Fort St. John is a city located in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The most populous municipality in the Peace River Regional District, the city encompasses a total area of about with 21,465 residents recorded in the 2021 Census. Located at Mile 47 of the Alaska Highway, it is one of the largest cities between Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Delta Junction, Alaska. Established in 1794 as a trading post, Fort St. John is the oldest European-established settlement in present-day British Columbia. The city is served by the Fort St. John Airport. The municipal slogan is Fort St. John: The Energetic City.

History The first trading post built in the area was named Rocky Mountain Fort. It was south of Fort St. John, having been established by North West Company traders one year after Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the area in 1793. The fort closed 1805, and Fort St. John's was established a year later. On March 26, 1821, the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company, changing ownership of Fort St John's. It operated until 1823, when a band of angry Northern Athapaskans killed several Hudson's Bay Company employees. According to historian Shepard Krech III, the incident represented an "impromptu reaction to inflexible trading policies of the [Hudson's Bay] Company." After a lapse of 37 years, Fort St. John was reopened in 1860. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1958.

Frank Worth Beaton moved Fort St. John to Fish Creek in 1925, northwest of the current city. During World War II, the town was used as a station for the 341st General Service Regiment, which was assigned to build the Alaska Highway to Fort Nelson. The population of Fort St. John grew to a few thousand people, then after the Alaska Highway was completed, the population fell. The first census that recognized Fort St. John as a census subdivision took place in 1951 and recorded 884 people. The population rapidly increased, because of the booming oil and gas industry, doubling almost every 5 years for 15 years so that by 1966 there were 6,749 residents living in the community.BC Stats, Municipal Census Populations, 1921–1971. In May 1971, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Fort St. John. They were greeted by an estimated 4,000 people.

Geography Fort St. John is geographically on the western edge of the Canadian prairies that cover much of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, but is not politically included in the three Canadian Prairie provinces. The city sits between the Peace River and Beatton River, with Charlie Lake nearby.

Sitting at an elevation of , Fort St. John is situated within a low-lying valley near the eastern foothills of the Muskwa Ranges and Hart Ranges of the Northern Rockies. Prairies lie to the east and north, while to the west the Rocky Mountains form a rain shadow. The city is built on relatively flat, rolling hills.

Fort St. John, along with neighboring cities of Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, and Dawson Creek, are within Peace River Country, a large geographic area of British Columbia and Alberta. The Peace River valley provides opportunities for farming, in contrast to the rugged mountains to the west.

Climate Fort St. John experiences a cold humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) closely bordering on a subarctic climate (Dfc), with cold winters and warm summers. Although winters can be frigid, the area has milder winters than much of the rest of Canada (especially considering its northerly latitude) due to the influence of the nearby Rocky Mountains. They tend to block arctic air masses coming in from the north/northwest, although they can certainly still penetrate the area. A predominantly southwesterly wind blows through town, with wind speeds averaging around . Fort St. John uses Mountain Standard Time all year (same as Pacific Daylight Time in summer), and because of its northerly latitude experiences short daylight hours in winter and long daylight hours in summer.

Fort St. John is east of the Rocky Mountains, and thus has a climate much more similar to the prairies than the British Columbia interior west of the mountains. The frost-free period is much longer east of the mountains than west, and thus the Peace River area including Fort St. John can grow crops that cannot be grown in most of the province such as wheat and canola.

Fort St. John is one of the sunniest places in the province, especially in the winter and spring. The city holds British Columbia's record for most sunshine ever recorded in March (247.4 hours in 1965), May (373.5 hours in 1972), and November (141.3 hours in 1976).

The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 11 January 1911. The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort St. John was on 16 July 1941. The record high daily minimum was recorded 29 June 2021. The record highest dew point was recorded 31 July 1960. The most humid month was August 2013 with an average dew point of . The warmest month was July 2024 with an average monthly mean temperature of , an average monthly daily maximum of , and an average monthly daily minimum of . July 2015 set a record of no maximum temperature below for the entire month; August 2022 with no temperature below , and August 1954 with no dew point below .

The lowest yearly maximum dew point is recorded in 1985. The lowest yearly maximum daily minimum temperature is recorded in 1957. The lowest yearly maximum temperature is recorded in 1976.

The average yearly maximum dew point is and the average yearly maximum daily minimum temperature is .

