Bonnyville

Bonnyville is a town situated in East Northern Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87 surrounds the community.

The community derives its name from Father Bonnie, a French priest.

Geography

Bonnyville is located on the north shore of Jessie Lake. The lake is an important staging area for thousands of migrating birds, and therefore attracts birdwatchers. Other nearby lakes include Moose Lake and Muriel Lake.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Bonnyville had a population of 6,404 living in 2,537 of its 2,986 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 5,975. With a land area of Template:Cvt, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.

The population of the Town of Bonnyville according to its 2017 municipal census is 6,422, a change of from its 2014 municipal census population of 6,921.

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Bonnyville recorded a population of 5,975 living in 2,281 of its 2,706 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 6,216. With a land area of , it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2016.

Population controversy

The determination of the Town of Bonnyville's population has been subject to controversy since 2006. Statistics Canada's February 2017 release of the population and dwelling counts from the 2016 census reported an overall population of 5,417, which was Template:Nts residents fewer than 6,921 permanent residents the municipality counted in its own census conducted in 2014, and Template:Nts less than the 6,216 counted in Statistics Canada's 2011 census. The population count as initially reported by Statistics Canada resulted in a change of -12.9%, which gave Bonnyville the distinction of being the municipality in Canada, among those with at least 5,000 inhabitants, that experienced the greatest percentage loss in population between 2011 and 2016. The Town of Bonnyville disputed the 2016 census results and conducted its own census in 2017 that counted a population of 6,422, which was Template:Nts higher than the 2016 population published by Statistics Canada and Template:Nts less than what the town had counted in 2014. Later in 2017, Statistics Canada issued a revised 2016 population count of 5,975 for Bonnyville, Template:Nts higher than the originally reported population of 5,417.

Language

Although English is the dominant language in Bonnyville, it is home to a notable Franco-Albertan minority. Its most common non-official mother tongues are Tagalog and Ukrainian.

Mother tongue, 2016 census	Number of speakers	Percentage
English	4,390	81.1%
French	335	6.2%
Tagalog	140	2.6%
Ukrainian	60	1.1%
Other	370	6.8%
Multiple responses	120	2.2%
Total responses	5,415	100.0%

Visible minorities and Aboriginals

Visible minority and Aboriginal population (Canada 2016 Census)
Population group		Population	% of total population
White		4,155
Visible minority group	South Asian	35
	Chinese	2
	Black	30
	Filipino	255
	Latin American	25
	Arab	110
	Southeast Asian	0
	West Asian	0
	Korean	0
	Japanese	10
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	0
	Multiple visible minority	15
Total visible minority population		545
Aboriginal group	First Nations	270
	Métis	440
	Inuit	0
	Aboriginal, n.i.e.	15
	Multiple Aboriginal identity	0
Total Aboriginal population		710
Total population		5,410	100%

Economy

Bonnyville's economy is founded on its nearby petroleum reserves as well as its agricultural sector which consists mostly of grain farming and livestock.

As Bonnyville sits on the edge of the Athabasca and Cold Lake Tar Sands, among Canada's largest crude oil reserves, petrol companies like Imperial Oil and Canadian Natural Resources Limited have invested significantly to tap resources in the area.

Besides the aforementioned agricultural sectors, the municipality has seen increases in game farming, as well as specialty crop output. It is also home to one of the largest tree nurseries in Alberta, the Bonnyville Tree Nursery, with an area of around 52000 square feet dedicated to its operation.

Its location between the markets of St. Paul and Cold Lake drives much of its commercial activity, especially due to the latter's air force base.

Attractions

In celebration of Bonnyville's centennial year (2007), the town constructed the Centennial Centre, an educational and recreational centre, as an extension of the R. J. Lalonde Arena and the Bonnyville & District Agriplex. Its construction was somewhat controversial as its cost exceeded the original estimate and required a tax hike for both residents of the town and the municipal district.

Sports

Bonnyville is home to the Bonnyville Pontiacs, a junior hockey team playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and also a senior hockey team, The Bonnyville Senior Pontiacs. The teams plays out of the R. J. Lalonde Arena, which is part of the Bonnyville & District Centennial Centre.

