Hinton, Alberta

Hinton is a town in the foothills of Alberta, Canada, with a population of 9,817. It is in Yellowhead County, Template:Cvt northeast of Jasper and about Template:Cvt west of Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, at the intersection of the Yellowhead and Bighorn Highways. Situated on the south bank of the Athabasca River, Hinton is on Treaty 6 territory.

The Town of Hinton is named after its railway station, which in turn was named after William Hinton, a manager for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at the time it was built, in 1911. The area has been on Indigenous travel routes for thousands of years, and a fur trade route beginning in 1810. Its first homesteads were established at the end of the 19th Century. Aside from a coal boom in the 1930s, the population around the Hinton station remained low until 1956 when Northwest Pulp and Power built a pulp mill. The new town, with a population over 3,500, was incorporated in 1958.

History

Looking west from Hinton on the Yellowhead Highway

Early habitation

The area around present day Hinton deglaciated 12,800–11,600 BCE.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Archeological sites up the Athabasca River from Hinton show repeated habitation from 8,000 BCE until approximately 1500 AD.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Other sites around Hinton demonstrate that the foothills were also an important travel and trade corridor for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years prior to European contact, dating to at least 7,000 BCE.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn

Before Europeans arrived in North America, the upper Athabasca region was relatively sparsely inhabited by groups speaking Athabascan/Dene languages (including the Tsuut'ina, Tsa'tinne, and Tse'khene), Siouan languages (specifically Nakoda) and, potentially, Salish languages (such as Secwepemctsín, now present west of the Rockies). European settlement in eastern Canada resulted in waves of western migration of Indigenous groups in the 18th and 19th centuries including Algonquian language-speaking groups (in particular Woodland Cree and Salteaux), Iroquoian speakers, and Métis.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref>Template:Sfn

Around the start of the 19th century, furs supplied by these groups, and a desire to access the Columbia River, encouraged the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company to establish trade and supply posts in the vicinity of the Divide. David Thompson's guide Thomas the Iroquois led a brigade over Athabasca Pass, establishing the York Factory Express.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Company employees would continue to pass through the area on the Athabasca River for the next half century, primarily to transport correspondence and move personnel between districts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn The Jasper House post also collected furs traded by the local Indigenous people.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

This population, estimated to be about 200 in 1836, was a cultural mix of Iroquois, Cree, Dane-zaa, and Métis.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Present-day Hinton was within the area that they hunted, travelled, and camped: the Miette-Athabasca confluence to the west, the upper Smoky River to the north, and Lac Ste. Anne to the east.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Cache Percotte Creek, just east of present-day Hinton<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> may have been named after a camp of smallpox sufferers travelling to Lac Ste. Anne during the 1870 epidemic.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn (A 19th century French Canadian word for smallpox was Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)

In 1888, Jack Gregg established a trading post at Prairie/Maskuta Creek (from Template:Lang: Plains Cree for prairie<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), Template:Convert southwest of present day Hinton, to serve travellers on the overland route between Edmonton and Jasper.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1894 he started a homestead in the same area.<ref name=":0">Gainer, Brenda, and Parks Canada. 1981. The Human History of Jasper National Park, Alberta. [Ottawa]: Parks Canada. p. 78–82</ref>Template:Sfn

Jasper Forest Park (renamed Jasper National Park in 1930) was established in 1907; in 1909, the government bought out and evicted Métis homesteaders. Among those removed from the new park was the family of John Moberly. They were given $1,000 and a quarter section next to their cousins, the Greggs' homestead.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" /> They and a handful of others homesteaded around present-day Hinton ranching, hunting, trapping, and guiding.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Railroads

The construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) saw the establishment of a construction camp at the mouth of Prairie Creek at the Athabasca River in 1908. A Template:Convert steel trestle bridge was built over the creek and is still in use by the Canadian National Railway today.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn In 1911, the GTPR built a station house at mile 978 west of Winnipeg. The station was named after William Hinton, a Vice President and General Manager for the GTPR.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn Mary Schäffer, on her 1911 government-sponsored trip to Maligne Lake, arrived at the end of the line in Hinton in June. The Prairie Creek construction camp was just about to break up and relocate to Moose Lake to support the next stage of construction from Hinton to Tête Jaune Cache. Schäffer wrote that they were glad to leave the, "rubbishy little town to finish its pathetic history."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn

