Blairmore, Alberta

Blairmore is a community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a town prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass. Blairmore is the principal commercial centre of Crowsnest Pass.

Blairmore Tenth Siding The Springs
Former village
The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Bar in Blairmore
Blairmore Show map of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Blairmore Show map of Alberta
Coordinates: 49°36′29″N 114°26′20″W
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Census division	No. 15
Specialized municipality	Municipality of Crowsnest Pass
Village	September 3, 1901[1]
Town	September 29, 1911[2]
Amalgamated	January 1, 1979[3]
Government
• Type	Unincorporated
• Governing body	Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Council
Area
• Land	2.04 km2 (0.79 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[4]
• Total	1,522
• Density	741.6/km2 (1,921/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)

History

Old mine in Blairmore

Originally a Canadian Pacific Railway stop called Tenth Siding or The Springs (for the cold sulphur spring to the east), the settlement was renamed Blairmore in November 1898 and it got a post office the following year.^[5] A ten-year dispute over land ownership between the CPR station agent and the section foreman stunted early development.^[6] The community was incorporated as the Village of Blairmore on September 3, 1901.^[1] Blairmore's principal industry was lumber and, after 1907, coal. Other industries soon followed. Blairmore incorporated as a town on September 29, 1911.^[2] With the declining fortunes of the nearby community of Frank, Blairmore soon became the region's economic centre. The Greenhill mine, located just north of Blairmore, became the mainstay of the community until its closure in 1957.^{[citation needed]}

One of the town's early residents was Emilio Picariello (1875 – 1923). "Emperor Pic" settled in Blairmore in 1918 and operated several businesses, but also illegally imported alcohol from nearby British Columbia during prohibition. Picariello and Florence Lassandro were hanged in 1923 after the shooting death of Alberta Provincial Police constable Steve Lawson in 1922.^[7][8]

Like many Canadian industrial towns in the 1930s, Blairmore had some sympathies with Communism. Canada's first Communist town council and school board were elected in Blairmore in 1933, which reformed the tax system, and refused to observe Remembrance Day as an Imperialist holiday and honoured the Russian Revolution instead. A street was named after the leader of the Communist Party of Canada, Tim Buck, a decision that was reversed by the next town council.^[9]

View of Coleman against the backdrop of the Canadian Rockies

On November 3, 1978, the Government of Alberta passed the Crowsnest Pass Municipal Unification Act, which led to the formal amalgamation of the Town of Blairmore with the Village of Bellevue, the Town of Coleman, the Village of Frank, and Improvement District (ID) No. 5 on January 1, 1979.^[3]

Canadian Militia

From 1946 to 1965, Blairmore was home to Canadian Militia units associated with the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers. From 1946 to 1950, No. 22 Armoured Workshop existed prior to being renamed as a Troop of 39 Technical Squadron (1950–1954) and eventually the 31st Technical Squadron (1954–1965). During this time, the Squadron had a band which regularly paraded within the town as well as a 535 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, which existed until 1971.

Geography

Blairmore is located in southwest Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. It is approximately 135 km (84 mi) west of Lethbridge on Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway) and approximately 20 km (12 mi) east of the British Columbia border.^[10] Fellow Crowsnest Pass communities Frank and Coleman are 3 km (1.9 mi) to the east and 6 km (3.7 mi) to the west respectively.

Geology

Volcanic rocks in the Blairmore area are related to the Crowsnest Formation. As a geological unit, the volcanics received some attention in the late 1980s when geologists stated they had found trace amounts of gold in certain units of the volcanics.^[11] Blairmorite, a rare volcanic rock of the Crowsnest Formation, is named after Blairmore.^[12]

Demographics

Population history of Blairmore

Year Pop. ±% 1901 231 —     1906 449 +94.4% 1911 1,137 +153.2% 1916 1,219 +7.2% 1921 1,552 +27.3% 1926 1,609 +3.7% 1931 1,629 +1.2% 1936 1,682 +3.3% 1941 1,731 +2.9% 1946 1,767 +2.1% 1951 1,933 +9.4% 1956 1,973 +2.1% 1961 1,980 +0.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1966 1,779 −10.2% 1971 2,037 +14.5% 1976 2,321 +13.9% 1981 2,384 +2.7% 1986 2,256 −5.4% 1991 2,163 −4.1% 1996 2,118 −2.1% 2001 1,993 −5.9% 2006 1,830 −8.2% 2011 1,723 −5.8% 2016 1,545 −10.3% 2021 1,522 −1.5%
Source: Statistics Canada[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][4]

