Telkwa

Telkwa is a village located along British Columbia Highway 16, nearly 15 kilometres (9 mi) southeast of the town of Smithers and 350 kilometres (220 mi) west of the city of Prince George, in northwest British Columbia, Canada.^[2]

Telkwa
Village
The Corporation of the Village of Telkwa[1]
Motto(s):  Where rivers meet and friends gather.
Telkwa Location of Telkwa in British Columbia Show map of British Columbia Telkwa Telkwa (Canada) Show map of Canada
Coordinates: 54°41′50″N 127°03′00″W[2]
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Bulkley Valley
Regional district	Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako
Incorporated	1952 (1952)
Government
• Governing body	Telkwa Village Council
Area
• Total	7.04 km2 (2.72 sq mi)
Elevation	520 m (1,710 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Total	1,460
• Density	191.9/km2 (497/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Highway	British Columbia Highway 16
Waterways	Bulkley River, Tyhee Lake
Website	www.telkwa.ca

History

Settlement in the area began around 1904 in a townsite known as Aldermere on the hill above Telkwa. Around 1907, people began to move down the hill to be closer to water supplies and the anticipated route of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The name Telkwa is possibly an Indigenous term for "meeting of the waters" which appropriately describes the confluence of the Bulkley and Telkwa Rivers in town.^[3]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Telkwa had a population of 1,474 living in 562 of its 584 total private dwellings, a change of 11.1% from its 2016 population of 1,327. With a land area of 7.04 km² (2.72 sq mi), it had a population density of 209.4/km² (542.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[4]

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Telkwa included:^[5]

• Irreligion (910 persons or 61.9%)
• Christianity (510 persons or 34.7%)
• Judaism (15 persons or 1.0%)
• Other (35 persons or 2.4%)

Attractions

The history of the town can be explored at the Telkwa Museum and on a tour of the historic former town site of Aldermere. Telkwa hosts an annual barbecue and demolition derby on Labour Day weekend. The town also has Eddy Park, at the riverside, with a small gazebo right off the highway to sit and have a picnic and watch the Bulkley River go by.

There are four trails: the 8 km Hunter Basin Road, the 12.5 km Winfield Creek Road Trail, the 10.5 km McDowell Lake Trail, and the 51 km Telkwa Pass Trail.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Via Rail's Jasper – Prince Rupert train calls at the Telkwa railway station several times per week.^[6]