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Fox Creek

Article by Deborah Welch, Michael Payne

Published Online April 1, 2008

Last Edited June 29, 2023

Fox Creek, AB, incorporated as a town in 1967, population 1,639 (2021 census), 1,971 (2016 census). The Town of Fox Creek is located 74 km west of Whitecourt.

History

The town is named after a creek that flows through the community. Appearing on maps as early as 1928, it refers to a fox mentioned in a Dominion land surveyor's notebook. Up until the 1950s this was one of the most remote parts of Alberta, until significant oil and natural gas reserves were discovered in the area. Fox Creek is now a service centre to the oil, gas, forestry and tourism industries. The opening of the highway between Whitecourt and Valleyview in 1955 also contributed to the growth of the town.

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