| Mayerthorpe | |
| Official Name: | Town of Mayerthorpe |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Image Caption: | Highway 43 entrance to Mayerthorpe from the south. |
| Pushpin Map: | Alberta |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Mayerthorpe in Alberta |
| Coordinates: | 53.9503°N -115.1336°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Alberta |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Type3: | Planning region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Upper Athabasca |
| Subdivision Type4: | Municipal district |
| Subdivision Name4: | Lac Ste. Anne County |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Title1: | Incorporated[1] |
| Established Date1: | |
| Established Title2: | • Village |
| Established Date2: | March 5, 1927 |
| Established Title3: | • Town |
| Established Date3: | March 20, 1961 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Janet Jabush |
| Leader Title1: | Governing body |
| Leader Name1: | Mayerthorpe Town Council |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [2] |
| Elevation M: | 712 |
| Area Footnotes: | (2021) |
| Area Land Km2: | 4.39 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Total: | 1259 |
| Population Density Km2: | 286.6 |
| Population Demonym: | Mayerthorpian |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code span |
| Area Code: | -1+780 |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | −7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −6 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | Highway 22 Highway 43 |
| Blank1 Name: | Waterway |
| Blank1 Info: | Paddle River |
Mayerthorpe is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately 120km (80miles) northwest of Edmonton at the intersection of Highway 43 and Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail). The town is surrounded by Lac Ste. Anne County and is in Alberta's Census Division No. 13.
The name of the post office, established in 1915, honours R. I. Mayer, the first postmaster. "Thorpe" is from the Old English for hamlet or village.[4]
Mayerthorpe incorporated as a village on March 5, 1927. It then incorporated as a town just over 34 years later on March 20, 1961.
On March 3, 2005, four officers serving with the Mayerthorpe and Whitecourt detachments of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were killed in the Mayerthorpe tragedy.
On July 29, 2008, the Mayerthorpe Arena was destroyed by a fire. In 2011, after three years of planning and fundraising, the new arena, now called the Mayerthorpe Exhibition Centre, was officially opened.[5]
In 2016, a string of suspicious fires in the area resulted in the destruction of a CN trestle bridge.[6] The bridge was rebuilt shortly thereafter, in about twenty days.[7]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Mayerthorpe had a population of 1,259 living in 511 of its 572 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,320. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.[8]
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Mayerthorpe recorded a population of 1,320 living in 540 of its 600 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,398. With a land area of 4.37km2, it had a population density of in 2016.[9]
The local weekly newspaper serving Mayerthorpe and area is the Mayerthorpe Freelancer.[10]
The Whitecourt Wild Senior "AA" ice hockey team was added to the North Central Hockey League in 2013. The team plays in the Mayerthorpe Exhibition Centre.[11]