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort St. John had a population of 21,465 living in 8,777 of its 10,004 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 20,260. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

+ Canada 2001 CensusStatistics Canada, Community Highlights for Fort St. John, 2001 Community Profiles, February 20, 2007. Fort St. John British ColumbiaMedian age32.0 years38.4 yearsUnder 15 years old22.1%18%Between 25 and 44 years old33.4%30%Over 65 years old6.7%14%Visible minority3%21%Protestant38%31%

Ethnicity Panethnic groups in the City of Fort St. John (1996−2021)Panethnic group202120162011200620011996 European 14,970 15,195 15,395 14,990 13,695 13,405 Indigenous 2,770 2,240 2,120 1,645 1,780 1,030 Southeast Asian 1,225 725 290 115 130 95 South Asian 1,120 595 160 150 45 80 African 435 375 140 100 90 50 East Asian 325 370 275 215 130 190 Latin American 85 90 0 50 10 0 Middle Eastern 50 120 35 20 20 10 Other/multiracial 190 90 35 20 30 60 Total responses 21,175 19,810 18,450 17,300 15,935 14,920 Total population 21,465 20,155 18,609 17,402 16,034 15,021

Religion According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Fort St. John included: Irreligion (12,170 persons or 57.5%) Christianity (7,685 persons or 36.3%) Sikhism (490 persons or 2.3%) Hinduism (290 persons or 1.4%) Islam (250 persons or 1.2%) Indigenous Spirituality (60 persons or 0.3%) Buddhism (50 persons or 0.2%) Judaism (20 persons or 0.1%)

Economy EconomyRate Town ProvinceUnemployment rate3%8.5%Participation rate77.9%65.2%Poverty rate6.7%17.8%Average male income$54,252$50,191Average female income$31,083$35,895

As the urban centre for a rural and farming population of about 8,306 people and home to 18,609 people, Fort St. John is a retail, service and industrial centre. The province's oil and gas industry,KPMG (October 29, 2004). Marketing Strategy for the BC: Oil and Gas Service Sector including the provincial Oil and Gas Commission is centred in the city. Forestry has become more important to the city since the opening of an oriented strand board plant in 2005. Much wood is exported to the United States.

Fort St. John is a transportation hub and industrial centre serving BC Hydro's nearby hydro-electric facilities, the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, Peace Canyon Dam and Site C dam.

The 2001 Canadian census recorded 9,985 income-earners over the age of 15 residing in Fort St. John; of these, 4,500 worked full-time throughout the year. The high participation rate stems from the relatively young population, much of which was attracted by the area's high-paying oil and gas industry. Its male-female income gap is large.

Health In 1963, Fort St. John became the tenth community in British Columbia to add fluoride to its water supply. Fort St. John has a hospital, which as of 2022, had 44 in-patient beds, four intensive care unit beds, and seven delivery beds. It has a CT scanner and ultrasound.

Arts and culture

As the urban centre for approximately 20,000 people, much of the region's recreational and cultural facilities are located in town. Within the city, Centennial Park groups much of these facilities in a central location close to residences and businesses. This large park includes the Fort St. John North Peace Museum, the North Peace Leisure Pool, the North Peace Arena (home of the Fort St. John Huskies), a separate arena for children, an eight-sheet curling rink, as well as an outdoor water park and speed skating oval. Other parks in the area include the city-maintained Fish Creek Community Forest, and about northwest of town the Beatton Provincial Park and Charlie Lake Provincial Park. In the centre of town is the North Peace Cultural Centre which houses the Fort St. John Public Library, a theatre, and the Peace Gallery North art gallery.

Attractions

The city's main recreation centre is the Fort St. John Enerplex, now known as the Pomeroy Sport Centre, that opened in 2010. It is a three-storey public facility with two National Hockey League-sized ice rinks, a concession, 12 dressing rooms, public meeting rooms, a retail juice outlet, an indoor near-Olympic-sized long track speed skating oval, and a 340 meter long walking track (the "Northern Vac Track"). All ice surfaces can be removed to provide event space in excess of 140,000 square feet.Pomeroy Sport Centre webpage , retrieved 2012-08-17 The facility also houses the Energetic Learning Campus, a satellite campus of the nearby North Peace Secondary School.

Fort St. John hosted the BC Winter Games in 1984 and 2020, and the Northern BC Winter Games in 1975, 1976, 1994, 2000, and 2007. Previously, the Great Canadian Welding Competition is held in Fort St. John, which sees welding artists fill Centennial Park creating statues on the year's given theme. In February, the annual Winter Fest has a frozen Centennial Park filled with ice sculptures, ice slides, and other special winter-related activities occurring around town.

Government The City of Fort St. John has a council-manager form of municipal government. A six-member council, along with one mayor, is elected at-large every four years. In the 2022 local government general election, Lilia Hansen was elected mayor, replacing Lori Ackerman, who had served since 2011. The mayor and one city councillor represent Fort St. John on the board of directors of the Peace River Regional District.Peace River Regional District Board of Directors , Board of Directors 22 February 2006 Seven board of education trustees, for representation on School District 60 Peace River North, are also elected by residents.School District No. 60 (British Columbia) BY-LAW NO. 4/05 , School District No. 60 (Peace River North), February 22, 2006.