Whitecourt is a town in Northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Woodlands County. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie at the junction of Highway 43 and Highway 32. It has an elevation of .
Whitecourt is also located at the confluence of four waterways – the Athabasca River, McLeod River, Sakwatamau River and Beaver Creek. A Canadian National rail line runs through the town.
The Town has branded itself as the Snowmobile Capital of Alberta and its motto is Let's Go.... The Whitecourt meteor impact crater is found on nearby Whitecourt Mountain.
History The community was formed in the place known by the Cree as Sagitawah (the place where the rivers meet). The first Hudson's Bay Company trading post was established at the site in 1897, and Klondike gold rush-ers used the place as a way station on the overland trek to the goldfields. The first permanent resident on the present day townsite was HBC employee and farmer John Goodwin, who settled there in 1905."Whitecourt history heritage" https://www.whitecourt.ca/your-town/history-heritage accessed July 21, 2025 A post office was established in 1910, and Walter White, who carried the mail from nearby Greencourt, was honored with the name Whitecourt. The name "Whitecourt" was chosen in 1909 by Walter White, the postmaster of the young community. White was the son-in-law of former Kansas governor John W. Leedy who also settled in the community. The name conformed to the style of the name of Green Court, White's previous hometown, located nearby.
In early 1910, MLA Peter Gunn announced that a government wagon road had been opened from Entwistle to Whitecourt. With the expansion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1910, immigrants were encouraged by Premier Arthur Lewis Sifton to settle in the vast scarcely inhabited area between Edmonton and the Peace River Country.Olecko, Doreen - Sagitawah Saga - The story of Whitecourt, 2006, University of Calgary, Université Laval
With the growth of settlement in the area and as it was on the route to the Pine Pass through the Rockies, the Canadian Northern Railway line was planned to be completed to Whitecourt in 1913. But it was not until after that railway company was rolled into the Canadian National that a railway was built to Whitecourt.
Geography Whitecourt has three identifiable geographic components: the Valley that includes the town centre, the Athabasca Flats residential area, Millar Western's sawmill and pulp mill, and three manufactured home parks; the Hilltop that includes the Hilltop and Southlands Estates residential areas, the Hilltop industrial area, a 2.5 km highway commercial strip along Highway 43 and two manufactured home parks; and West Whitecourt, between the McLeod and Athabasca Rivers, includes an industrial area, a 1.0 km highway commercial strip along Highway 43, and a manufactured home park.
Climate Whitecourt has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), falling just short of a humid continental climate (Dfb) due to May and September having mean average temperatures just below . Winters are long and cold (though milder than many areas farther east, even at lower latitudes), and summers are fairly short and relatively warm.
The record high temperature was recorded June 30, 2021, with the record high daily minimum of recorded the same day. The record highest dew point was recorded July 17, 1979. The most humid month was August 2022 with an average dew point of . The warmest month was July 2007 with an average mean temperature of , the highest average monthly daily minimum of , and no daily maximum temperature below for the entire month. July 2024 set the record for the highest average monthly daily maximum of ; and no daily minimum temperature below . July 2004 recorded no dew point below for the entire month.
The lowest yearly maximum dew point is recorded in 1986. The lowest yearly maximum daily minimum temperature is recorded in 1995. The lowest yearly maximum temperature is recorded in 2017.
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, the Town of Whitecourt had a population of 9,927 living in 3,876 of its 4,341 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 10,209. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Whitecourt recorded a population of 10,204 living in 3,743 of its 4,253 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 9,605. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
The population of the Town of Whitecourt according to its 2013 municipal census is 10,574, a 14.9% increase over its 2008 municipal census population of 9,202.
+ Panethnic groups in the Town of Whitecourt (2001−2021)Panethnic group20212016201120062001 European 7,560 8,195 7,945 7,950 7,390 Indigenous 1,260 1,135 1,315 880 635 Southeast Asian 695 390 175 70 30 African 115 75 0 20 30 South Asian 90 105 25 0 25 East Asian 65 160 40 25 95 Middle Eastern 50 0 0 0 60 Latin American 20 15 0 10 25 Other/multiracial 0 30 10 0 10 Total responses 9,860 10,080 9,545 8,955 8,300 Total population 9,927 10,209 9,605 8,971 8,334
Economy
Whitecourt's economy is largely driven by three major industries – forestry, oil and gas industry and tourism. With some farm land to the south and east of Whitecourt, agriculture plays a minor role in the town's economy.
Whitecourt is the site of four forestry-related mills: Blue Ridge Lumber Sawmill / Ranger Board MDF (owned by West Fraser) Millar Western Pulp Mill (owned by Atlas Holdings) Canfor Sawmill Alberta Newsprint Company Pulp & Paper Mill.
Due to Whitecourt and area's forestry heritage, the Canadian Forestry Association named Whitecourt and Woodlands County the "Forest Capital of Canada 2013".