The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) established a parallel line between Edmonton and Tête Jaune Cache. The CNoR ran just north of the GTPR line at Hinton, establishing the stations of Dalehurst (Template:Convert northeast of Hinton Station), Bliss (Template:Convert northeast of Hinton Station), and Dyke (now Entrance; Template:Convert southwest of Hinton Station).<ref>Template:Cite map</ref> In 1917 when the heavier gauge GTP rail was dismantled and sent to Europe for the war effort,<ref name="CN">Template:Cite journal</ref> trains used the CNoR line and Dalehurst became the postal station for the Hinton area; Dyke served as its communications centre.Template:Sfn

The Canadian National Railway became the owner of both the CNoR and GTPR, and various portions of both lines were used by the new railway.<ref>The Grand Trunk Railway Acquisition Act, 1919, S.C. 1919 (2nd sess.), c. 17 , supplemented by An Act to confirm the Agreement dated the eighth day of March, 1920, between His Majesty the King and the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada for the acquisition by His Majesty of the capital stock of the said Grand Trunk Railway Company, except the four per cent guaranteed stock, S.C. 1920, c. 13</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1927, the company moved the track back to the better-constructed GTPR grade between Obed and Entrance, and the Hinton station reopened.<ref name="CN" /><ref>Rutherford, R. L. (6 March 1925). Geology of the Foothills Belt Between McLeod and Athabasca Rivers, Alberta (Report). p. 3. Retrieved 2 May 2025.</ref>

Coal boom and bust

The coal-fired steam engines of the railroads both opened access to, and provided a market for, coal from a thick seam underlying the Hinton area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Coal Branch was completed in 1912 and created work camps such as Mountain Park, Cadomin, Luscar, Robb, Mercoal, and Coalspur, which grew into communities with populations in the hundreds, surpassing Hinton's.Template:Sfn By the late 1920s, the region contributed 22% of Alberta's total coal production.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Closer to the Hinton station, prospectors had explored coal indications at the mouths of Happy and Prairie (Maskuta) Creeks, but as late as 1925 they were not considered practical to exploit.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> However, by 1928, Jasper Collieries Ltd. operated the Drinnan coal mine on the eastern end of present-day Hinton. It produced nearly 2 million tons of coal before closing in 1940. Another, smaller mine opened a short distance southwest in 1943.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1" />

On the west side of Hinton, Frank Seabolt, R. W. Jones, and Harry King<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> opened the Hinton Collieries near Happy Creek in 1931.Template:Sfn<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref> Seabolt had been prospecting in the area for some time while he worked supplying timber to the Mountain Park mine. He also served as the Drinnan postmaster, and in 1916 he bought Jack Gregg's ranch (and renamed it the Bar F RanchTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>). Seabolt, King, and Jones built and operated all the major businesses in the hamlet of Hinton in the 1930s.Template:Sfn

The Hinton Collieries operated for about 10 years despite the Great Depression, which temporarily reduced demand for coal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At 4:30 pm on March 30, 1938 an explosion in the Hinton Collieries killed five miners and wounded five more.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The mine's manager L. G. Chavignaud was found to have breached several provisions of the Alberta Mines Act and fined a total of $200.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn In 1940, Chavignaud's hiring as fire boss at the Mountain Park mine sparked a 3-week strike.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 22, 1940, another miner was killed, and five injured by a runaway mine car.Template:Sfn The Hinton Collieries were abandoned in 1941Template:Sfn and reported flooded in 1944.<ref name=":1" />

Without the Hinton mines, a significant portion of the population left to find work elsewhere. Those that remained relied on forestry, trapping, outfitting, and some oil and gas exploration during the war years. The coal branch communities to the south continued producing through the 1940s. However, as the railways switched from coal to diesel locomotives, these mines too began closing, beginning with Mountain Park in 1950 and ending with Luscar in 1956.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn

Getting a pulp mill

Downtown Hinton

Frank E. Ruben, the president of Northern Canadian Oil, had the idea of using the uneconomic coal and abundant nearby timber to produce Kraft pulp. Northern Canadian Oil purchased the Bryan Mountain Coal Company on the Coal Branch near Robb.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The company had also formed a subsidiary called Northwest Pulp and Power, which, on June 8, 1951, entered into an agreement with the Government of Alberta. The province agreed to lease up to Template:Convert of timber rights in the vicinity of Yates, just east of Edson, on condition that the company begin construction of a $3.5-million pulp mill near Yates by May 1952, and finish it by May 1954.<ref>Order in Council 836-51. "Alberta Gazette 1951", 1951, (CU14941083) by Alberta. corporate. Courtesy of Alberta Law Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. Pp. 803–811</ref> Northwest Pulp and Power defaulted on the agreement.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 1954, Ruben returned with business partners from New York-based St. Regis Paper to revive the plan for an Edson area pulp mill. St. Regis and Northwest Pulp and Power would each put up $5 million and finance an additional $20 million estimated to be required for the mill. Each company would own 50% of the venture, with Ruben Chairman of the Board and Roy K. Ferguson of St. Regis the president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":02" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On September 1, 1954, North Western Pulp and Power entered into a new agreement with the province to construct a pulp mill on the McLeod River in the Edson area. The updated terms now included reserving Template:Convert of pulpwood in exchange for completion of a $15-million mill by 1957 and expansion by 1962.<ref>Order in Council 1264-54. "Alberta Gazette 1954 part 1", 1954, (CU11090979) by Alberta. corporate. Courtesy of Alberta Law Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. p. 1716</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The company then announced it had purchased a site for the mill and would begin construction the following spring.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

However, in early 1955, Ruben announced a pause on the project pending the results of certain tests.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In fact, the company had discovered that they would not have sufficient water for the mill's effluent at the planned Edson location. That March, Northwest Pulp and Power announced that it would instead build the mill near Hinton, where the larger Athabasca River would provide ample water.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Under the new partnership with St. Regis, which was responsible for designing the mill, the fuel source for powering the mill was also changed from coal to natural gas. Ruben's Northern Canadian Oil had to construct a new Template:Convert pipeline from Wabamun to Hinton at a cost of $5 million.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The recently-purchased Bryan Mountain Coal Company, whose 250 employees had been out of work pending construction of the mill's power plant, never reopened.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Work on the mill and pipeline began in the spring of 1955,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in September, the agreement with the province was officially amended to reflect the new location and costs, which had risen to at least $28.5 million.<ref name="WH2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Order in Council 882-55. "Alberta Gazette 1955", 1955, (CU11370527) by Alberta. corporate. Courtesy of Alberta Law Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. </ref> The mill was completed in April 1957, with the first pulp produced on May 29.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It became Alberta's first pulp mill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1959, Northwest Pulp and Power employed 562 people at the mill, with a further 600 in woodland operations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Development and incorporation

Before the mill, Hinton had a population of about 180, and couldn't immediately support this increase in population.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To jump start development of real estate and services, Northwest Pulp and Power created its own subsidiary, the Athabasca Valley Development Corporation, with Ruben as its vice president. In 1955, the corporation began plans to provide town services and a shopping centre, prompting the Minister of Municipal Affairs Ted Hinman to clarify that the province was in charge of planning and Hinton would not be a company town.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December 1955, Ruben announced plans to build 500 houses in the new town.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He followed that up with an announcement that the pulp mill would be expanded within 18 months to a total cost of $100 million and that the town would be named New Hinton.<ref name=":5" /> This was swiftly denied by Minister of Lands and Forests Norman Willmore. Ruben responded that, "the matter is entirely out of Mr. Willmore's department," and clarified that he was expressing his personal opinion that they would, "expand the mill at the earliest possible date."<ref name="WH2" /> The Financial Post, in 1959, reported that the pulp mill cost $42 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The New Town of Hinton was incorporated on November 1, 1956. The community grew rapidly, as did a new village to the east called Drinnan. On March 27, 1957, the two communities amalgamated,<ref name="HintonDrinnanAmalgamation2">Template:Cite web</ref> with a population of about 3,500.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The New Town of Hinton incorporated as the Town of Hinton on December 29, 1958,<ref name="AMATownProfiles" /> and William A. Switzer was elected as its first mayor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Three years later, the 1961 Canadian census recorded Hinton's population as 3,529.<ref name="CR">Template:Cite report</ref>

