| Picture Butte | |
| Official Name: | Town of Picture Butte |
| Nickname: | Livestock Feeding Capital of Canada |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Alberta |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Picture Butte in Alberta |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Alberta |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Southern Alberta |
| Subdivision Type3: | Census division |
| Subdivision Name3: | 2 |
| Subdivision Type4: | Municipal district |
| Subdivision Name4: | Lethbridge County |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Cathy Moore |
| Leader Title1: | Governing body |
| Leader Name1: | Picture Butte Town Council |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Title1: | Incorporated[1] |
| Established Date1: | |
| Established Title2: | • Village |
| Established Date2: | February 4, 1943 |
| Established Title3: | • Town |
| Established Date3: | January 1, 1960 |
| Area Footnotes: | (2021) |
| Area Land Km2: | 3.02 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 1930 |
| Population Density Km2: | 639.7 |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | −7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −6 |
| Coordinates: | 49.8731°N -112.78°W |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [3] |
| Elevation M: | 905 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code span |
| Postal Code: | T0K 1V0 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | Highway 25 Highway 519 |
| Blank1 Name: | Waterway |
| Blank1 Info: | Oldman River |
| Mapsize: | 150px |
Picture Butte is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located 27km (17miles) north of the city of Lethbridge. It claims the title of "Livestock Feeding Capital of Canada."
In 2010, Ernest and Austin Mardon stated that "the name is descriptive, being a translation of the Blackfoot 'the beautiful hill.'"[4]
Picture Butte received its name from a prominence southeast of town. By 1947, however, the prominence's soil had been reworked and used for street improvements, highway construction and a dyke on the shore of the Picture Butte Lake Reservoir. The prominence no longer exists.
Homesteading in the area began in the early 20th century. The building of the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation System in 1923 and the CPR rail line in 1925 stimulated an influx of settlers. The first post office opened in 1925.[5]
In 1943, Picture Butte became a village, and it attained town status in 1961 with a population of 978.
The Canadian Sugar Factory closed in 1978 and resulted in the loss of tax revenues and employment opportunities to the town. Industrial activity consists of small service, warehousing and wholesaling industries.The town annexed approximately 165acres in 1991, significantly changing the town's boundary since the general municipal plan of 1980.[6]
A number of farms and properties in the Picture Butte area have changed and adapted over time; for example, in 2016, the Natural Resources Conservation Board approved Scholten Farms' request to convert swine feeders to cattle feeders.[7]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Picture Butte had a population of 1,930 living in 689 of its 729 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,810. 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 Picture Butte recorded a population of 1,810 living in 672 of its 706 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,650. With a land area of 2.85km2, it had a population density of in 2016.[9]
As of 2023, Picture Butte has an art gallery, three schools, three churches, a sports complex, a community league, a museum and a historical village.[10]
The current Picture Butte town council was elected on October 18, 2021 in the 2021 Alberta municipal elections.[11] As of 2023, the Mayor of Cathy Moore and councilors include Henry deKok, Teresa Feist, Cynthia Papworth and Scott Thomson.[12]