In the 2021 Census of Population, the urban population centre of Blairmore, as delineated by Statistics Canada, recorded a population of 1,522 living in 731 of its 896 total private dwellings, a change of -1.5% from its 2016 population of 1,545. With a land area of 2.04 km² (0.79 sq mi), it had a population density of 746.1/km² (1,932.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[4]

As a population centre in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Blairmore recorded a population of 1,545 living in 731 of its 886 total private dwellings, a 1.6% change from its 2011 population of 1,521. With a land area of 2.04 km² (0.79 sq mi), it had a population density of 757.4/km² (1,961.5/sq mi) in 2016.^[24]

See also

• List of former urban municipalities in Alberta

References

1. North-West Territories Gazette. Government of the North-West Territories. October 15, 1901. p. 4.
2. Alberta Gazette. Vol. 7. Government of Alberta. October 14, 1911. p. 588.
3. "Location and History Profile – Municipality of Crowsnest Pass" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. October 15, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
4. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
5. Crowsnest Pass Historical Society (1979). Crowsnest and its people. Coleman: Crowsnest Pass Historical Society. p. 39. ISBN 0-88925-046-4. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
6. Crowsnest and its People Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 1979
7. "The day Emilio Picariello and Florence Losandro gunned down Const. Stephen Lawson". calgarysun.com. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
8. "The only woman hanged in Alberta". edmontonjournal.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
9. Crownest Pass Promoter Archived 2006-03-23 at the Wayback Machine - street name controversy
10. Your Official Road Map of Alberta (Map) (2014 ed.). Travel Alberta.
11. Mineral Assessment Report 20060025 - A report for Assessment in reference to Metallic and Industrial Minerals Permit 9304091032
12. Pearce, T.H. "Analcime phenocrysts in igneous rocks: Primary or secondary? – Discussion" (PDF). American Mineralogist 78: 225–229, 1993. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2014-10-06.
13. "Table 1: Population by sexes in 1906 and 1901". 1906 Census: Northwest Provinces (Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta) (PDF). Vol. I: Population of 1906 Compared with 1901. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1907. pp. 55–78. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
14. "Table 5: Population of urban centres, 1916–1946, with guide to locations". 1946 Census of Alberta (PDF). Vol. Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. August 22, 1949. pp. 397–400. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
15. "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1901–1961". 1961 Census of Canada (PDF). Series 1.1: Historical, 1901–1961. Vol. I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. March 8, 1963. p. 6.77–6.83. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
16. "Table 10: Population of incorporated cities, towns and villages, 1966 and 1961, with guide to locations". 1961 Census of Canada (PDF). Vol. Population: Incorporated Cities, Towns and Villages. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. October 1967. pp. 10–1 to 10–32. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
17. "Table 2: Area and Density of Population, for Census Subdivisions Population by census subdivisions, 1971 (Alberta)". 1971 Census of Canada (PDF). Special Bulletin: Geography. Vol. Land Areas and Densities of Statistical Units. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. June 1973. pp. 2–41 to 2–44. Retrieved October 24, 2021.^{[permanent dead link]}
18. Population: Geographic Distributions – Census Divisions and Subdivisions, Western Provinces and the Territories. Statistics Canada. June 1977. pp. 3–41.
19. Census Canada 1986: Population (PDF). Alberta: Population and Dwelling Counts – Provinces and Territories. Statistics Canada. June 1977. pp. 12–1 to 12–2. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
20. "Table 16: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Urban Areas, 1991 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data". 96 Canada (PDF). A National Overview: Population and Dwelling Counts. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. April 1997. pp. 184–198. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
21. "Population and Dwelling Counts and Population Rank, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Urban Areas, 2001 Census - 100% Data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. August 15, 2012. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
22. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and urban areas, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. July 20, 2021. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
23. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and population centres, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. July 25, 2021. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
24. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and population centres, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 7, 2018. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2021.