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Lac La Biche (/ˌlæk lə ˈbɪʃ/ LAK lə BISH) is a hamlet in Lac La Biche County within northeast Alberta, Canada.[4] It is located approximately 220 km (140 mi) northeast of the provincial capital of Edmonton. Previously incorporated as a town, Lac La Biche amalgamated with Lakeland County to form Lac La Biche County on August 1, 2007.[1]

Lac La Biche
Urban service area (hamlet)
Main street
Motto(s):  Welcoming by Nature
Location within Lac La Biche County
Lac La Biche Location of Lac La Biche in Alberta Show map of Alberta Lac La Biche Lac La Biche (Canada) Show map of Canada
Coordinates: 54°46′13″N 111°58′45″W
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Northern Alberta
Planning region	Lower Athabasca
Specialized municipality	Lac la Biche
Founded	October 4, 1798
Dissolved	August 1, 2007[1]
Government
• Mayor	Omer Moghrabi
• Governing body	Lac La Biche County Council Darlene Beniuk Colette Borgun Sterling Johnson George L'Heureux Omer Moghrabi Charlyn Moore Jason Stedman Lorin Tkachuk Colin Cote
Area  (2021)[2]
• Land	68.39 km2 (26.41 sq mi)
Elevation [3]	560 m (1,840 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	3,120
• Density	45.6/km2 (118/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Postal code span	T0A 2C0-T0A 2C2 & T0A 3Z0
Area code(s)	-1+780
Highways	Highway 55 Highway 36 Highway 881
Waterway	Lac la Biche
Website	laclabichecounty.com
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Notre Dame des Victoires / Lac La Biche Mission National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	1989

Etymology

The indigenous peoples of the area referred to the lake as Elk Lake (Nêhiyawêwin: wâwâskesiwisâkahikan,[5] Dënesųłiné: tzalith tway).[6] The earliest Europeans translated this name into English as "Red Deer Lake" and in French as "Lac la biche" ("Lake of the doe"). Over time, the French name came to be used in English as well.

History

Historic voyageur highway

Lac La Biche was on the historical voyageur route that linked the Athabaskan region to Hudson Bay. David Thompson and George Simpson used the fur trade route via the Beaver River from the main Methye Portage route that reached the Athabasca River.[7] Thompson was the first known European to record his sojourn on Lac La Biche. Thompson, who referred to the lake as Red Deers Lake, arrived October 4, 1798 and overwintered there. He entered copious notes in his diary on the Nahathaway (the Cree), their customs, traditions, and the Western Forest Land, including the large supply of whitefish and beaver.[8]

Fur trade posts

Although the Montreal-based North West Company was already active in the area,[9] Thompson established the first permanent settlement in Lac La Biche on his 1798 trip, a Hudson's Bay Company trading post [10] which he named Red Deers Lake House.[11] In 1799, Peter Fidler arrived in the area after Thompson's departure, and as the post. This new structure was known as Greenwich House. It was also abandoned by 1801, but Lac La Biche was established as a permanent place of residence for some French-Canadian and Métis freetraders and their families.[12] Fur trade activity continued unbroken, due to the importance of the portage, and Lac La Biche was visited by fur traders such as Gabriel Franchère and Ross Cox. David Thompson returned in 1812.[12]

Another temporary Hudson's Bay Company post was erected in 1817, but the portage was abandoned by the company in 1825. Almost no written records exist for the following two decades.[12]

Oblate mission

A Roman Catholic mission was established in 1853 by Oblate missionaries. Historian Paul Robert Magocsi notes how the settlement grew over the next few decades:

"The French-speaking element, mostly from Red River, coalesced around the Mission. It formed a community that was tightly knit, even though the influence of the church lessened and the trend was towards marrying out and establishing nuclear families. Living was largely off the land; logging and road work provided intermittent wage labour. Many of the adults were trilingual, speaking French and Cree as well as English."[13]

The Lac La Biche Mission is now a National Historic Site and Provincial Historic Resource. It was the site of one of the first residential schools in Alberta.[14][15]

Treaties and insurrection

The Government of Canada sought to extinguish the First Nations' title to the land across the prairies, in order to open the land up to settlement. Treaty 6 was negotiated in 1876 and covered the lands to the south of Lac La Biche.[16]

The new Hudson's Bay Company post at Lac La Biche was looted on April 26, 1885 during the North-West Rebellion by members of Big Bear's band. Their plan to loot the nearby Roman Catholic Mission was stopped by the local Cree and Métis population.[17] Métis Scrip Records show many residents of the area were awarded scrip by the Government of Canada from 1885 until the 1920s.[11]

Treaty 8, covering the lands north of Lac La Biche, was negotiated in 1899. This set the stage for rail and settlement.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lac La Biche had a population of 3,120 living in 1,198 of its 1,458 total private dwellings, a change of -6% from its 2016 population of 3,320. With a land area of 68.39 km² (26.41 sq mi), it had a population density of 45.6/km² (118.2/sq mi) in 2021.[2]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lac La Biche had a population of 2,314 living in 895 of its 1,048 total private dwellings, a change of -8.2% from its 2011 population of 2,520. With a land area of 6.05 km² (2.34 sq mi), it had a population density of 382.5/km² (990.6/sq mi) in 2016.[18]

Lac La Biche County's 2016 municipal census counted a population of 2,682 in Lac La Biche,[19] a -7.4% change from its 2013 municipal census population of 2,895.[20]

Economy

The community is supported by the oil patch, logging, forestry, agriculture, and commercial fishing.

