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Fort Providence

Zhahti Koe, Zhahti Kue
Fort Providence from the Mackenzie River
Fort Providence from the Mackenzie River
Fort Providence is located in Northwest Territories
Fort Providence
Fort Providence
Location in Northwest Territories
Fort Providence is located in Canada
Fort Providence
Fort Providence
Location in Canada
Country Canada
Territory Northwest Territories
Region South Slave Region
Constituency Deh Cho
Census division Region 4
Hamlet 1 January 1987
Area
 • Land 255.05 km2 (98.48 sq mi)
Elevation
160 m (520 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total 695
 • Density 2.7/km2 (7/sq mi)
Time zone UTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Canadian Postal code
X0E 0L0
Area code(s) 867
Telephone exchange 699
- Living cost 137.5
- Food price index 134.7
Sources:
Department of Municipal and Community Affairs,
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre,
Canada Flight Supplement
2013 figure based on Edmonton = 100
2015 figure based on Yellowknife = 100

Fort Providence (Slave: Zhahti Koe, Zhahti Kue, lit.'mission house') is a hamlet in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Located west of Great Slave Lake, it has all-weather road connections by way of the Yellowknife Highway (Great Slave Highway) branch off the Mackenzie Highway, and the Deh Cho Bridge opened November 30, 2012, near Fort Providence over the Mackenzie. The bridge replaced the ice bridge and ferry, enabling year-round crossing of the river.

Fort Providence hosts the annual Mackenzie Days celebrations in August each year.

History

Fort Providence was founded in the 1860s as a Catholic mission site. By 1868, the Hudson's Bay Company, which previously has a trading post at Big Island at the source of the MacKenzie River, moved the post to the location of the mission site. From that moment, the settlement was known as Fort Providence. In 1867, the Grey Nuns opened a boarding school and an orphanage in the settlement. Instruction languages were English and French, and most of the nuns originated from Quebec.

Demographics

Federal census population history of Fort Providence
Year Pop. ±%
1976 602 —    
1981 605 +0.5%
1986 588 −2.8%
1991 645 +9.7%
1996 748 +16.0%
2001 753 +0.7%
2006 727 −3.5%
2011 734 +1.0%
2016 695 −5.3%
2021 618 −11.1%
Source: Statistics Canada
Annual population estimates
Year Pop. ±%
1996 774 —    
1997 828 +7.0%
1998 843 +1.8%
1999 842 −0.1%
2000 837 −0.6%
2001 819 −2.2%
2002 803 −2.0%
2003 824 +2.6%
2004 801 −2.8%
2005 799 −0.2%
2006 757 −5.3%
Year Pop. ±%
2007 744 −1.7%
2008 742 −0.3%
2009 752 +1.3%
2010 748 −0.5%
2011 771 +3.1%
2012 778 +0.9%
2013 789 +1.4%
2014 788 −0.1%
2015 798 +1.3%
2016 788 −1.3%
2017 770 −2.3%
Sources: NWT Bureau of Statistics (2001 - 2017)

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Providence had a population of 618 living in 256 of its 292 total private dwellings, a change of -11.1% from its 2016 population of 695. With a land area of 255.49 km2 (98.65 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.4/km2 (6.2/sq mi) in 2021.

In 2016, the majority of its population, 620, were Indigenous people, made up of 590 First Nations, Dene people, and 30 Métis.

First Nations

The Dene of the community are represented by the Deh Gáh Got'ı̨ę First Nation and the Métis by Fort Providence Métis Nation. Both groups belong to the Dehcho First Nations.

Gallery

Fort Providence - panoramio
Fort Providence from the river

Climate

Fort Providence has a continental subarctic climate (Dfc) typical of the Northwest Territories' populated areas. It is marked by a long cold winter season and short, warm summers, that in many ways are warmer than expected for an area so far north. Transition seasons are extremely short, with temperatures rising and falling quickly in respective seasons.

Climate data for Fort Providence, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1943–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6)
9.9
(49.8)
16.5
(61.7)
24.0
(75.2)
31.3
(88.3)
34.4
(93.9)
35.2
(95.4)
36.1
(97.0)
30.3
(86.5)
24.4
(75.9)
12.8
(55.0)
11.8
(53.2)
36.1
(97.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −18.9
(−2.0)
−12.9
(8.8)
−6.2
(20.8)
5.8
(42.4)
12.8
(55.0)
20.9
(69.6)
23.5
(74.3)
20.4
(68.7)
13.4
(56.1)
3.2
(37.8)
−7.7
(18.1)
−15.1
(4.8)
3.3
(37.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −23.4
(−10.1)
−18.7
(−1.7)
−13.6
(7.5)
−1.0
(30.2)
6.3
(43.3)
13.5
(56.3)
16.9
(62.4)
14.0
(57.2)
7.9
(46.2)
−0.8
(30.6)
−11.5
(11.3)
−19.2
(−2.6)
−2.5
(27.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −27.8
(−18.0)
−24.3
(−11.7)
−20.9
(−5.6)
−7.7
(18.1)
−0.3
(31.5)
6.0
(42.8)
10.1
(50.2)
7.6
(45.7)
2.4
(36.3)
−4.8
(23.4)
−15.2
(4.6)
−23.1
(−9.6)
−8.2
(17.2)
Record low °C (°F) −49.4
(−56.9)
−50.0
(−58.0)
−45.0
(−49.0)
−41.1
(−42.0)
−22.2
(−8.0)
−5.6
(21.9)
−2.0
(28.4)
−2.8
(27.0)
−14.4
(6.1)
−27.3
(−17.1)
−44.4
(−47.9)
−49.4
(−56.9)
−50.0
(−58.0)
Average relative humidity (%) 74.9 67.6 53.1 44.4 41.8 41.7 47.1 51.4 57.6 71.3 84.0 80.2 59.6
Source: Environment Canada

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Fort Providence para niños

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