Fort St. John, British Columbia
History
Over the years the community has been moved a number of times for varying economic reasons. The present location is thought to be its sixth. The original trading post built in the area was named Rocky Mountain House. It was established one year after Sir Alexander Mackenzie explored the area in 1793. One of a series of forts along the Peace River constructed to service the fur trade, it was located southwest of the present site of Fort St. John. The Dunneza and Sikanni First Nations used it as a trading post. It was also used as a supply depot for further expeditions into the territory. The fort closed in 1805. Fort d'Epinette was built in 1806 by the North West Company. It was renamed Fort St. John in 1821 following the purchase of the North West Company by the Hudson's Bay Company. This fort was located about 500 metres downstream from the mouth of the Beatton River, which at that time was known as the Pine River (d'epinette in French). It was shut down in 1823.After a lapse of nearly forty years, Fort St. John was reopened in 1860 on the south side of the Peace River, directly south of the present community. It was moved in 1872 by Francis Work Beatton directly across the river. This community lasted until 1925 when the river ceased to be the main avenue of transportation and the fort was moved closer to where settlers were establishing homesteads. The new town was constructed at Fish Creek, northwest of the present community, on the new trail to Fort Nelson. It did not shut down until 1975. In 1928, C. M. Finch moved his general store to two quarters of land where he also built a government building to house the land, telegraph and post offices. The present site for the town was firmly established after he donated five acres (20,000 m²) for a Roman Catholic Church and additional land for a hospital.
Demographics
The first census to include Fort St. John as a defined subdivision occurred in 1951 and recorded 884 people. The population rapidly increased, doubling almost every 5 years for 15 years so that by 1966 there were 6,749 residents living in the community. Population growth slowed in the 1970s, rising by 1,551 people, from 8,264 in 1971 to 9,815 in 1978. However, by 1981 the population had swelled to 14,337 people, an increase of 4,522 people in just 3 years. A recession in the 1980s kept the population from reaching 15,000 until 1994. However, Fort St. John has managed to become the largest city in the BC Peace, and second largest after Grande Prairie in the entire Peace region, which encompasses both the provinces of BC and Alberta. Since then, the population has continued to rise steadily at about 2% a year.
| Canada 2001 Census | ||
| Fort St. John | British Columbia | |
| Median age | 29.6 years | 38.4 years |
| Under 15 years old | 23% | 18% |
| Between 25 and 44 years old | 36% | 30% |
| Over 65 years old | 6% | 14% |
| Visible minority | 3% | 21% |
| Protestant | 38% | 31% |
Police protection is contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which operates a 26 officer municipal detachment and a 10 member rural detachment from the city. In 2005, the municipal detachment reported 4,048 Criminal Code of Canada offenses, which translates into a crime rate of 228 Criminal Code offenses per 1,000 people, much higher than the provincial average of 125 offenses. During that year, compared to the provincial average, the RCMP reported much higher crime rates in Fort St. John for cocaine, cannabis, non-sexual assaults, property damage, and arson related offences. However, the city had lower crime rates for robbery, theft from motor vehicles, and business break-and-enters.
Geography and climate
| Weather Averages, 1971-2000 | ||
| Time | Temperature | Precipitation |
| January | −14.2 °C (6.4 °F) | 26 mm (1.0 in) |
| July | 15.7 °C (60.3 °F) | 83 mm (3.3 in) |
| Average annual precipitation - 465.6 mm (18.3 in) | ||
Infrastructure
Fort St. John is the transportation hub of the region. The main highway, Highway 97 (Alaska Highway), built in 1942 by the United States Army, runs through the city, north to Fort Nelson, the Yukon, and Alaska. As the highway goes over the Peace River to Dawson Creek, it reduced the community's dependence on the river for transportation. Within the city the streets are laid out in a grid pattern. The main streets are the north-south 100 Street and the east-west 100 Avenue. The rail line that runs by the eastern and northern borders was extended from Chetwynd by the Pacific Great Eastern Railway with the first train arriving in 1958. The only commercial airport between Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson is the Fort St. John Airport located a few miles east of the city. The two runway airport has Air Canada Jazz and other smaller airlines such as Central Mountain Air and Peace Air, with regularly scheduled flights and North Cariboo Air providing chartered flights. Greyhound Bus lines, which has a bus stop in the city, operates a route along the highway, north to Whitehorse (via Fort Nelson) and south to Dawson Creek.
The city's water and sewer infrastructure pumps water from the Peace River and is filtered, chlorinated and florinated before being distributed. Sewage is processed in one of two lagoons. The lagoon south of the city releases the processed effluent into the Peace River and the lagoon north of the city releases into the Beatton River. Storm sewer run with the sanitary sewers but is directed into the rivers without going through the lagoons. The city's fire department has volunteer and professional members and cover the city plus five miles into the rural areas.
