Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada

🇨🇦 The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a specialized municipality in south-west Alberta, Canada. Within the Rocky Mountains adjacent to the eponymous Crowsnest Pass, the municipality formed as a result of the 1979 amalgamation of five municipalities – the Village of Bellevue, the Town of Blairmore, the Town of Coleman, the Village of Frank, and Improvement District No. 5, which included the Hamlet of Hillcrest and numerous other unincorporated communities.

History The communities in Crowsnest Pass owe their existence to coal mining. The first coal mine in the area opened in 1900. Its ethnic and cultural diversity comes from the many European and other immigrants attracted to the area by the mines. Through the years, coal mining suffered from fluctuating coal prices, bitter strikes, and underground accidents. All the mines on the Alberta side of the pass closed throughout the 20th century as cheaper with the opening of safer open-pit mines on the British Columbia side of the pass. An operating coal mine just across the British Columbia boundary in Sparwood continues to provide employment for residents living in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

Crowsnest Pass is known for tragedy. In 1903, the tip of Turtle Mountain broke loose and decimated part of the Village of Frank. The event was heralded as the Frank Slide). In 1914, the Hillcrest mine disaster occurred near Hillcrest, killing 189 people. Spring floods occurred in 1923 and 1942. Periodic forest fires have swept the valley, including one in the summer of 2003 that threatened the entire municipality.

The area was a centre for "rum-running" during prohibition, from 1916 to 1923, when liquor was illegally brought across the provincial boundary from British Columbia. The legacy is celebrated at the restored Alberta Provincial Police Barracks, which is now an interpretive centre.

On November 3, 1978, the Government of Alberta passed the Crowsnest Pass Municipal Unification Act, which led to the formal amalgamation of Bellevue, Blairmore, Coleman, Frank, and Improvement District (ID) No. 5 on January 1, 1979. The new municipality was granted town status and named the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. A review of the amalgamation in 1983 concluded that the unification led to improved municipal services and housing within the new municipality.

In the mid-1990s, the adjacent ID No. 6 was carved up with portions going to the MD of Pincher Creek No. 9 on December 31, 1994, the MD of Ranchland No. 66 on January 1, 1995, and ID No. 40 on December 31, 1995. Crowsnest Pass then amalgamated with the remainder of ID No. 6 on January 1, 1996, while ID No. 40 was absorbed by the MD of Pincher Creek No. 9 on the same date. The amalgamated municipality retained the name Municipality of Crowsnest Pass and its town status. It subsequently became a specialized municipality on January 16, 2008. The purpose of the status change was to enable membership in the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties for increased alignment with its neighbouring rural municipalities.

Geography The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is in the south-west portion of the province of Alberta. It borders the province of British Columbia to the west, the Municipal District (MD) of Ranchland No. 66 to the north, and the MD of Pincher Creek No. 9 to the east and south. The Crowsnest River, which originates from Crowsnest Lake, meanders eastward through the municipality. Parts of the Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve are in the north-west and southern portions of the municipality.

Communities and localities The following localities are located within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.: • Crowsnest • East Kootenay • Hazell • Hillcrest or Hillcrest Mines • Savanna • Sentinel (also known as Sentry Siding).