With a 2021 population of 37,645, Spruce Grove is theninth-largest city in Alberta. The mayor of Spruce Grove is Jeff Acker.
Spruce Grove is home to the Horizon Stage Performing Arts Centre, a local theatre, and theTransAlta Tri Leisure Centre, a recreation facility shared with Stony Plain and Parkland County.
Centuries before European settlement, theCree andSarcee people occupied the land that would become Spruce Grove, moving with the seasons.[7]
Homesteaders in the area date back to 1879.[8] Originally the town comprised a general store, livery stables, blacksmith shop, hotel, and theRoman Catholic church.
In 1908 theGrand Trunk Pacific Railway came through Spruce Grove and a station was built. With the establishment of the railway, the community became a busy grain-trading centre.
Spruce Grove was incorporated as a village on March 14, 1907, but it was dissolved on August 30, 1916.[1] Spruce Grove was re-incorporated as a village on January 1, 1955, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1971, and as a city on March 1, 1986.[1][9]
Spruce Grove is near the province's geographical centre, at 30 kilometres (19 mi) fromdowntown Edmonton and 14 km (8.7 mi) from Edmonton's city limits.[10] It is part of theEdmonton Metropolitan Region.
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, the City of Spruce Grove had a population of 37,645 living in 14,273 of its 14,752 total private dwellings, a change of10.4% from its 2016 population of 34,108. With a land area of 37.52 km2 (14.49 sq mi), it had a population density of1,003.3/km2 (2,598.6/sq mi) in 2021.[3]
In the2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Spruce Grove had a population of 34,066 living in 12,552 of its 13,109 total private dwellings, a change of30.2% from its 2011 population of 26,171. With a land area of 32.2 km2 (12.4 sq mi), it had a population density of1,058.0/km2 (2,740.1/sq mi) in 2016.[26]
The Spruce Grove Art Gallery is in the Melcor Cultural Centre and is operated by the Allied Arts Council of Spruce Grove. The gallery hosts ongoing shows for original art created by its members, made up of artists from mainly the Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Parkland County area.[33]
Horizon Stage hosts many plays and acts throughout the year, as well as a lot of community theatre. Spruce Grove also has a 7 screen theatre complex which opened in the fall of 2007.[34] TheSpruce Grove Grain Elevator Museum is another cultural facility in the city.
TheTransAlta Tri Leisure Centre, opened in 2002, provides a pool, soccer fields, a gymnasium, workout gym, and ice rinks to the people of Parkland County. Spruce Grove has bike trails winding throughout the city, called the Heritage Grove Trail, where bike riders can ride for hours through lush forest. On June 7, 2008, Spruce Grove held the grand opening of the West District Park, which features two full artificial surface fields forfootball, soccer and other activities. TheEdmonton Eskimos donated $10,000 towards the event and held practice at the facility as part of the first-day activities.
Spruce Grove has a number of youths and adults involved in amateur sports, that run year round.Box lacrosse runs from March to July under the organization Parkland Posse,[35] which pulls young people from the Tri communities of Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Parkland County.Hockey runs from September to April,soccer andrugby run from May to October, football runs from July to December and baseball runs from March to October. TheSpruce Grove Saints are a Junior A hockey team that play in theBritish Columbia Hockey League.
TheTransAlta Tri Leisure Centre is an activity centre formed as a union between the municipalities ofParkland County,Stony Plain and Spruce Grove. It is in the west end of Spruce Grove. The centre was opened to the public by PremierRalph Klein on September 18, 2002. As of 2025[update], theEnergy City Metro Ballpark is under construction. Upon completion, it will become the home stadium of theEnergy City Cactus Rats.[36]
Two highways pass through Spruce Grove,Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) andHighway 16A. Highway 16 has no traffic lights but has two exits into Spruce Grove, while Highway 16A has several traffic intersections. Travelling east on either of these highways leads to Edmonton. Travelling west on Highway 16A leads toStony Plain, and going west on either highway leads toEdson,Hinton, and eventuallyJasper.[10]
Local streets
The majority of the streets in Spruce Grove use a standard naming system. Their names share a first letter with that of its subdivision. For example, all streets start withM in Millgrove subdivision; in Woodhaven, they all start withW. Only in the original subdivision of Broxton Park and the downtown core is this naming convention not utilized.