Whitecourt is also home to many service companies in the oil and gas industry.
Attractions
Attractions within Whitecourt include the Allan & Jean Millar Centre, Festival Park, the Forest Interpretive Centre and Heritage Park, and a variety of other facilities and parks.
The Allan & Jean Millar Centre consists of both an aquatic facility, a fieldhouse, a fitness facility, a children's indoor playground area, and boardroom and classroom rental spaces. The aquatic facility comprises a main pool, a children's pool, a leisure pool, a lazy river, a water slide, a hot tub, and a steam room. The fieldhouse includes a configurable multi-sport area, a track, and racquetball and squash courts. The fitness centre provides cardio training equipment, weight training equipment, and a fitness studio. Overall, this recreation venue also provides a variety of programming including lessons, classes, and personal training.
Festival Park, located in the river valley adjacent to downtown, is a multi-use outdoor park facility consisting of a pond stocked with fish that is cleared for skating in the winter, trails, sports fields, playgrounds, picnic areas, an off-leash dog park, and a river slide attraction featuring two flowing artificial creeks with drops for tubing. A splash park with 19 water features opened within Festival Park in 2012. The park was originally known as Rotary Park, but the name was changed to Festival Park in 2023 when Rotary International updated their policies on how facilities can be named after themselves.
The town also features several bike trails, as well as a professionally designed bike park.
The Forest Interpretive Centre includes a multi-media museum that presents the forestry industry's role in Whitecourt's history. It also features meeting rooms and hosts the local chamber of commerce, a tourist information centre, and town council meetings. The Forest Interpretive Centre's associated Heritage Park includes antique vehicles and farm equipment, a barn, and an interpretive trail among other features.
Whitecourt has an upcoming facility, the Canfor Culture and Events Center. The official announcement that it was approved and moving to construction was made by then-mayor Tom Pickard on July 10th, 2024. The construction was done by Clark Builders, who started the build in the summer of 2024. The building is expected to open in the fall of 2026. The name was announced on February 19th, 2026. It will be located at 5401 51 Street, Whitecourt, AB, and will be an 8,250-square-meter facility with an estimated cost of around $54.3 million. The new facility will include a new Arts, Culture, and Convention centre, an expanded public library, and a new administration office for the Town of Whitecourt.
Sports + Club League Sport Venue Years active League championships Provincial championships Whitecourt Wolverines Ice hockey JDA Place Whitecourt Wolverines Ice hockey JDA Place
Travis Roche and Rocky Thompson are current and former professional hockey players that were raised in Whitecourt. Roche played 60 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between the Minnesota Wild and Phoenix Coyotes and now plays for SC Bern in Switzerland's National League A. He has represented Team Canada at the Spengler Cup on numerous occasions, winning gold at the 2012 tournament. Thompson played 25 games in the NHL between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers and was an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League.
Normand Lacombe is the strength and conditioning coach for the Whitecourt Wolverines of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), and was the head coach of the predecessor Wolverines of the North West Junior Hockey League prior to the AJHL's arrival. Lacombe played 319 games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers, winning the Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1988.
Government
Whitecourt Town Council consists of a mayor and six councillors that were elected in the 2025 municipal election. the members of town council are Mayor Ray Hilts and councillors Tara Baker, Mike Braun, Braden Lanctot, Serena LaPointe, Bill McAree, and Bryan Wynn. The town's chief administrative officer is Peter Smyl.
The Northern Gateway Public Schools division office is in Whitecourt. The school division is responsible for public schools within the geography comprising Lac Ste. Anne County and portions of Woodlands County and the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16, including the towns of Fox Creek, Mayerthorpe, Onoway and Valleyview in addition to Whitecourt.
Whitecourt is within the West Yellowhead provincial electoral district, which is represented by Martin Long of the United Conservative Party. Progressive Conservative George VanderBurg was a four-term MLA for the Whitecourt area until 2015. A resident of Whitecourt, VanderBurg was a businessman and the mayor of the town for nine years prior to his entry into provincial politics.
At the federal level, Whitecourt is within the Peace River—Westlock electoral district, which is represented by Conservative Arnold Viersen. Conservative Rob Merrifield was a four-term MP for the Whitecourt area until 2014. Merrifield is a resident of Whitecourt and a farmer.
Other former politicians who lived in Whitecourt include Raj Pannu, Allen Sulatycky and Rod Fox. Pannu, former MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona and former leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, taught high school in Whitecourt between 1962 and 1964. Sulatycky, judge and former MP for Rocky Mountain, was a lawyer and was elected the first Liberal to represent Whitecourt's constituency in 1968. Fox, former Wildrose Party MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka, was born and raised in Whitecourt.
Infrastructure
Health care
Acute and non-acute medical care is provided at the Whitecourt Healthcare Centre.
Transportation Air