Grande Prairie, Alta, City, pop 47 076 (2006c), 36 983 (2001c), inc 1958. Grande Prairie is located 460 km northwest of Edmonton. Surrounded by rich agricultural land, it is the business and transportation centre of the PEACE RIVER region.

HistoryAlthough the area had been the domain of fur traders since Alexander MACKENZIE ascended the Peace R (1792-93), the present townsite was not settled until 1881, when Tom Kerr erected an HBC trading post. Shortly thereafter, Louie Callihou, a part-Iroquois farmer who sowed grain, constructed the first barn and corral. The community received its name from Father Grouard, an RC missionary who labelled the gently undulating wilderness "la grande prairie." After 1900 a trickle of pioneers traversed the Edson Trail and ATHABASCA LANDING TRAIL and took up homesteads here. Growth continued with completion of the Edmonton, Dunvegan and BC Ry extension line in 1916.

EconomyHistorically, Grande Prairie has evolved around agriculture. With demobilization following WWI, soldier settlement schemes, continued high wheat prices and publicity for the Peace R district as Canada's new agrarian mecca, migration increased throughout the 1920s. Strategically situated with a vast expanse of fertile land N, E and W, Grande Prairie by the 1930s served as the wholesale centre for the region. Although its population was only 1464 (1931c), its retail business in 1929-30 surpassed $2 million. In recent years the city's economy has become diversified, with the forestry and petroleum industries augmenting agri-business. The major employer is Procter and Gamble (which completed an $80-million pulp mill 1973) followed by North Canadian Forest Industries.

Grande Prairie experienced an unprecedented boom 1978-80 due largely to the discovery of the Elmworth "deep-basin," a major gas field near the city. Extensive gas and oil activity with its concomitant impetus to the commercial and service industries resulted in a large population increase 1979-80. Between 1981 and 1987 the growth in population slowed as a result of the economic stagnation. By 1987, however, increased activity in the oil and gas industry and in forestry brought renewed interest in the area.

Cityscape The city contains beautiful parkland surrounding a man-made reservoir in its centre. Cultural life is focused on the regional college (designed by Douglas CARDINAL), which provides not only diverse educational opportunities, but possesses one of the finest auditoriums in western Canada.