Rail
The Canadian passenger train travels through the city, however, the nearest stop is atEdmonton.
Transit
Spruce Grove Transit operated byEdmonton Transit Service offers a commuter transit route from Spruce Grove including the Spruce Grove Transit Centre to Edmonton, peak hours only. There is also a local transit service run by the city for transportation within the city boundaries.
Spruce Grove receives almost all of its print, radio, and televisionmedia from Edmonton. However, Spruce Grove has its own weekly newspaper, theSpruce Grove Examiner, delivered to all homes every Friday. The newspaper holds almost exclusively local news.[40] The area has a radio station,88.1 The One is dedicated to Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and the area.[41]
^"Table 4: Population in incorporated cities, towns and villages, 1901-1936".Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1936. Vol. I: Population and Agriculture. Ottawa:Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1938. pp. 833–836.
^"Table 12: Population of Canada by provinces, counties or census divisions and subdivisions, 1871-1931".Census of Canada, 1931. Ottawa:Government of Canada. 1932. pp. 98–102.
^Ninth Census of Canada, 1951. Vol. SP-7, Population: Unincorporated villages and hamlets.Dominion Bureau of Statistics. pp. 55–57.
^"Table 6: Population by sex, for census subdivisions, 1956 and 1951".Census of Canada, 1956. Vol. Population, Counties and Subdivisions. Ottawa:Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1957. p. 6.50–6.53.
^"Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1901–1961".1961 Census of Canada. Series 1.1: Historical, 1901–1961. Vol. I: Population. Ottawa:Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1963. p. 6.77-6.83.
^"Population by specified age groups and sex, for census subdivisions, 1966".Census of Canada, 1966. Vol. Population, Specified Age Groups and Sex for Counties and Census Subdivisions, 1966. Ottawa:Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1968. p. 6.50–6.53.
^"Table 2: Population of Census Subdivisions, 1921–1971".1971 Census of Canada. Vol. I: Population, Census Subdivisions (Historical). Ottawa:Statistics Canada. 1973. p. 2.102-2.111.
^"Table 3: Population for census divisions and subdivisions, 1971 and 1976".1976 Census of Canada. Census Divisions and Subdivisions, Western Provinces and the Territories. Vol. I: Population, Geographic Distributions. Ottawa:Statistics Canada. 1977. p. 3.40–3.43.
^"Table 4: Population and Total Occupied Dwellings, for Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1976 and 1981".1981 Census of Canada. Vol. II: Provincial series, Population, Geographic distributions (Alberta). Ottawa:Statistics Canada. 1982. p. 4.1–4.10.ISBN0-660-51095-2.
^"Table 2: Census Divisions and Subdivisions – Population and Occupied Private Dwellings, 1981 and 1986".Census Canada 1986. Vol. Population and Dwelling Counts – Provinces and Territories (Alberta). Ottawa:Statistics Canada. 1987. p. 2.1–2.10.ISBN0-660-53463-0.
^"Table 2: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 and 1991 – 100% Data".91 Census. Vol. Population and Dwelling Counts – Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions. Ottawa:Statistics Canada. 1992. pp. 100–108.ISBN0-660-57115-3.
^"Table 10: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Census Divisions, Census Subdivisions (Municipalities) and Designated Places, 1991 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data".96 Census. Vol. A National Overview – Population and Dwelling Counts. Ottawa:Statistics Canada. 1997. pp. 136–146.ISBN0-660-59283-5.
.jpg)
.svg)