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Picture Butte
Town
Town of Picture Butte
Nickname(s): 
Livestock Feeding Capital of Canada
Picture Butte is located in Alberta
Picture Butte
Picture Butte
Location in Alberta
Country Canada
Province Alberta
Region Southern Alberta
Census division 2
Municipal district Lethbridge County
Incorporated  
 • Village February 4, 1943
 • Town January 1, 1960
Area
 (2021)
 • Land 3.02 km2 (1.17 sq mi)
Elevation
905 m (2,969 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total 1,930
 • Density 639.7/km2 (1,657/sq mi)
Time zone UTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
Postal code span
T0K 1V0
Highways Highway 25
Highway 519
Waterway Oldman River

Picture Butte is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located 27 km (17 mi) north of the city of Lethbridge. It claims the title of "Livestock Feeding Capital of Canada."

Name

In 2010, Ernest and Austin Mardon stated that "the name is descriptive, being a translation of the Blackfoot 'the beautiful hill.'"

History

Picture Butte received its name from a prominence southeast of town. By 1947, however, the prominence's soil had been reworked and used for street improvements, highway construction and a dyke on the shore of the Picture Butte Lake Reservoir. The prominence no longer exists.

Homesteading in the area began in the early 20th century. The building of the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation System in 1923 and the CPR rail line in 1925 stimulated an influx of settlers. The first post office opened in 1925.

In 1943, Picture Butte became a village, and it attained town status in 1961 with a population of 978.

The Canadian Sugar Factory closed in 1978 and resulted in the loss of tax revenues and employment opportunities to the town. Industrial activity consists of small service, warehousing and wholesaling industries.

Scholten Farms logo
Scholten farms

The town annexed approximately 165 acres (0.67 km2) in 1991, significantly changing the town's boundary since the general municipal plan of 1980.

A number of farms and properties in the Picture Butte area have changed and adapted over time; for example, in 2016, the Natural Resources Conservation Board approved Scholten Farms' request to convert swine feeders to cattle feeders.

Demographics

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1946 689 —    
1951 865 +25.5%
1971 1,062 +22.8%
1976 1,177 +10.8%
1981 1,393 +18.4%
1986 1,576 +13.1%
1991 1,559 −1.1%
1996 1,669 +7.1%
2001 1,701 +1.9%
2006 1,592 −6.4%
2011 1,650 +3.6%
2016 1,810 +9.7%
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Picture Butte had a population of 1,930 living in 689 of its 729 total private dwellings, a change of 6.6% from its 2016 population of 1,810. With a land area of 3.02 km2 (1.17 sq mi), it had a population density of 639.1/km2 (1,655/sq mi) in 2021.

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Picture Butte recorded a population of 1,810 living in 672 of its 706 total private dwellings, a 9.7% change from its 2011 population of 1,650. With a land area of 2.85 km2 (1.10 sq mi), it had a population density of 635.1/km2 (1,645/sq mi) in 2016.

Attractions

As of 2023, Picture Butte has an art gallery, three schools, three churches, a sports complex, a community league, a museum and a historical village.

Governance

John M. Gibbons and Ernest Manning
Picture Butte's first mayor John M. Gibbons stands with Alberta Premier Ernest Manning in 1946

List of mayors of Picture Butte

  • John Maurice Gibbons
  • Heber Jones
  • Harry Watson
  • Sydney P. Johnson
  • Wilfrid Hague
  • Victor Edward (Ted) Crapnell
  • Morgan W. Heninger
  • Rick Casson
  • Bert Foord
  • Alex Chronik
  • Elton Anderson
  • Jon Stevens
  • Terry Kerkhoff
  • Wendy Jones
  • Cathy Moore

Current municipal council

The current Picture Butte town council was elected on October 18, 2021 in the 2021 Alberta municipal elections. As of 2023, the Mayor of Cathy Moore and councilors include Henry deKok, Teresa Feist, Cynthia Papworth and Scott Thomson.

Gallery

Notable people

  • Alex Brown Johnston, politician
  • Rick Casson, politician
  • Shane Mazutinec, WHL hockey player
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