Hinton train collision

On February 8, 1986, a Canadian National Railway freight train collided with a Via Rail passenger train called the Super Continental, killing twenty-three people. The Hinton train collision was the deadliest rail disaster in Canada since the Dugald rail accident of 1947, which had thirty-one fatalities, and was not surpassed until the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in 2013, which resulted in forty-seven fatalities. It was surmised that the accident was a result of the crew of the freight train becoming incapacitated, and the resulting investigations revealed serious flaws in Canadian National Railway's labour practices.<ref name="HintonTrainCollision">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

Hinton is situated along a Template:Convert stretch of the Athabasca River valley, on the southeast side of the river. The western town boundary is Highway 40 South. Highway 16 and the CN Rail tracks run side-by-side, approximately parallel to the river and divide the town lengthwise – the area downhill of the tracks and highway, towards the river, is generally referred to as the Valley District and the area above the tracks and highway is called The Hill District.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hinton has nine districts: Eaton, Hardisty, Hillcrest, Miette, Mountain View, Riverside, Terrace Heights, Thompson Lake, and West Riverside.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref>

Hinton lies in the Alberta Plateau Benchlands physiographic subdivision of the Interior Plains. Soils around town are influenced by deposits of carbonate-rich, wind-blown sand and silt which usually have surface textures of loam, sandy loam or silt loam. They are moderately alkaline, in contrast to the varying, mostly moderate acidity which prevails beyond the zone of calcareous aeolian material.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Hinton is classified as Dfc: subarctic, a subcategory of the continental climates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This is defined as having its coldest month averaging below Template:Convert, three months averaging above Template:Convert, and no season contributing more than 70% of the annual precipitation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The closest Environment Canada weather station was located at Entrance, about Template:Cvt southwest of Hinton. It supplied climate normals data up to 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Current Environment Canada weather forecasts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and climate normals data up to 2020 rely on the Jasper Warden Station near Maligne Canyon, Template:Convert southwest of Hinton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Hinton had a population of 9,817 living in 4,006 of its 4,405 total private dwellings, a change of Template:Percentage from its 2016 population of 9,882. With a land area of Template:Cvt, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.<ref name=2021census>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 2021 census also found that 52.1% of the population in Hinton were men (Canada-wide: 49.3%<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>). Hinton's proportion of population that are under 15 years of age was 18.8% (Canada-wide: 16.3%), between 15 and 64 was 68.0% (Canada-wide: 64.8%), and 65 or over was 13.2% (Canada-wide: 19.0%).<ref name="CP">Statistics Canada. 2023. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released November 15, 2023. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed April 24, 2025).</ref><ref name="OP">Template:Cite web</ref>

The median employment income in 2020 in people 15 years or older was $45,600 in Hinton (Canada-wide: $37,200). The percentage of 25–64 year olds in Hinton who completed high school was 77.9% (Canada-wide: 88.4%). Hinton's English-French bilingualism rate was 8.5% (Canada-wide: 18%). Immigrants make up 11.3% of Hinton's population (Canada-wide: 23.0%).<ref name="CP" /><ref name="OP" />

In the Canada 2016 Census conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Hinton recorded a population of 9,882 living in 3,930 of its 4,343 total private dwellings, a Template:Percentage increase from its 2011 population of 9,640. With a land area of Template:Cvt, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2016.<ref name=2016censusABmunis>Template:Cite web</ref>

The population of the Town of Hinton according to its 2009 municipal census is 9,825.<ref name=2009opl>Template:Cite web</ref> The census originally counted 9,812 people within the town limits<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but an additional 13 were added when a long-standing annexation application was approved shortly after the census was conducted.

It is the site of the Foothills Ojibway Society (non-status First Nation).

