Olds ( ) is a town in

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...

, Canada within

Mountain View County Mountain View County is a municipal district in Division No. 6 in central Alberta, Canada. Located between the cities of Calgary and Red Deer within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor, its municipal office is located north of the Town of Didsbury. ...

and the

Calgary–Edmonton Corridor The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is a geographical region of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is the most urbanized area in Alberta and is one of Canada's four most urban regions. It consists of Statistics Canada Alberta census divisions No. ...

. It is approximately south of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

and north of Calgary. The nearest towns are Didsbury to the south,

Bowden Bowden may refer to: Places Australia * Bowden Island, one of the Family Islands in Queensland * Bowden, South Australia, northwestern suburb of Adelaide * Bowden railway station Canada * Bowden, Alberta, town in central Alberta England * Bowde ...

to the north, Sundre to the west and

Three Hills Three Hills is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It takes its name from the three somewhat-larger-than-normal hills to its north. History Three Hills post office dates from 1904. Three Hills was incorporated as a village in 1912, the year ...

to the east. Olds is located at the intersection of Highway 27 and Highway 2A, west of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway. The Canadian Pacific Railway's main Edmonton-Calgary line runs through the town.

Geography

Olds lies within the Grasslands Natural Region of Alberta. Downtown Olds is about above sea level. In 2011, the town covered a land area of .

Climate

Olds has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb'') and falls into the

Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the dep ...

(NRC)

Plant Hardiness Zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

3b. The average temperature is around in late July to in mid-January. Winters are cold with temperatures often dropping to or below . These are broken up from the dry

Chinook wind Chinook winds, or simply Chinooks, are two types of prevailing warm, generally westerly winds in western North America: Coastal Chinooks and interior Chinooks. The coastal Chinooks are persistent seasonal, wet, southwesterly winds blowing in from ...

s from the mountains. Summers can be hot with temperatures reaching up to .

Flora and fauna

Olds has various species living in and around it including poplar trees and various wild grasses. Olds is an agriculture based town, so a large portion of the flora grown are crops of

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...

(''Brassica juncea'' subsp. ''juncea)'' and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

(''Hordeum vulgare).'' The majority of fauna consists of livestock like cattle, and poultry. Many surrounding farms keep horses and/or donkeys.

Residential areas and neighbourhoods

The town of Olds is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods with various styles of housing. There are several mobile home parks throughout the town.

Economy

Olds Alberta has its own

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

Internet Service Provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...

called O-Net that provides gigabit speeds to its residents and businesses. The service cost the town about $21,000,000 to install. Olds has a big-box retail centre which opened in 2008. It features a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, Canadian Tire,

Home Hardware Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the chain is co-operatively owned by ove ...

and other major retailers.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Olds had a population of 9,209 living in 3,810 of its 4,096 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 9,184. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Olds recorded a population of 9,184 living in 3,698 of its 3,942 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 8,235. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The population of the Town of Olds according to its 2014 municipal census is 8,617, a change of from its 2013 municipal census population of 8,511.

Education

Olds has four schools; École Olds Elementary School, École Deer Meadow School, Olds High School and Holy Trinity Catholic School, as well as

Olds College Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is an Alberta public post-secondary institution located in Olds, Alberta, established in 1913 as Olds Agricultural College. Total student enrollment for the 2020–2021 academic year was 5446. The college ...

. Three schools in this area are part of the

Chinook's Edge School Division No. 73 Chinook's Edge School Division No. 73 or the Chinook's Edge Board of Education is a public school authority within the Canadian province of Alberta operated out of Innisfail. See also *List of school authorities in Alberta The Canadian pro ...

ÉOES is an elementary school containing grades k (kindergarten) - 4. The school contains a small gymnasium with a rock climbing wall. The gym previously doubled as the gymnastics centre for the gymnastics club, now located along 25th Ave. ÉDMS is a junior high school containing grades 5–8. There is a slightly larger gym as well as a music room for the students beginning in the band programs. OHS is a junior/senior high school containing grades 9–12. The school has a gymnasium and fitness centre, fine arts theatre and is part of the Olds College Campus. The school has a variety of educational programs such as sports, band, shop, drama and stained glass program. Olds is home to

, noted for its agricultural and fashion retail programs.Olds College
/ref> As of 2012, Olds College also boast a significant

Land Use Planning Land use planning is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. More specifically, the goals ...

and Land Agent Program through their School of Environment and has gained accreditation from the Canadian Association of Certified Planning Technicians.

Sport and recreation

Olds is home to many sports team such as the

Olds Grizzlys The Olds Grizzlys are a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. They play in Olds, Alberta, Canada with home games at the Olds & District Sports Complex. History The Olds Grizzlys joined the Alberta Junior Hockey League ...

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The re ...

(AJHL), located at the Olds Sports Complex. Olds College Broncos part of the

Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is the governing body for collegiate sports in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1964, as the Western Inter-College Conference, the ACAC is represented by eighteen schools, including one in Saskatchewan, t ...

, Olds Rapids Swim Club Located at the Olds Aquatic Centre. And many sporting events such as the Hay City Slam Skate Comp held every summer at the Olds Skate Park. Home to two golf courses: Olds Central Highlands 23 hole course, east of Olds, off Highway 27 as well as the brand new 9 Hole Trail Creek Golf course located west of Olds, off Highway 27 that opened in July 2015 The Olds Gymnastics Club has recently migrated from their previous home in the Elementary School to a new building located along 25th Avenue. The building was formerly a

Sears Canada Sears Canada Inc. was a publicly-traded Canadian company affiliated with the American-based Sears department store chain. In operation from 1952 until January 14, 2018, and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company began as Simpsons-Sears ...

building, and now is home to a gymnastics centre. Olds houses the 185 Olds

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

Squadron. The building was formerly the Olds recreation centre and is now rendered to the squadron. The building is also rented out by many local dance and church programs.

Notable people

* Danielle Lappage, Olympic wrestler, competed in Rio 2016 *

Blake Richards Blake Richards (born November 8, 1974) is a Canadian politician. He has been a Conservative Member of Parliament since 2008, having been elected to represent the now defunct electoral district (or riding) of Wild Rose in the October 14, 200 ...

, Canadian politician Member of Parliament for Banff-Airdrie (2008- current) * Jay Rosehill, professional ice hockey player

References

External links

* {{Subdivisions of Alberta, towns=yes 1896 establishments in Alberta Mountain View County Towns in Alberta