This page is part of a collection of resources prepared by 45 Conversations to support the East Kootenay Child Care Needs Assessment Project – Final Report.
As part of the East Kootenay Child Care Needs Assessment – Phase One, 45 Conversations reviewed the child care needs of many of the communities that are part of the Regional District of East Kootenay, British Columbia. This included:
- Canal Flats
- Cranbrook (including Moyie, Fort Steele, Bull River & Warner)
- Creston
- Invermere (Including Wilmer and Spillimacheen)
- Kimberley
- Radium Hot Springs
The child care needs of the communities that are located in Elk Valley were not included in the East Kootenay Child Care Needs Assessment.
The links below connect to general profile information about each of these communities that were part of the East Kootenay Child Care Needs Assessment which was completed 2014-15. The community descriptions below are primarily from Wikipedia. Each link connects to a list of in-depth community information.
Canal Flats
A village located at the southern end of Columbia Lake, the source of the Columbia River in British Columbia, Canada. In 2006, it had a population of 700. Canal Flats is on Highway 95, in the Kootenay River Valley, part of the Rocky Mountain Trench, between Skookumchuck and Fairmont Hot Springs.
Cranbrook (including Moyie, Fort Steele, Bull River & Warner )
Cranbrook is city located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary’s River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2011, Cranbrook’s population is 19,364, with a census agglomeration population of 25,037.
Moyie is an unincorporated community. It is located on Highway 3, 19 miles (30 km) south of Cranbrook on the eastern shore of Moyie Lake. Once known as Grande Quete, the origin of Moyie’s name is, via the river of the same name, thought to be the French word mouille, meaning wet.
Fort Steele is a heritage town located north of the Crowsnest Highway along Highways 93 and 95, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Cranbrook. Fort Steele was a gold rush boom town founded in 1864 by John Galbraith.
Creston
A town of 5,306 people located approximately 10 kilometres north of the Porthill, Idaho border crossing into the United States and about a three-hour drive north from Spokane, Washington.
Invermere (Including Wilmer and Spillimacheen)
Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. With its growing permanent population of almost 4,000 (including Athalmer and Wilmer), swelling to near 40,000 on summer weekends, it is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden in the north, and Cranbrook to the south.
Spillimacheen is an unincorporated settlement located at the confluence of the Spillimacheen and Columbia Rivers, upstream from and southeast of the town of Golden.
Wilmer is a small settlement near Invermere, British Columbia. The settlement was originally known as Peterborough and was founded in 1886. The explorer David Thompson founded a Northwest trading company post near the present-day site of Wilmer after crossing the Rockies via Howse Pass in 1807.
Kimberley
Kimberley is a city along Highway 95A between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains. Kimberley was named in 1896 after the Kimberley mine in South Africa. From 1917 to 2001, it was the home to the world’s largest lead-zinc mine, the Sullivan Mine.
Radium Hot Springs
Radium Hot Springs, informally and commonly called Radium, is a village of approximately 800 people. The village is named for the hot springs located in the nearby Kootenay National Park. From Banff, Alberta, it is accessible via Highway 93.