Sparwood

Sparwood is a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the second-largest community on the Elk River.

Sparwood
District municipality
District of Sparwood[1]
Sparwood is located in British Columbia
Sparwood
Sparwood
Location of Sparwood in British Columbia
Coordinates: 49°43′56″N 114°53′13″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Government
[2]
 • MayorDavid Wilks[3]
 • Governing bodySparwood council
 • MPRob Morrison
 • MLATom Shypitka
Area
 • Total191.60 km2 (73.98 sq mi)
Elevation
1,140 m (3,740 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total3,990
 • Density463.5/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−7 (Mountain Standard (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)
Area code250 / 778 / 236
Highways Hwy 3
Hwy 43
Websitesparwood.ca

Located approximately 30 kilometres from Fernie, the District Municipality of Sparwood has approximately 4,200 residents. Sparwood is quite large for its population, taking up an area of 191.01 square kilometres and incorporating the local coal mines.

In the late 1800s, there was a railroad stop known as Sparwood, which was so named because of the trees from this area being shipped to the coast for manufacturing spars for ocean vessels.[4]

Sparwood's welcome sign

Economy

The local economy is heavily dependent on steel-making coal mining, one of British Columbia's primary industries. A large part of the population either works in the mines or as tradespeople and labourers in related support industries, such as trucking or as mechanics. Logging is another important industry.

Sparwood/Elk Valley Airport is the local airport for general aviation. The closest airport with commercial service is Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport. Road access is provided by the Crowsnest Highway.

Sparwood was formed on 12 May 1966 accepting people from the nearby towns of Michel, Natal, and Middletown (an urban renewal). Since the beginning of Sparwood, it has experienced many ups and downs in coal mining, the town's primary industry.

Attractions
Terex Titan in Sparwood

Sparwood promotes itself extensively as the home of the Terex Titan, at one time the largest truck in the world. The green Titan, in service at Sparwood between 1978 and 1991, stands a few yards from the Crowsnest Highway where it can attract the attention of tourists and travellers. The adjacent tourist information centre serves visitors to the district municipality and the wider area.

Sparwood is distinguished by mural art which depicts something of the history of the former Michel-Natal mining communities.

Sports
Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
Fernie Ghostriders
KIJHL
 Ice hockey Elk Valley Leisure Centre
1991
3

Sparwood is home to the 2011 B.C. provincial champion boys snowboarding team.[5] Sparwood is also home to the 2011 Junior Boys and 2012 Junior Girls Provincial Bowling champions.

Laurie Hockridge of Sparwood and Lethbridge College, is a CCAA-ACSC Hall of Fame inductee (WBB, '87–90).[6] Her legacy includes back-to-back national championships and two national championship MVP trophies.

Fernie Memorial Arena disaster

On 17 October 2017 an ammonia leak at the Fernie Memorial Arena killed three workers (two City of Fernie employees and one CIMCO refrigeration employee from Calgary) during the Fernie Ghostriders' regular season. Because of this tragedy, the City of Fernie declared a state of emergency and people had to evacuate the area for days. The 'Riders were relocated because of this to the Elk Valley Leisure Centre in Sparwood during the 2017–18 KIJHL season until the City of Fernie installed a new chiller unit. The Ghostriders now play at their home rink again.[7][8]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sparwood had a population of 3,990 living in 1,815 of its 2,101 total private dwellings, a change of 9.6% from its 2016 population of 3,646. With a land area of 191.3 km2 (73.9 sq mi), it had a population density of 21.7/km2 (56.2/sq mi) in 2021.[9]

Ethnicity
Panethnic groups in the District of Sparwood (1986−2021)
Panethnic
group		 2021[10] 2016[11] 2011[12] 2006[13] 2001[14] 1996[15] 1991[16][17] 1986[18][19][20]: 108 
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
European[lower-alpha 1] 3,565 85.9% 3,255 86% 3,310 90.31% 3,370 93.09% 3,570 93.7% 3,745 94.1% 3,780 91.41% 4,205 92.62%
Indigenous 420 10.12% 275 7.27% 260 7.09% 115 3.18% 125 3.28% 155 3.89% 195 4.72% 140 3.08%
African 55 1.33% 85 2.25% 0 0% 0 0% 35 0.92% 10 0.25% 0 0% 5 0.11%
South Asian 35 0.84% 80 2.11% 50 1.36% 40 1.1% 60 1.57% 40 1.01% 140 3.39% 155 3.41%
Southeast Asian[lower-alpha 2] 20 0.48% 45 1.19% 15 0.41% 0 0% 10 0.26% 10 0.25% 0 0% 5 0.11%
Latin American 20 0.48% 15 0.4% 0 0% 0 0% 10 0.26% 0 0% 0 0% 5 0.11%
East Asian[lower-alpha 3] 15 0.36% 25 0.66% 15 0.41% 25 0.69% 10 0.26% 15 0.38% 20 0.48% 25 0.55%
Middle Eastern[lower-alpha 4] 0 0% 10 0.26% 0 0% 60 1.66% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Other/Multiracial[lower-alpha 5] 0 0% 10 0.26% 0 0% 0 0% 10 0.26% 0 0% — — — —
Total responses 4,150 100.05% 3,785 100.03% 3,665 99.95% 3,620 100.06% 3,810 99.95% 3,980 99.95% 4,135 98.2% 4,540 100%
Total population 4,148 100% 3,784 100% 3,667 100% 3,618 100% 3,812 100% 3,982 100% 4,211 100% 4,540 100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Sparwood included:[10]

Education

There are two public schools in Sparwood; Frank J Mitchell which is an Elementary School and the new Sparwood Secondary School. These schools are operated by School District 5 Southeast Kootenay which is based in Cranbrook.

