Sparwood

The local economy is heavily dependent on steel-making coal mining, one of British Columbia's primary industries. A large part of the population either works in the mines or as tradespeople and labourers in related support industries, such as trucking or as mechanics. Logging is another important industry.

Sparwood/Elk Valley Airport is the local airport for general aviation. The closest airport with commercial service is Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport. Road access is provided by the Crowsnest Highway.

Sparwood was formed on 12 May 1966 accepting people from the nearby towns of Michel, Natal, and Middletown (an urban renewal). Since the beginning of Sparwood, it has experienced many ups and downs in coal mining, the town's primary industry.

{{unreferenced section|date=August 2019}}

File:SparTitan.JPG in Sparwood]]

Sparwood promotes itself extensively as the home of the Terex Titan, at one time the largest truck in the world. The green Titan, in service at Sparwood between 1978 and 1991, stands a few yards from the Crowsnest Highway where it can attract the attention of tourists and travellers. The adjacent tourist information centre serves visitors to the district municipality and the wider area.

Sparwood is distinguished by mural art which depicts something of the history of the former Michel-Natal mining communities.

Sparwood is home to the 2011 B.C. provincial champion boys snowboarding team.[http://www.thefreepress.ca/sports/121650634.html Sparwood snowboarders are finally champs – The Free Press] Sparwood is also home to the 2011 Junior Boys and 2012 Junior Girls Provincial Bowling champions.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

Laurie Hockridge of Sparwood{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} and Lethbridge College, is a CCAA-ACSC Hall of Fame inductee (WBB, '87–90).{{cite web|url=https://www.gokodiaks.ca/Kodiaks_Hockridge_earns_CCAA_Hall_of_Fame_induction|date=30 April 2019|access-date=3 August 2019|title=Kodiaks' Hockridge earns CCAA Hall of Fame induction}} Her legacy includes back-to-back national championships and two national championship MVP trophies.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

On 17 October 2017 an ammonia leak at the Fernie Memorial Arena killed three workers (two City of Fernie employees and one CIMCO refrigeration employee from Calgary) during the Fernie Ghostriders' regular season. Because of this tragedy, the City of Fernie declared a state of emergency and people had to evacuate the area for days. The 'Riders were relocated because of this to the Elk Valley Leisure Centre in Sparwood during the 2017–18 KIJHL season until the City of Fernie installed a new chiller unit. The Ghostriders now play at their home rink again.{{cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-ice-rink-where-3-people-died-remains-closed-due-to-safety-concerns-1.4366207 | title=B.C. ice rink where 3 people died remains closed due to safety concerns | date=21 October 2017 | publisher=CBC News | author=The Canadian Press | access-date=4 April 2019 }}{{Cite web|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/fernie-rink-still-closed-as-rcmp-investigation-continues-into-deaths-of-three-men|title = Fernie rink still closed as RCMP investigation continues into deaths of three men}}

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sparwood had a population of 3,990 living in 1,815 of its 2,101 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:4148-3784}}|3784|1}} from its 2016 population of 3,646. With a land area of {{cvt|191.3|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|4148|191.3|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000202&geocode=A000259 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), British Columbia | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=February 20, 2022}}

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Sparwood included:{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-10-26 |title= Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=sparwood&DGUIDlist=2021A00055901006&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}

• Irreligion (2,405 persons or 58.0%)
• Christianity (1,695 persons or 40.8%)
• Islam (15 persons or 0.4%)

There are two public schools in Sparwood; Frank J Mitchell which is an Elementary School and the new Sparwood Secondary School.

These schools are operated by School District 5 Southeast Kootenay which is based in Cranbrook.

Sparwood has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with relatively cold and very snowy winters combined with moderately warm summers with relatively high diurnal temperature variation. As a result of the low overnight lows in summer, September's mean of {{convert|10.5|C|F}} places Sparwood just above subarctic climates (Dfc) in classification.

