The community derives its name from Father Bonnin, a French priest. Local histories give his name as Father Francis (François) Bonny, the settlement's first resident priest.
History
In October 1789 Angus Shaw, a trader for the North West Company, ascended the Beaver River and established a trading post on the northwest shore of Moose Lake (then called Lac d'Orignal). The post operated until 1792, when Shaw moved on to establish Fort George on the North Saskatchewan River near present-day Elk Point. A statue of Shaw, carved from local cedar, was unveiled outside the Bonnyville & District Museum on July 1, 1992.
Permanent settlement began in 1907, when the Oblate priests Joseph Adéodat Thérien and J. A. Ouellette, who had been recruiting French Canadian colonists in Quebec, the Maritimes and the United States for settlements at St. Paul and Thérien, encouraged a party from Beaumont to explore the Moose Lake area. The first eight settlers—Wilfrid Ouimet, Albert Dargis, Philorome Ouellette, Aimé Marcotte, Hormidas Boisvert, Joseph Mercier, Oliva Martel and Côme Ouimet—arrived at the end of May 1907 after a journey of nine days from Edmonton by way of Brosseau and St. Paul des Métis. In 1908 the settlement gained its first school, taught by Ernestine Ouimet to seven pupils, its first church and store, and a post office, opened as St-Louis de Moose Lake and later renamed Bonnyville after Father Bonny. The first framed house, built by Wilfred Généreux in 1908, survives on the museum grounds. Three waves of settlers arrived between 1907 and 1918, and the municipal district was formed in 1915 following a petition circulated by Pierre Robitaille.
In 1916 a group of French Canadian families who had joined the Presbyterian Church brought the Rev. John E. Duclos from Edmonton; the Duclos Mission he founded built a church (1920), a hospital (1917, rebuilt 1926 and 1935) and a boarding school (1928) on the west side of the settlement. The Catholic parish's Sisters of Charity of Notre-Dame d'Évron arrived in October 1919 and converted the 1913 church into St. Louis Hospital, which served until a new hospital was completed in 1929. The village received electricity and telephone service in 1923, the same year a creamery opened, and the Canadian National Railway arrived in 1928. Bonnyville was incorporated as a village on September 19, 1929, and as a town on February 3, 1948.
Geography
Bonnyville is located on the north shore of Jessie Lake. The lake is an important staging area for thousands of migrating birds, and therefore attracts birdwatchers.[citation needed] Other nearby lakes include Moose Lake, Crane Lake and Muriel Lake.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Bonnyville had a population of 6,404 living in 2,537 of its 2,986 total private dwellings, a change of 7.2% from its 2016 population of 5,975. With a land area of 14.17km2 (5.47sqmi), it had a population density of 451.9/km2 (1,170.5/sqmi) in 2021.
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Bonnyville recorded a population of 5,975 living in 2,281 of its 2,706 total private dwellings, a −3.9% change from its 2011 population of 6,216. With a land area of 14.18km2 (5.47sqmi), it had a population density of 421.4/km2 (1,091.3/sqmi) in 2016.
Population controversy
The determination of the Town of Bonnyville's population has been subject to controversy since 2006. Statistics Canada's February 2017 release of the population and dwelling counts from the 2016 census reported an overall population of 5,417, which was 1,504 residents fewer than 6,921 permanent residents the municipality counted in its own census conducted in 2014, and 799 less than the 6,216 counted in Statistics Canada's 2011 census. The population count as initially reported by Statistics Canada resulted in a change of -12.9%, which gave Bonnyville the distinction of being the municipality in Canada, among those with at least 5,000 inhabitants, that experienced the greatest percentage loss in population between 2011 and 2016. The Town of Bonnyville disputed the 2016 census results and conducted its own census in 2017 that counted a population of 6,422, which was 1,005 higher than the 2016 population published by Statistics Canada and 499 less than what the town had counted in 2014. Later in 2017, Statistics Canada issued a revised 2016 population count of 5,975 for Bonnyville, 558 higher than the originally reported population of 5,417.
Language
Although English is the dominant language in Bonnyville, it is home to a notable Franco-Albertan minority. Its most common non-official mother tongues are Tagalog and Ukrainian.
Bonnyville's economy is founded on its nearby petroleum reserves as well as its agricultural sector which consists mostly of grain farming and livestock.
As Bonnyville sits on the edge of the Athabasca and Cold Lake Tar Sands, among Canada's largest crude oil reserves, petrol companies like Imperial Oil and Canadian Natural Resources Limited have invested significantly to tap resources in the area.
Besides the aforementioned agricultural sectors, the municipality has seen increases in game farming, as well as specialty crop output. It is also home to one of the largest tree nurseries in Alberta, the Bonnyville Tree Nursery, with an area of around 52000 square feet dedicated to its operation.
Its location between the markets of St. Paul and Cold Lake drives much of its commercial activity, especially due to the latter's air force base.
Attractions
The Bonnyville & District Museum, operated by the Bonnyville and District Historical Society (incorporated 1980), opened on May 18, 1991, and preserves several historic buildings, including the 1908 Généreux–Croteau house.
In celebration of Bonnyville's centennial year (2007), the town constructed the Centennial Centre, an educational and recreational centre, as an extension of the R. J. Lalonde Arena and the Bonnyville & District Agriplex.[citation needed] Its construction was somewhat controversial as its cost exceeded the original estimate and required a tax hike for both residents of the town and the municipal district.[citation needed]
Sports
Bonnyville is home to the Bonnyville Pontiacs, a junior hockey team playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and also a senior hockey team, The Bonnyville Senior Pontiacs. Both play out of the R. J. Lalonde Arena, which is part of the Bonnyville & District Centennial Centre.
Bonnyville Town Council is composed of a mayor and six councilors, all directly elected at large. The current mayor, as of the 2021 election, is Elisa Brosseau. The offices of the Municipal District of Bonnyville are located within the town.
Bonnyville is home to 2 FM radio stations, Hot 101.3 FM (CJEG-FM), owned by Stingray Digital with a CHR/Top 40 format, and Country 99 (CFNA-FM) at 99.7 with a Country format, owned by Vista Radio.
Bonnyville is served by two local newspapers: the Bonnyville Nouvelle, which recently became a regional paper under the name of Lakeland This Week, features news from Bonnyville, St. Paul, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche, and Elk Point. Respect, launched in 2018, is a locally owned regional newspaper "for seniors (and seniors-to-be)."
12"Historical Society of Bonnyville". The Historical Museum of Bonnyville. Société culturelle Mamowapik. 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2026– via Library and Archives Canada web archive.
↑Bourgoin, H. E. (2002). "Early Settlement of Bonnyville (1907–1919)". The Historical Museum of Bonnyville. Société culturelle Mamowapik. Retrieved October 23, 2026– via Library and Archives Canada web archive.
↑Bourgoin, H. E. (2002). "Reverend Duclos". The Historical Museum of Bonnyville. Société culturelle Mamowapik. Retrieved October 23, 2026– via Library and Archives Canada web archive.
12"St. Louis Hospital". The Historical Museum of Bonnyville. Société culturelle Mamowapik. 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2026– via Library and Archives Canada web archive.
↑"Civic Address Map"(PDF). Town of Bonnyville. 2008-09-22. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 22, 2023. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
↑Kristen Heliotis (February 14, 2017). "Town's census numbers not adding up". Bonnyville Nouvelle. Great West Newspapers LP. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
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