Jamie Davis Towing (featured on the Highway Thru Hell reality show) has an operation in Lac La Biche.[21][22]

Attractions

Lac La Biche is home to the Lac La Biche Golf Course,[23] while numerous lakes and campgrounds provide outdoor recreation opportunities in the area, including Lakeland Provincial Park to the east. Lac La Biche County has a small museum [24] dedicated to sharing the history of the area, it is located in the Jubilee Hall building, beside the recreation grounds where the baseball diamonds, splash park, and green space are also located.

Government

MLAs representing Lac La Biche
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
Part of Victoria (N.W.T.)
3rd	1894–1898		Frank Tims	Independent
4th	1898–1902		Jack Shera
5th	1902–1905
Part of Victoria
1st	1905–1909		Francis Walker	Liberal
Part of Pakan
2nd	1909–1913		Prosper-Edmond Lessard	Liberal
Part of Beaver River
3rd	1913–1917		Wilfrid Gariépy	Liberal
4th	1917–1921
5th	1921–1926		Joseph Dechêne
6th	1926–1930		John Delisle	United Farmers
7th	1930–1935		Henry Dakin	Liberal
8th	1935–1940		Lucien Maynard	Social Credit
9th	1940–1944
10th	1944–1948
11th	1948–1952		Harry Lobay
Part of Lac La Biche
12th	1952–1955		Harry Lobay	Social Credit
13th	1955–1959		Michael Maccagno	Liberal
14th	1959–1963
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1968
	1968		Vacant
	1968–1971		Damase Bouvier	Social Credit
Part of Lac La Biche-McMurray
17th	1971–1972		Damase Bouvier	Social Credit
	1972–1975			Independent
18th	1975–1979		Ron Tesolin	Progressive Conservative
19th	1979–1982		Norm Weiss
20th	1982–1986
Part of Athabasca-Lac La Biche
21st	1986–1989		Leo Piquette	New Democrat
22nd	1989–1993		Mike Cardinal	Progressive Conservative
Part of Lac La Biche-St. Paul
23rd	1993–1994		Paul Langevin	Liberal
	1994–1995			Independent
	1995–1997			Progressive Conservative
24th	1997–2001
25th	2001–2004		Ray Danyluk
26th	2004–2008
27th	2008–2012
Part of Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills
28th	2012–2015		Shayne Saskiw	Wildrose
29th	2015–2017		Dave Hanson
	2017–2019			United Conservative
Part of Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche
30th	2019–		Laila Goodridge	United Conservative

The Hamlet of Lac La Biche comprises Lac La Biche County's Ward 7.[1] Omer Moghrabi was elected as mayor in 2017, Councillors Lorin Tkachuk and Colin Cote represent Ward 7 on Lac La Biche County Council.[25] Provincially, the community has been represented by every major political party in Alberta history (expand table for details).

Infrastructure

Lac La Biche Airport (YLB) is located 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) west of Lac La Biche. It features a fully serviced 5,700 by 100 ft (1,737 by 30 m) paved airstrip.

Education

The main campus of Portage College is located in Lac La Biche. The college has an ACAC hockey team named the Portage Voyageurs. The team's first season began in the fall of 2008.[26]

Northern Lights School Division No. 69

• Vera M. Welsh Elementary School (K-3)
• Aurora Middle School (4–8)
• J.A. Williams High School (9–12)
• Lac La Biche Off-Campus (8–12)

Other

• Light of Christ Catholic School (Preschool-Grade 11)
• École Sainte-Catherine (K-4)

Media

Media outlets serving Lac La Biche and area include the Lac La Biche Post weekly newspaper[27] and the Boom 103.5 radio station.[28]

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of former urban municipalities in Alberta
• List of hamlets in Alberta

References

Sources

• Barkwell, Lawrence J. (2013). Metis scrip claims from Lac la Biche, Alberta under the Dominion Lands Act (Report).
• Dickason, Olive P. (1999). "Metis". In Paul Robert Magocsi (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2938-8.
• Thompson, David (1916). J. B. Tyrrell (ed.). David Thompson's Narrative of his Explorations in Western America 1784–1812. Toronto: Champlain Society. This is the full-text diary of David Thompson which includes numerous references to the Nahathaway in general and to the First Nations of the Lac la Biche region in particular. He describes their belief in life after death and consequences on the human soul for crimes and misdeeds.

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