Maple Creek is a town in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek No. 111. The population was 2,176 at the 2021 Census.
The town is southeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta, and north of the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park on Highway 21 and south of the Trans-Canada Highway. Maple Creek runs along the west side of town.
History
After the North-West Mounted Police had been established at Fort Walsh, settlers began to explore the Cypress Hills area, living along the creeks and doing small-scale ranching. The Department of the Interior was operating a First Nations farm on the Maple Creek, a few miles south from the present town site. In 1882-1883 the First Nations (mainly Cree, Saulteaux, and Assiniboine) were moved to Qu'Appelle, and the farm was then operated by Major Shurtleff, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and George Wood, his brother-in-law.
In the winter of 1882, a Canadian Pacific Railway construction crew of 12 decided to winter where the town of Maple Creek now stands. This marked the establishment of Maple Creek.
In June 2010, a flood submerged some of the town when Maple Creek overflowed its banks. The same flood hit much of southwestern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta and even destroyed a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Heritage sites There are two designated municipal heritage Properties in Maple Creek: The W. R. Orr Heritage Building was constructed in 1910 and over its history it has housed the Union Bank of Canada; W.R. Orr Law Office; Royal Bank of Canada; Bank of Montreal; Burnett & Orr Law Office. The St. Mary's Anglican Church was constructed in 1909 in the Romanesque style. The church also contains a vestry, narthex, and octagonal belfry with steeple that was added in 1928.
Demographics
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Maple Creek had a population of 2,176 living in 988 of its 1,083 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,084. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Population by ethnic origin, 2021 Ethnic group Population Percent First Nations (North American Indian) 90 Métis 70 Multiple Indigenous responses 15 South Asian 35 Chinese 35 Filipino 70 European 1,960 Totals 2,240 100%
Climate Maple Creek experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). With the exception of southwestern Alberta, winters in Maple Creek are typically warmer than those in the adjacent plain region of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, being a convergence point for Chinook winds originating along the Rocky Mountain Front.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Maple Creek was on August 5, 1961. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on February 15 and 16, 1936.
Education
The Sidney Street School and the Maple Creek Composite School serve the local community.
Great Plains College operates a satellite campus in Maple Creek.
Notable people Cheryl Bawtinheimer – Canadian activist, media producer, and whistleblower; former member and prominent critic of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. Stuart John Cameron, member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for Regina South Barry Dean, former National Hockey League (NHL) player Quick Dick McDick (Dickson Delorme), YouTuber, farmer, comedian Gordon Poirier, former NHL player Zack Smith, former NHL player
See also Maple Creek Airport List of communities in Saskatchewan List of towns in Saskatchewan
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