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Cold Lake Alberta Information

Cold Lake is a city in east-central Alberta, Canada and is named after the lake nearby. Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake (CFB Cold Lake) is situated within the city’s outer limits. _x000D_ 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 (CFB Cold Lake) 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. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ Cold Lake’s climate is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb). Summers are generally warm with cool nights, and winters are very cold with moderate snowfall. _x000D_ The population of the City of Cold Lake according to its 2022 municipal census is 16,302, a change of 3.6% from its 2014 municipal census population of 15.736. _x000D_ In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Cold Lake had a population of 15,661 living in 6,114 of its 6,767 total private dwellings, a change of 4.6% from its 2016 population of 14,976. With a land area of 66.61 km2 (25.72 sq mi), it had a population density of 235.1/km2 (608.9/sq mi) in 2021. _x000D_ In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Cold Lake had a population of 14,961 living in 5,597 of its 6,657 total private dwellings, a change of 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. _x000D_ About 8.7% of residents identified themselves as aboriginal at the time of the 2006 census. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ Cold Lake is the home of Marvel comic book character Wolverine. _x000D_ Cold Lake has a variety of sports, including: _x000D_ Mayors: _x000D_ The last local election was held in October 2021. As of 2021, the councillors of Cold Lake are Bob Mattice, Chris Vining, Vicky Lefebvre, Adele Richardson, Ryan Bailey, and Bill Parker. _x000D_ At the provincial level, the city is in the district of Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul. Its current representative is Scott Cyr, from the United Conservative Party. _x000D_ At the federal level, the city is in the district of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. Its current representative is Laila Goodridge, from the Conservative Party of Canada. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ 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. _x000D_ Cold Lake is situated near many campgrounds due to its proximity to the lake. The M.D. campground has powered sites, shower facilities with flush toilets, and a covered camp picnic area. The Cold Lake Provincial Park has many 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, boat launch 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. _x000D_ Kinosoo Beach is a favorite destination during the hot summer months between June and August. _x000D_ The Iron Horse Trail, a recreational trail situated on a former railway line (see rail trail) has its easternmost terminus in Cold Lake. _x000D_ Recreational pastimes include, among others: _x000D_ The Air Force Museum preserves and exhibits the history of CFB Cold Lake and of 42 Radar Squadron. 42 Radar was on this site from 1954 to 1992, so Cold War era technology is mostly on display in their exhibit. An example of this is the General Electric Height Finder Radar on display. _x000D_ The Museum has much 4 Wing history on display. The current 4 Wing standing squadrons such as 409 Squadron, 410 Squadron, 419 Squadron, 1 Air Maintenance Squadron, Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment and others are displayed in the Museum. There are a few exhibits of purely historic nature, such as displays on 441 and 416, Squadrons which stood down in 2006 to be amalgamated into 409 Squadron. _x000D_ The Museum also has four aircraft on display outside, including the CF-5 Freedom Fighter, CT-133 Silver Star, the CT-114 Tutor and the CT-134 Musketeer. The newest addition to the air park is a CF-188 Decoy. _x000D_ This exhibit was designed, researched and constructed by Grand Centre High School students. This museum explains the history of Oil and gas in the Cold Lake area from Paleolithic times to the present. _x000D_ The Heritage Museum exhibits a time line of life in Cold Lake, both domestic and commercial. The museum also boasts some impressive murals. _x000D_ The Aboriginal Museum displays the history of the Dene, Cree and Metis peoples in time lines, maps, crafts and cultural displays. There are also bears on display. _x000D_ _x000D_ Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Lake,_Alberta