Climate

Sparwood has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with relatively cold and very snowy winters combined with moderately warm summers with relatively high diurnal temperature variation. As a result of the low overnight lows in summer, September's mean of 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) places Sparwood just above subarctic climates (Dfc) in classification.

Climate data for Sparwood
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.9
(53.4)		 13.8
(56.8)		 20.6
(69.1)		 25.6
(78.1)		 31.3
(88.3)		 32.5
(90.5)		 34.9
(94.8)		 36.5
(97.7)		 34.2
(93.6)		 27.2
(81.0)		 16.9
(62.4)		 10.5
(50.9)		 36.5
(97.7)
Average high °C (°F) −2.2
(28.0)		 0.5
(32.9)		 5.4
(41.7)		 10.9
(51.6)		 15.9
(60.6)		 19.6
(67.3)		 23.8
(74.8)		 24.2
(75.6)		 18.2
(64.8)		 10.7
(51.3)		 1.7
(35.1)		 −3.4
(25.9)		 10.4
(50.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.5
(20.3)		 −4.5
(23.9)		 0.2
(32.4)		 4.8
(40.6)		 9.1
(48.4)		 12.7
(54.9)		 15.8
(60.4)		 15.5
(59.9)		 10.5
(50.9)		 4.8
(40.6)		 −2
(28)		 −7.3
(18.9)		 4.4
(39.9)
Average low °C (°F) −10.7
(12.7)		 −9.6
(14.7)		 −5.1
(22.8)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 2.3
(36.1)		 5.8
(42.4)		 7.7
(45.9)		 6.7
(44.1)		 2.9
(37.2)		 −1.1
(30.0)		 −5.6
(21.9)		 −11.3
(11.7)		 −1.6
(29.1)
Record low °C (°F) −37.9
(−36.2)		 −34.6
(−30.3)		 −29.9
(−21.8)		 −15
(5)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 0
(32)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 −8.5
(16.7)		 −22.2
(−8.0)		 −34
(−29)		 −39.8
(−39.6)		 −39.8
(−39.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 53.9
(2.12)		 40.9
(1.61)		 44.2
(1.74)		 41.4
(1.63)		 60.4
(2.38)		 69.3
(2.73)		 46.8
(1.84)		 34.9
(1.37)		 47.4
(1.87)		 48.8
(1.92)		 72.1
(2.84)		 53.4
(2.10)		 613.3
(24.15)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 17.3
(0.68)		 12.4
(0.49)		 17
(0.7)		 27.9
(1.10)		 52
(2.0)		 67.7
(2.67)		 46.8
(1.84)		 34.8
(1.37)		 43.4
(1.71)		 39.6
(1.56)		 39.1
(1.54)		 13.2
(0.52)		 411
(16.2)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 50.4
(19.8)		 37
(15)		 31.7
(12.5)		 17.4
(6.9)		 8.6
(3.4)		 1.8
(0.7)		 0
(0)		 0.1
(0.0)		 4.2
(1.7)		 11.3
(4.4)		 47.3
(18.6)		 54.2
(21.3)		 264
(104)
Source: [21]

Local media

Newspapers
  • Fernie Free Press – Weekly Paper
  • Kootenay News Advertiser – Weekly Paper
  • Fernie Fix – Monthly Glossy Magazine

Radio stations
  • 99.1 FM – CJDR, a rebroadcaster of CHDR-FM, Rock
  • 92.7 FM – CFBZ, a rebroadcaster of CHBZ-FM, Country
  • 97.7 FM – CBTN, a rebroadcaster of CBTK-FM, CBC
  • 107.9 FM – CFSM-FM – Adult Contemporary

Cable television stations

Notable people

The following people were born in Sparwood:

Sister cities

Since 1980, Sparwood has been the sister city of Kamisunagawa in Hokkaido, Japan.[25]

See also

Notes
  1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
  2. Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
  3. Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
  4. Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
  5. Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

References
  1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. Sparwood. Mayor and council
  3. Office of the Mayor
  4. "BC Geographical Names".
  5. Sparwood snowboarders are finally champs – The Free Press
  6. "Kodiaks' Hockridge earns CCAA Hall of Fame induction". 30 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  7. The Canadian Press (21 October 2017). "B.C. ice rink where 3 people died remains closed due to safety concerns". CBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  8. "Fernie rink still closed as RCMP investigation continues into deaths of three men".
  9. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), British Columbia". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  10. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (26 October 2022). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  11. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 October 2021). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 November 2015). "NHS Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  13. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (20 August 2019). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  14. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2 July 2019). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (4 June 2019). "Electronic Area Profiles Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1996 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (29 March 2019). "1991 Census Area Profiles Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  17. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (29 March 2019). "Data tables, 1991 Census Population by Ethnic Origin (24), Showing Single and Multiple Origins (2) - Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  18. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 June 2019). "Data tables, 1986 Census Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 Census - Part A". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  19. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 June 2019). "Data tables, 1986 Census Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 Census - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  20. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013). "Canada's aboriginal population by census subdivisions from the 1986 Census of Canada". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  21. "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  22. DeRosa, Katie (9 December 2022). "Niki Sharma will draw on lessons learned as a young girl in Sparwood in new role as B.C.'s Attorney General". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  23. "MLA: Hon. Niki Sharma". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  24. "Sparwood's Niki Sharma named B.C.'s Attorney General". Vancouver Sun. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  25. "Sister City". District of Sparwood. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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