Кэнмор: История и современность альбертского города

Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rocky Mountains. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8 to the north and east. With a population of 14,798 in 2020, Canmore is the ninth largest town in Alberta.

Canmore was officially named in 1884 by Canadian Pacific Railway director Donald A. Smith (later 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal). It was named after Malcolm III of Scotland who was also nicknamed Canmore. The name Canmore originates from the Gaelic ceann mòr, meaning "Big Chief". In 1886, Queen Victoria granted a coal mining charter to the town, and the No. 1 mine was opened in 1887. By the 1890s, a North West Mounted Police barrack had been instated on Main Street, however, it was vacated in 1927. The building was restored in 1989 and it is under the care of the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre. The coal mining industry in Canmore boomed well into the 20th century. In 1965, with a population of 2,000, Canmore was incorporated as a town. By the 1970s the market for coal was diminished, and in 1979 Canmore Mines Ltd. ceased operations. As a result of safety and reclamation policies instigated by the province of Alberta, all but a few mining structures were demolished in the following year; only the lamp house and a few mine entrances remain today. Canmore's economic future seemed dismal until the announcement in the early 1980s that Calgary would be hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics, and that Canmore would play host to the Nordic events. This resulted in an increase in tourism, and Canmore began to develop into the recreational tourist destination it is today. The Canmore Hotel was built in 1890 on the main street. In 2015, the building received a heritage designation and was being renovated to restore it. The hotel celebrated its 120th anniversary in October 2010.

Canmore's climate is relatively mild compared to some other regions of Alberta. It does not have an Environment Canada weather observation station, but the nearby town of Banff has an average high of in January, with relatively low humidity. Summers are short with daytime temperatures ranging from .

The Town of Canmore originally depended on the coal mines. The 1988 Winter Olympics revived the economy and set the grounds for a high end bedroom and get away community which would depend on construction and tourism income.

Canmore has one museum, the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre (CMAGS) located along 7th Ave & 9th St. in the Canmore Civic Centre. In 2006, the Museum entered a Fee for Service agreement with the Town of Canmore to "act as the custodian of the Town's heritage, maintaining and preserving its artifacts, archives and to build heritage and to interpret this heritage through exhibitions and interpretive programming for residents and visitors on a year round basis". The town has a large number of writers, and also of painters and photographers. Many feature films and series have been shot in the Canmore area, including Brokeback Mountain, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Open Range, The Edge, Legends of the Fall, Shanghai Noon, Mystery Alaska, Snow Dogs, the pilot episode of Everwood, The Last of Us, and others. The town was also popularized by the late John Morgan of the Royal Canadian Air Farce with his monosyllabic character "Mike from Canmore".

Elevation Place opened in April 2013 as Canmore's new recreation facility. Construction of the facility began in 2012 to go alongside the Canmore Recreation Centre (the community's old facility). The facility offers an 8 lane 25m lap pool, a world class climbing wall developed by Walltopia, two cardio rooms, a strength room, and a host of fitness programs. Elevation Place also houses the community's library and a local art gallery.

The Canmore Nordic Centre was originally constructed for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. Cross country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined, and blind cross country skiing events were held here. The Canmore Nordic Centre provides world class trails for use by cross country skiers, mountain bikers, unicyclists, trail runners, roller skiers, and hikers. It also has disc golf courses and orienteering. It has provincial park status and is administered by Alberta Parks. for updated trail reports. The local Alberta Junior Hockey League team is the Canmore Eagles. In 2001, Canmore resident and Eagles goalie "Double Blocker" Dan Blackburn, was drafted into the National Hockey League to play for the New York Rangers. The two time Stanley Cup winner Brayden Point has played for Eagles. The local Bantam hockey team is the Canmore Eagles. The hockey movie Mystery, Alaska (1999) was filmed in Canmore. Canmore is the official home to the Canadian National cross country skiing and biathlon teams. This, combined with the Canmore Nordic Centre has resulted in the town becoming a magnet for aspiring athletes in both sports. Full and part time athletes can be seen training around town and in the local area all year around. On February 22, 2006, Canmore local Chandra Crawford won the gold medal in the women's cross country 1.1 kilometre sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Beckie Scott, gold medalist in the women's cross country skiing pursuit race in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah also makes her home in Canmore. The Canmore Nordic Centre is a destination for many large sporting events. During the summer season, mountain bike races (including the World 24 Hour championships in 2009 and the Canadian National Championships in 2010) are held there. During the winter season, the facility sees several cross country ski races, ranging from local events to the FIS World Cup in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2016. Canmore United is the highly popular and successful local soccer team, participating in the summer Bow Valley Soccer League, as well as tournaments in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Canmore Youth Skate Park was built in the summer of 2009.

The primary newspapers for the town are the Rocky Mountain Outlook and the Bow Valley Crag and Canyon which took over the Canmore Leader and the Banff Crag & Canyon in 2013. The only radio station operating out of Canmore is CHMN FM, an adult contemporary station run by Rogers Media. Former Much Music VJ, Bradford How was employed by the Rogers owned, Mountain FM (broadcast at 106.5 FM) before he won the MuchMusic VJ Search competition in 2000.

Many of the new developments, fractional projects, and vacation suites were built with sustainable development in mind, and in 2006 the Three Sisters Mountain Village development was the recipient of an international award for being the best sustainable development in North America. Unfortunately, new owners of the 'future land assets' of this project defaulted on their financial commitments following the world economic crisis, putting the future development lands into receivership in the spring of 2009, but this does not affect current developments that are ongoing within the project and long term development will eventually continue under new ownership. In early 2010, several projects are beginning to show signs of life, and real estate pricing has begun to recover. As of June 2014 Canmore has the lowest vacancy rate in Canada for rental properties according to a CMHC Spring report. This in turn is having an effect on the housing market and pushing prices up. Along with the uptick in the oil industry and second home buyers coming back into the market from Calgary, the housing market is showing signs of not only recovering but becoming very strong as inventory levels are at a 6 year low. Within the town, there are also some buildings using geothermal energy, and the town's new Municipal Services Building is the first building in Alberta to achieve LEED Silver certification status. However, due to the local landscape being very complex, not everyone can install solar or wind energy devices on their property. Bylaws are also very strict and "aesthetic alterations" are not widely accepted. Canmore is a very difficult place to find affordable housing, and pet owners or families may have difficulty arranging accommodation. To alleviate the housing crunch, Canmore has pursued several affordable housing projects. In 2000, the Town of Canmore established the Canmore Community Housing Corporation (CCHC) to provide housing solutions for a healthy and balanced community. CCHC administers a Perpetually Affordable Housing (PAH) Program consisting of 41 ownership and 60 rental housing units at below market purchase prices and rental rates. Mountain Haven Co operative Homes Ltd. administers its own PAH development that provides 44 equity and non equity (lease to own) units.

Health care is provided at the Canmore General Hospital. Transit is provided by Roam transit.