1979.
  3. ↑ "Fort Fitzgerald". Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Fort Fitzgerald Where We Are Today" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. May 2008. p. 6. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Canadian Numbering Plan and Dialling Plan" (PDF). The Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN). October 26, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Map of Wood Buffalo National Park". Parks Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Municipal Census 2015 Report" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. p. 52. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Census Profile - Thebathi 196". Statistics Canada. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Climate Regions". Archives - Environment Canada. Environment Canada. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Fitzgerald, Canada". The Weather Channel. Channel, LLC. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
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