{{Weather box

|location = Sparwood

|metric first = 1

|single line = 1

|collapsed = 1

|Jan record high C = 11.9

|Feb record high C = 13.8

|Mar record high C = 20.6

|Apr record high C = 25.6

|May record high C = 31.3

|Jun record high C = 32.5

|Jul record high C = 34.9

|Aug record high C = 36.5

|Sep record high C = 34.2

|Oct record high C = 27.2

|Nov record high C = 16.9

|Dec record high C = 10.5

|year record high C = 36.5

|Jan high C = -2.2

|Feb high C = 0.5

|Mar high C = 5.4

|Apr high C = 10.9

|May high C = 15.9

|Jun high C = 19.6

|Jul high C = 23.8

|Aug high C = 24.2

|Sep high C = 18.2

|Oct high C = 10.7

|Nov high C = 1.7

|Dec high C = -3.4

|year high C = 10.4

|Jan mean C = -6.5

|Feb mean C = -4.5

|Mar mean C = 0.2

|Apr mean C = 4.8

|May mean C = 9.1

|Jun mean C = 12.7

|Jul mean C = 15.8

|Aug mean C = 15.5

|Sep mean C = 10.5

|Oct mean C = 4.8

|Nov mean C = -2

|Dec mean C = -7.3

|year mean C = 4.4

|Jan low C = -10.7

|Feb low C = -9.6

|Mar low C = -5.1

|Apr low C = -1.3

|May low C = 2.3

|Jun low C = 5.8

|Jul low C = 7.7

|Aug low C = 6.7

|Sep low C = 2.9

|Oct low C = -1.1

|Nov low C = -5.6

|Dec low C = -11.3

|year low C = -1.6

|Jan record low C = −40.3

|Feb record low C = −34.6

|Mar record low C = −29.9

|Apr record low C = −15

|May record low C = -6.7

|Jun record low C = -3.3

|Jul record low C = 0

|Aug record low C = -3.5

|Sep record low C = -8.5

|Oct record low C = −22.2

|Nov record low C = −34

|Dec record low C = −39.8

|year record low C = -39.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 53.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 40.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 44.2

|Apr precipitation mm = 41.4

|May precipitation mm = 60.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 69.3

|Jul precipitation mm = 46.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 34.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 47.4

|Oct precipitation mm = 48.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 72.1

|Dec precipitation mm = 53.4

|year precipitation mm = 613.3

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 17.3

|Feb rain mm = 12.4

|Mar rain mm = 17

|Apr rain mm = 27.9

|May rain mm = 52

|Jun rain mm = 67.7

|Jul rain mm = 46.8

|Aug rain mm = 34.8

|Sep rain mm = 43.4

|Oct rain mm = 39.6

|Nov rain mm = 39.1

|Dec rain mm = 13.2

|year rain mm = 411

|snow colour = green

|Jan snow cm = 50.4

|Feb snow cm = 37

|Mar snow cm = 31.7

|Apr snow cm = 17.4

|May snow cm = 8.6

|Jun snow cm = 1.8

|Jul snow cm = 0

|Aug snow cm = 0.1

|Sep snow cm = 4.2

|Oct snow cm = 11.3

|Nov snow cm = 47.3

|Dec snow cm = 54.2

|year snow cm = 264

|source 1 = {{cite web |url= http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?searchType=stnProx&txtRadius=200&selCity=&optProxType=park&selPark=49%7C5%7C113%7C52%7CWaterton+Lakes+National+Park&txtCentralLatDeg=&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongDeg=&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=1207&dispBack=0 |title=Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data |date=31 October 2011 |publisher= Environment Canada |access-date=9 July 2013 }}

|date=9 March 2013

}}

• Fernie Free Press – Weekly Paper
• Kootenay News Advertiser – Weekly Paper
• Fernie Fix – Monthly Glossy Magazine

• 99.1 FM – CJDR, a rebroadcaster of CHDR-FM, Rock
• 92.7 FM – CFBZ, a rebroadcaster of CHBZ-FM, Country
• 97.7 FM – CBTN, a rebroadcaster of CBTK-FM, CBC
• 107.9 FM – CFSM-FM – Adult Contemporary

• Channel 10: Shaw TV
• Channel 5: CFCN, CTV
• Channel 13: CBUT, CBC

The following people were born in Sparwood:

• Daryl Boyle (born 1987), professional ice hockey player
• Michelle Loughery (born 1961), muralist
• Niki Sharma,{{cite web |last=DeRosa |first=Katie |date=December 9, 2022 |title=Niki Sharma will draw on lessons learned as a young girl in Sparwood in new role as B.C.'s Attorney General |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/niki-sharma-will-draw-on-lessons-learned-a-young-girl-in-sparwood-in-her-new-role-as-b-c-s-attorney-general |website=Vancouver Sun |access-date=2022-12-12}}{{cite web |title=MLA: Hon. Niki Sharma |url=https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members/42nd-Parliament/Sharma-Niki |website=Legislative Assembly of British Columbia |access-date=2022-12-12}}{{cite web |date=December 8, 2022 |title=Sparwood's Niki Sharma named B.C.'s Attorney General |url=https://www.e-know.ca/regions/elk-valley/sparwood/sparwoods-niki-sharma-named-b-c-s-attorney-general/ |website=Vancouver Sun |access-date=2022-12-12}} politician

Since 1980, Sparwood has been the sister city of Kamisunagawa in Hokkaido, Japan.{{Cite web |title=Sister City |url=https://sparwood.ca/our-sister-city |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617133453/https://www.sparwood.ca/our-sister-city |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |access-date=August 31, 2018 |publisher=District of Sparwood |language=en-US}}

• Fernie Ghostriders
• Elk River
• Elk Valley
• Kootenay Ice
• Regional District of East Kootenay#Municipalities

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Category:District municipalities in British Columbia

Category:Mining communities in British Columbia

Category:Elk Valley (British Columbia)

Category:Regional District of East Kootenay