Smith, Alberta

Smith is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124.^[2] It is located on Highway 2A, approximately 182 kilometres (113 mi) northwest of Edmonton, at the confluence of the Lesser Slave River and the Athabasca River.

Smith
Hamlet
Smith Location of Smith Show map of M.D. of Lesser Slave River Smith Smith (Alberta) Show map of Alberta
Coordinates: 55°09′46″N 114°02′13″W
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Northern Alberta
Census division	17
Municipal district	Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124
Government
• Type	Unincorporated
• Governing body	Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124 Council
Area  (2021)[1]
• Land	2.42 km2 (0.93 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	227
• Density	93.7/km2 (243/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Area codes	780, 587, 825
Waterways	Athabasca River, Lesser Slave River

History

The settlement of Smith began in 1914 after the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway had reached the present location of the hamlet. The arrival of railway resulted in subdivision of the townsite.^[3]

As a result of the establishment of Smith, the previously established Village of Port Cornwall located 1.4 km (0.87 mi) to the northwest, across the Athabasca River on the north shore of Lesser Slave River, began to deteriorate. Subsequently, Port Cornwall dissolved from village status on September 11, 1917.^[4]

Demographics

Population history
of Smith

Year	Pop.	±%
1941	90	—
1951	192	+113.3%
1956	271	+41.1%
1961	86	−68.3%
1966	133	+54.7%
1971	445	+234.6%
1976	353	−20.7%
1981	216	−38.8%
1986	251	+16.2%
1991	258	+2.8%
1991A	263	+1.9%
1996	264	+0.4%
2001	262	−0.8%
2006	229	−12.6%
2011	218	−4.8%
2016	148	−32.1%
2021	227	+53.4%
Source: Statistics Canada [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][1]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Smith had a population of 227 living in 90 of its 101 total private dwellings, a change of 53.4% from its 2016 population of 148. With a land area of 2.42 km² (0.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 93.8/km² (242.9/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Smith had a population of 148 living in 55 of its 76 total private dwellings, a change of -32.1% from its 2011 population of 218. With a land area of 2.45 km² (0.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 60.4/km² (156.5/sq mi) in 2016.^[18]

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of designated places in Alberta
• List of hamlets in Alberta