Fox Creek, a town in northwest Alberta, Canada, has a rich history that dates back to the mid-20th century. The townsite for this future community was selected on June 6, 1952, by Ryan Krause and Victor Heath. The town was named Fox Creek after the watercourse adjacent to the western edge of the townsite, which drains towards Iosegun Lake to the north.
The original survey of the townsite took place over three days in late October 1955. At the same time, another townsite was surveyed to the north of Fox Creek on Iosegun Lake's eastern shore. However, this site proved too wet for development, and the provincial government abandoned plans to develop a community at this location.
The settlement of Fox Creek began shortly after Highway 43 officially opened in the fall of 1955. The first residents were attracted by opportunities in the forestry and oil and gas exploration industries. The first two houses were built by Alberta Forest Services in 1956 to support a new ranger station that opened in 1957.
The late 1950s and early 1960s saw much activity in Fox Creek as numerous sawmills, drilling rigs, and camps supporting drilling and road construction activities were established in the area. A total of 12 oil and gas fields were discovered over a six-year span between 1957 and 1962, triggering the construction of five gas plants in the Fox Creek area over the following eleven years.
Fox Creek is located on Highway 43, approximately 259 km northwest of Edmonton and 199 km southeast of Grande Prairie. The town has an elevation of 808 m and is within the Upper Peace planning region. It is surrounded by the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16.
The town is within 12 km of three lakes – Smoke Lake to the southwest, Iosegun Lake to the north, and Raspberry Lake to the northeast. The Fox Creek flows through the community, which empties into Iosegun Lake.
In 2015, the Fox Creek area experienced three earthquakes. The first occurred on January 14, 2015, approximately 38 km west of Fox Creek, measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale. The second, measuring 4.4, occurred on January 22, 2015, approximately 36 km west of the town. A third earthquake, measuring 4.4, occurred approximately 36 km east of the community on June 13, 2015.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Fox Creek originally had a population of 1,639 living in 660 of its 985 total private dwellings. Statistics Canada subsequently revised Fox Creek's population to 1,792 living in 720 of its 1,071 total private dwellings, a change of -9.1% from its 2016 population of 1,971. With a land area of 12.26 km2, it had a population density of 146.2/km2 in 2021.
The population of the Town of Fox Creek according to its 2019 municipal census is 2,189, a change of 3.6% from its 2013 municipal census population of 2,112. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Fox Creek recorded a population of 1,971 living in 775 of its 1,054 total private dwellings, a 0.1% change from its 2011 population of 1,969. With a land area of 12.36 km2, it had a population density of 159.5/km2 in 2016.