Economy

Throughout the 20th century, Hinton's economy has been resource-based, including coal, timber, natural gas, and petroleum. By the 1980s, the service industry, tourism, and the Forest Technology School had diversified the economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, sales and service occupations made up the largest share of Hinton's labour force at 28.9%, followed by trades, transport, and equipment operators (25.0%), then business, finance, and administration (12.0%).<ref>Statistics Canada. 2023. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released November 15, 2023. (accessed October 27, 2025)</ref>

Arts and culture

The Performing Arts Theatre of Hinton exhibits films, live theatre, music, dance, and other events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Wild Mountain Music Festival is held on the third weekend of July across the Athabasca River from Hinton at the Entrance Ranch. The 3-day event has 2 concert stages, a beer tent, food stalls, tent and RV camping, and runs a shuttle between Hinton and the festival. The annual event began in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Northern Rockies Museum of Culture and Heritage is in the original GTP Hinton station. It was moved from its original location across the highway and, after renovations, opened May 20, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Recreation

The Beaver Boardwalk

In town

The Beaver Boardwalk consists of three kilometres (1.9 miles) of boardwalk through the forest, meadow, and wetland near Maxwell Lake, at the south side of town. It is named for the active beaver lodge that it passes beside.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Large sections of the boardwalk were rebuilt in early 2025, with more rehabilitation planned for future winters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Hinton Mountain Bike Park has 23 trails of varying difficulty, a skills area, pump track, and jumps.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The bike park is connected to the Happy Creek trail network, which has an additional 39 maintained trails.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Bighorn Ridge trails begin Template:Convert south of the bike park and offers an additional Template:Convert of maintained mountain bike trail.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hinton has both an 18-hole golf course<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and an 18-hole disc golf course.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The town has numerous parks with a boat launch, rodeo grounds, sports fields, picnic facilities, and trails.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre has a 25m pool, sauna, hot tub, kids pool,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> two skating rinks,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a bouldering wall, and courts for basketball, racquetball, and squash.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It also includes the Hinton Municipal Library.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Regional

Hinton is a short drive from several popular parks and recreation areas:<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

• Jasper National Park's east gate is Template:Convert southwest on Highway 16.
• Obed Lake Campground is Template:Convert east on Highway 16.
• The Hinton Nordic Centre is Template:Convert northwest on Highway 40.
• Switzer Park Visitor Centre is Template:Convert northwest.
• Rock Lake is Template:Convert northwest.
• Whitehorse Creek Campground is Template:Convert south on Highway 40.
• Cardinal Divide is Template:Convert south

Hinton is a staging area for expeditions into the Willmore Wilderness Park, via Rock Lake or Big Berland Provincial Recreation Area. The other common staging area is Grande Cache.

Governance

2025 Mayoral Candidates<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>	Vote<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>	%
Nicholas Nissen (X)	452	19
Brian LaBerge	1222	52
David Michael Rees	665	28
(X) indicates incumbent. Bold indicates elected.

2025 Councillor Candidates<ref name=":3" />	Vote<ref name=":2" />
Kristen Chambers (X)	1375
Trevor Haas (X)	798
Ryan Maguhn (X)	776
Natalie Charlton	1462
Gail Dunn	1312
Donald MacLean	1093
William (Bill) McDonald	996
Lyla Mozel	853
Dewly Nelson	1271
Mike Storey	736
(X) indicates incumbents. Bold indicates elected. Top six candidates are elected at large.

Hinton has a council-manager government system, where residents elect a mayor and six councilors every four years.<ref>"Municipal Government Act". kings-printer.alberta.ca. Alberta King's Printer. June 11, 2025. Part 5, Division 1–4. Retrieved 2025-07-11.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They, in turn, appoint the Chief Administrative Officer to oversee management of town departments. The mayor and each councilor has equal voting power for enacting by-laws and policies, with the mayor serving also as the Chief Elected Official.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="hinton.ca">Template:Cite web</ref>

The government is empowered by the Municipal Government Act, which delimits its roles and responsibilities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These include property tax collection, building permits, by-law enforcement, road and utility maintenance, fire services, recreation, and transit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Recent Elections

In October 2021, Marcel Michaels was re-elected as mayor to a second term, but resigned in August 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a by-election in November, Nicholas Nissen defeated former councilor Brian LaBerge. Laberge's vacant seat was won by Kristen Chambers in the same by-election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The other councilors elected in 2021 were JoAnn Race, Ryan Maguhn, Trevor Haas, Albert Ostashek, and Stuart Taylor, who resigned in May 2025.<ref name="hinton.ca"/> As the municipal election is scheduled for October 20, 2025, there is no by-election for his seat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 2025 Alberta Municipal Elections, LaBerge again ran for mayor, this time defeating incumbent Nissen. Longtime incumbent councilors Trevor Haas and Ryan Maguhn also lost their seats. Other incumbents Race, Ostashek, and Taylor did not seek re-election; only Chambers kept her seat. The other councilors elected were Natalie Charlton, Gail Dunn, Donald MacLean, William (Bill) McDonald, and former councilor Dewly Nelson. Out of 7,900 eligible electors, 2,369 voted, for a voter turnout of 29.9%.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