Culture, recreation and media
As the urban centre for approximately 30,000 people, much of the region's receational and cultural facilities are located in town. Within the city, the Centennial Park groups much of these facilities in a central location close to residences and businesses. This large park includes the Fort St. John North Peace Museum, the North Peace Leisure Pool, the North Peace Arena (home of the Fort St. John Huskies), a separate arena for children, an 8 sheet curling rink, as well as an outdoor water park and speed skating oval. Other parks in the area include the City-maintained Fish Creek Community Forest, and about 10 km (6 miles) northwest of town the Beatton Provincial Park and Charlie Lake Provincial Park. In the center of town is the North Peace Cultural Centre which houses the Fort St. John Public Library, a theatre, and the Peace Gallery North art gallery.
Fort St. John hosted the BC Winter Games in 1984 and the Northern BC Winter Games in 1975, 1976, 1994, 2000, and 2007. Every August, the Great Canadian Welding Competition is held in Fort St. John which sees welding artists fill Centennial Park creating statues on the year's given theme. In January the annual High on Ice Winter Carnival has a frozen Centennial Park filled with ice sculpters competing and other special winter-related activities occurring around town.
Fort St. John is served with several regional newspapers. The Alaska Highway News and the Dawson Creek Daily News, both part of the Canwest Global chain of local papers, are dailies available in the city. The Alaska Highway News, along with the free weekly Northeast News and The Northerner, are published in town and focuses more on Fort St. John news whereas the Dawson Creek Daily News is published in Dawson Creek. Local free magazine Northern Groove focuses on local music and live entertainment events in Fort St. John and area and is published every two months. The radio stations broadcasting from Fort St. John include 98.5 Energy FM (CHRX), 101.5 The Bear FM (CKNL), 92.5 Sunrise FM (CIAM) and 100.1 Moose FM (CKFU), while 890 CJDC AM is available but broadcasted from Dawson Creek. Fort St. John has several community webpages with news, entertainment, sports, classifieds and community events such as www.energeticcity.ca, www.fsjnow.com, and www.northerngroove.com.
Economy and education
As the urban center for a rural and farming population of about 12,000 people and home to 18,000 people, Fort St. John is a retail, service and industrial center. The province's oil and gas industry, including the provincial Oil and Gas Commission is centered in the city. Forestry has become more important to the city since the opening of an oriented strand board plant in 2005. Agriculture has been the mainstay of the economy servicing and providing a market for the upland prairies.| Economy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rate | Town | Province |
| Unemployment rate | 9.1% | 8.5% |
| Participation rate | 77.9% | 65.2% |
| Poverty rate | 12.1% | 17.8% |
| Average male income | $54,252 | $50,191 |
| Average female income | $31,083 | $35,895 |
There are 14 public schools in the municipality, but only one secondary school, administered by School District 60 Peace River North. Northern Lights College opened a campus here in 1981 on the north end of town. The 2001 Census estimated that only 10% of people in Fort St. John between 20 and 64 years old graduated from a university, less than half of the 24% provincial average and 27% did not graduate from secondary school, 7% higher than the provincial average.
Government and politics
The City of Fort St. John has a council-manager form of municipal government. A six member council, along with one mayor, is elected at-large every three years. In the 19 November 2005 civic election former RCMP officer and city councillor Jim Eglinski, defeated the incumbent mayor of 15 years, Steve Thorlakson. The mayor and one city councillor represent Fort St. John on the Board of Directors of the Peace River Regional District. Three board of education trustees, for representation on School District 60 Peace River North, are also elected by the city.Fort St. John is situated in the Peace River North provincial electoral district and is represented by Richard Neufeld in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Neufeld was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 1991 provincial election with the BC Social Credit Party taking 56% of votes cast at the Fort St. John polls and re-elected with Reform BC in 1996 with 44% support, and with the BC Liberal Party in 2001 and 2005 with 73% and 59% of Fort St. John polls, respectively. He has served as the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources since 2001.
Federally, Fort St. John is located in the Prince George—Peace River riding, which is represented in the House of Commons by Conservative Party Member of Parliament Jay Hill. Born and raised in Fort St. John, Hill was first elected in 1993, then re-elected in 1997, 2000, and 2004 with 74%, 77%, and 70% support from Fort St. John polls, respectively. He is the current Chief Government Whip and was formerly the Whip for the Canadian Alliance. Before Hill the riding was represented, from 1972 to 1993, by Frank Oberle of the Progressive Conservative Party who served as Minister of State for Science and Technology from 1985 to 1989 and Minister of Forestry from 1990 to 1993.
