| Swan Hills | |
| Official Name: | Town of Swan Hills |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Swan Hills AB sign.jpg |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Welcome sign |
| Pushpin Map: | CAN AB Big Lakes#Alberta |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Big Lakes County##Location in Alberta |
| Coordinates: | 54.7106°N -115.4133°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Type3: | Planning region |
| Subdivision Type4: | Municipal district |
| Subdivision Name1: | Alberta |
| Subdivision Name3: | Upper Athabasca |
| Subdivision Name4: | Big Lakes County |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Title1: | Incorporated[1] |
| Established Date1: | |
| Established Title2: | • New town |
| Established Date2: | September 1, 1959 |
| Established Title3: | • Town |
| Established Date3: | January 1, 1967 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Craig Wilson |
| Leader Title1: | Governing body |
| Leader Name1: | Swan Hills Town Council |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [2] |
| Elevation M: | 1113 |
| Area Footnotes: | (2021) |
| Area Land Km2: | 25.87 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Total: | 1201 |
| Population Density Km2: | 46.4 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code span |
| Postal Code: | T0G 2C0 |
| Area Code: | 780, 587, 825 |
| Website: | townofswanhills.com |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | −07:00 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −06:00 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | Highway 32 Highway 33 |
| Blank1 Name: | Waterways |
| Blank1 Info: | Morse River Freeman River |
Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is in the eponymous Swan Hills, approximately 80km (50miles) north of Whitecourt and 62km (39miles) northwest of Fort Assiniboine. The town is at the junction of Highway 32 and Grizzly Trail, and is surrounded by Big Lakes County.
It is the nearest major settlement to the geographic centre of the province. In 1989, local resident Roy Chimiuk used a minimum bounding box method to place a cairn marking the exact location at 54.5°N -115°W, about 30 kilometres south of the town.[4] The site is protected by the Centre of Alberta Natural Area, a 3-kilometre hike from Highway 33.[5]
Initially a base camp for workers in the Swan Hills oilfield, accommodations and facilities were moved from a nearby site and jointly developed in the present location by the government of Alberta and oil companies between 1959 and 1961.[6] Casually nicknamed 'Oil Hills',[7] the town's official name was taken from the area of densely forested uplands in which it is located, although 'Chalmers' was also considered,[8] after T.W. Chalmers, who had surveyed and cut the Klondike Trail through the area.
The New Town of Swan Hills was incorporated on September 1, 1959, and R.L. Maxfield was appointed as Development Officer and Secretary Treasurer. Twenty-four parcels of industrial land were sold at the first land auction in November 1959. The first all-weather road into the area was completed in 1960, replacing the treacherous forestry road connecting Swan Hills to Fort Assiniboine; the Swan Hills Post Office was opened the same year. The New Town of Swan Hills was officially opened by Premier Ernest Manning in June 1962.
Two teachers provided instruction for forty students in the first two-room school, which was quickly replaced by a seven-room building due to the rapidly increasing population as oil field workers began to relocate their families to the town. Two mobile radio units provided communications and an isolated diesel generating plant provided power until Alberta Government Telephones installed service and Canadian Utilities Ltd. completed a 138km (86miles) transmission line in 1960. In November 1965, Swan Hills became the most northerly town in Alberta to be served with natural gas by Northwestern Utilities.
Swan Hills' status was changed when it was formally incorporated as a town on January 1, 1967, making it the first town incorporated during Canada's centennial year.[9] Tom Parkinson was elected the first mayor, serving in the position until 1971.
Situated within dense boreal forest, Swan Hills has been evacuated at least 6 times as wildfires threatened the town: 1972, 1981, 1983,[10] twice in 1998 and the most recent in May 2023 due to the Grizzly Complex wildfire. The town has since implemented a FireSmart[11] program, reducing fire fuel within and around the urban perimeter.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Swan Hills had a population of 1,201 living in 512 of its 728 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,301. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.[12]
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Swan Hills recorded a population of 1,301 living in 535 of its 724 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 1,465. With a land area of 26.12km2, it had a population density of in 2016.[13]
The primary industry in Swan Hills is oil and gas, although the Swan Hills Treatment Centre, north of the town, is also a local employer. It is also a service centre for the logging industry.
Swan Hills' wilderness setting makes it a popular year-round destination for nature enthusiasts and outdoor sports including camping, hunting, fishing, trapping and ATV riding.
Annual Events
Kindergarten to Grade 12 students are served by Swan Hills School http://swanhillsschool.ca/, in the Pembina Hills Public Schools district.
Emergency and other medical services are provided at the Swan Hills Healthcare Centre. Family and community social programs and services are available through FCSS (Family & Community Support Services) 780-333-4119
Local affairs in Swan Hills are managed by a mayor and town council under Alberta Municipal Affairs. Swan Hills is located in the provincial riding of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock. Federally, the town is in the constituency of Peace River-Westlock.