Voters were also given three options in a non-binding plebiscite concerning the recreation centre. "Build New" received the most support with 1001 yes votes to 664 no votes. The percentage of voters who cast ballots for this question was 29.5%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref>

Infrastructure

Hinton Railway Station

Transportation

Hinton Transit is the municipal public transportation service, operated under contract by First Student Canada, which is responsible for providing the vehicles, drivers and maintenance.

The bus service operates on Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 1 pm and 2:30 pm to 8:30 pm. No service is provided on Sunday or statutory holidays. It alternately runs a hill district loop and a valley district loop, returning to each stop at the same minute after the hour.<ref name="OW">Template:Cite web</ref>

There is also an accessible, door-to-door transit service available upon request for residents with physical and cognitive disabilities called The Freedom Express.<ref name="OW" />

Regional bus service is provided by SunDog Transportation and Tour Co. which has a daily route between Edmonton and Jasper, with one stop in Hinton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Starting in the summer of 2025, the province has funded a bus route between Jasper and Hinton that is $15 per trip, but free for Jasper residents displaced by the 2024 wildfire. It is operated by Jasper Transit, and is funded for approximately 2 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As a flag stop, Via Rail's The Canadian calls at the Hinton station two times per week, in each direction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are two small airports near Hinton. The Jasper-Hinton Airport is Template:Convert southwest of Hinton on Highway 16. It is operated by Yellowhead County and is used by chartered air services supporting tourist, forestry, mining, and wildlife research activities. The Hinton/Entrance Airport is Template:Convert west of town, across the Athabasca River. It is owned by Alberta Forestry and primarily supports wildfire fighting operations. It is operated by the Hinton Flying Club.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Hinton Healthcare Centre's main building.

Health care

Emergency and other medical care is provided at the Hinton Healthcare Centre. The hospital offers a wide range of diagnostic testing, chronic and acute care, and recovery services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2022, it has 23 acute care beds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Beginning in 2024, physician shortages have resulted in repeated closures of the emergency department, prompting the town to declare a local healthcare crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Education in Hinton includes:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Grande Yellowhead Public School Division No. 77
  • Crescent Valley Elementary School (K-7)
  • Mountain View Elementary School (K-7 English, French)
  • Harry Collinge High School (8-12 English, French)
• Evergreen Catholic Separate School Division
  • St. Gregory Catholic Elementary School (K-4)
  • Father Gerard Redmond Community Catholic School (5-12)
• Post secondary
  • Northwestern Polytechnic
  • Hinton Employment and Learning Place
  • Hinton Training Centre
  • Northern Lakes College

Media

Newspapers

Hinton no longer has a local paper. The Hinton Voice, an independent newspaper that started up in June 2009, printed its last issue on August 28, 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hinton also had a weekly tabloid-format newspaper called the Hinton Parklander, which was founded in 1955 and printed its final issue on January 13, 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Radio

• CBXI-FM 88.1 CBC Radio One
• CFXH-FM 97.5 Newcap Broadcasting (Stingray Radio)
• CFHI-FM 104.9 Newcap Broadcasting

• CHFA-FM-4 100.7 Ici Radio-Canada Première
• CKUA-FM-7 102.5 CKUA Radio Network

Notable people

Bob Nystrom, Swedish-Canadian professional ice hockey player, moved to Hinton as a 4-year old

• Bob Nystrom (born 1952), Swedish-Canadian professional ice hockey player
• Arthur Godfrey Peuchen, major of the Canadian armed forces, lived in Hinton most of his life until few weeks before his death in 1929, when he returned to his native Toronto.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Dave Scatchard (born 1976), professional National Hockey League ice hockey player
• Glenn Taylor (born 1961/62), former leader of the Alberta Party, former mayor

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of francophone communities in Alberta
• List of towns in Alberta

References

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Template:Wikivoyage inline
• Template:Official website