Fitzgerald, Alberta

Fitzgerald, also known as Fort Fitzgerald and originally Smith's Landing, is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta, Canada 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.

For other uses, see Fitzgerald, Alberta (disambiguation).

Fitzgerald
Fort Fitzgerald
Smith's Landing
unincorporated community
Fitzgerald is located in Alberta
Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald
Location of Fitzgerald in Alberta
Coordinates: 59°51′35″N 111°36′15″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
RegionNorthern Alberta
Census division16
Specialized municipalityRM of Wood Buffalo
Government
[1]
 • 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
Elevation
200 m (700 ft)
Population
 (2018)
 • Total8
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
Postal code
T0V 1A0
Area code+1-867
WebsiteRM of Wood Buffalo page

History
The Radium Queen, and other tugboats, pushed barges to and from the portage at Fort Fitzgerald to the railhead at Waterways, Alberta.
Smith's Landing, circa 1910

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 8 people in the 2018 Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo census.[7] The population of the Thebathi 196 Indian Reserve in the federal 2016 census was 20,[8] a 33.3% decrease from the 2011 census which had a population of 30.[9]

Climate

Fitzgerald has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc).[10] Summers are short and warm, and winters long and cold.

Climate data for Fitzgerald, Alberta
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −21.0
(−5.8)		 −15.0
(5.0)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 5.0
(41.0)		 15.0
(59.0)		 21.0
(69.8)		 23.0
(73.4)		 21.0
(69.8)		 13.0
(55.4)		 5.0
(41.0)		 −9.0
(15.8)		 −17.0
(1.4)		 2.8
(37.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) −26.0
(−14.8)		 −21.0
(−5.8)		 −14.0
(6.8)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 8.0
(46.4)		 14.0
(57.2)		 16.5
(61.7)		 14.5
(58.1)		 7.5
(45.5)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −13.0
(8.6)		 −21.5
(−6.7)		 −3.0
(26.6)
Average low °C (°F) −31.0
(−23.8)		 −27.0
(−16.6)		 −21.0
(−5.8)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 1.0
(33.8)		 7.0
(44.6)		 10.0
(50.0)		 8.0
(46.4)		 2.0
(35.6)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −17.0
(1.4)		 −26.0
(−14.8)		 −8.8
(16.2)
Source: The Weather Channel[11]

See also

References
  1. "Municipal Officials Search". Alberta Municipal Affairs. May 9, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  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. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  4. "Fort Fitzgerald Where We Are Today" (PDF). 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2013. 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  8. "2016 Census Profile - Thebathi 196". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  9. "2011 Census Profile - Thebathi 196". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  10. "Climate Regions". Archives - Environment Canada. Environment Canada. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  11. "Fitzgerald, Canada". The Weather Channel. Channel, LLC. Retrieved May 15, 2016.


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