ocated a short drive north-west of Edmonton, the Town of Whitecourt is a community on the move.

With a young population of over 8,000 people, it has the support of many dynamic community groups:  cultural, business and athletic.  A growing number of service groups, including the Lions Club of Whitecourt, Whitecourt's Rotary International and the Kinsmen Club, are all very active within the community. 

Located where the Athabasca and McLeod Rivers meet and near the Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park, Whitecourt is a thriving urban centre with all the benefits of rural Alberta and country living.

Whitecourt's past, present and future are directly linked to the area's natural resources including forestry, oil and gas, and tourism.  From its beginnings as a small trading settlement in existence from the turn of the century, and with the progression of the railroad in 1921, Whitecourt grew into a small logging town. 

It has since continued to grow and expand along with the lumber industry, and oil and gas exploration.  The discovery of the petroleum resources in the Windfall field in the 1950's was followed by a subsequent find at McLeod Lake by Mobil Oil and at Judy Creek by Pengrowth.  The sustained industrial development created by ongoing oil and gas exploration and field operations led to a steady population growth in Whitecourt in the 1960's and 70's.