Government

MLAs representing Bonnyville
Assembly	Years	Member		Party
Part of St. Paul
6th	1926–1930	Template:Canadian party colour|	Laudas Joly	United Farmers
7th	1930–1935	Template:Canadian party colour|	Joseph Dechene	Liberal
8th	1935–1940	rowspan=4 Template:Canadian party colour|	Joseph Beaudry	Social Credit
9th	1940–1944
10th	1944–1948
11th	1948–1952
Part of Bonnyville
12th	1952–1955	Template:Canadian party colour|	Laudas Joly	Social Credit
13th	1955–1959	Template:Canadian party colour|	Jake Josvanger	Liberal
14th	1959–1961	Template:Canadian party colour|	Karl Nordstrom	Social Credit
	1961	Template:Canadian party colour|	Vacant
	1961–1963	rowspan=3 Template:Canadian party colour|	Romeo Lamothe	Social Credit
15th	1963–1967
16th	1967–1971
17th	1971–1975	rowspan=6 Template:Canadian party colour|	Donald Hansen	Progressive Conservative
18th	1975–1979
19th	1979–1982	Ernie Isley
20th	1982–1986
21st	1986–1989
22nd	1989–1993
23rd	1993–1997	Template:Canadian party colour|	Leo Vasseur	Liberal
Part of Bonnyville-Cold Lake
24th	1997–2001	rowspan=5 Template:Canadian party colour|	Denis Ducharme	Progressive Conservative
25th	2001–2004
26th	2004–2008
27th	2008–2012	Genia Leskiw
28th	2012–2015
29th	2015–2017	Template:Canadian party colour|	Scott Cyr	Wildrose
	2017–2019	Template:Canadian party colour|		United Conservative
Part of Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul
30th	2019–	Template:Canadian party colour|	TBD

Bonnyville Town Council is composed of a mayor and six councilors, all directly elected at large. The current mayor, as of the 2021 election, is Elisa Brosseau. The offices of the Municipal District of Bonnyville are located within the town.

Bonnyville is located within the Bonnyville-Cold Lake provincial electoral district. The current MLA is Scott Cyr, the United Conservative Party, elected in 2023. Previous MLAs include Genia Leskiw and Denis Ducharme.

Federally, Bonnyville falls within the electoral district of Lakeland, a newly re-created riding which is currently held by Shannon Stubbs of the Conservative Party, also first elected in 2015.

Education

Lakeland Catholic School District No. 150 and Northern Lights School Division No. 69 operate public schools within Bonnyville.

Lakeland Catholic School District No. 150

• École Notre Dame Elementary School (offering kindergarten through grade 4 English and French programming)
• École Dr. Bernard Brosseau School (offering grade 5 through grade 8 English and French programming)
• École Notre Dame High School (offering grade 9 through grade 12 programming and a great handball team)

Northern Lights School Division No. 69

• Duclos School (offering kindergarten through grade 4 programming)
• H.E. Bourgoin School (offering grade 5 through grade 8 programming)
• Bonnyville Centralized High School (offering grade 9 through grade 12 programming)
• Bonnyville Outreach School (offering grade 9 through grade 12 programming)

Conseil scolaire Centre-Est

• École des Beaux-Lacs (French school offering kindergarten through grade 12 programming)

Media

• Bonnyville is served by CKSA-TV-2 (VHF channel 9), a rebroadcaster of Citytv affiliate CKSA-DT in Lloydminster.
• Bonnyville is home to 2 FM radio stations, Hot 101.3 FM (CJEG-FM), owned by Stingray Digital with a CHR/Top 40 format, and Country 99 (CFNA-FM) at 99.7 with a Country format, owned by Vista Radio.
• Bonnyville is served by two local newspapers: the Bonnyville Nouvelle, which recently became a regional paper under the name of Lakeland This Week, features news from Bonnyville, St. Paul, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche, and Elk Point. Respect, launched in 2018, is a locally owned regional newspaper "for seniors (and seniors-to-be)."

Notable people

• Théodore Arcand, diplomat
• Tanner Boser, mixed martial artist
• Denis Ducharme, former provincial politician
• Tyler Ennis, former professional hockey player
• Justin Fontaine, professional hockey player
• Ernie Isley, former provincial politician and mayor
• Jon Kalinski, professional hockey player
• Eugenia "Genia" Leskiw, Canadian politician, Progressive Conservative (MLA 2008-2015)
• Mike Plume, country music singer and songwriter

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of francophone communities in Alberta
• List of towns in Alberta