The Village of Pouce Coupe (; French for "cut thumb") is a small town in northeastern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, and a member municipality of the

Peace River Regional District The Peace River Regional District is a regional district in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The regional district comprises seven municipalities and four electoral areas. Its member municipalities are the cities of Fort St. John and Da ...

. It was originally named 'Pouskapie's Prairie', after the name of the local native band chief. The municipality is home to 792 residents.Statistics Canada

''2016 Census'', June 9, 2018. The community was settled by

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an immigrant Hector Tremblay in 1898. Tremblay, a French speaker, rendered 'Pouskapie's Prairie' into the nearest French words of similar sound. Pouce Coupe is approximately southeast of

Dawson Creek Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...

along Highway 2. It is approximately northwest of the

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

border along Highway 2. The village is at an elevation of in the

Peace River Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where a certain portion of the region i ...

. Pouce Coupe's main industries today are petroleum, agriculture, and tourism. Popular recreational activities in the area include cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, hiking, and hunting. The village claims to be "the pioneer capital of the Peace Region".

History

While there is debate regarding the origin of the name 'Pouce Coupe', the first known reference to it was in ''McLeod's Fort Dunvegan Journal, 19806'' which identified a Beaver Indian Chief named 'Pooscapee'. The unusual name of 'Cut Thumb' comes from a

Sekani Sekani or Tse’khene are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in the northern interior of British Columbia. Their territory includes the Finlay and Parsnip River drainages of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The n ...

trapper named 'Pouce Coupe' because he lost his thumb in an accident with his gun. The region became known as the Pouce Coupe Prairie, from which the river and village took their names. Permanent settlement began after the French-Canadian voyageurs Hector Tremblay and Joe Bissette left their group of prospectors from

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

during the Klondike Gold Rush and became the first settlers in the Pouce Coupe Prairie. In 1898 Bissette built his cabin in the present day Pouce Coupe Regional Park at the confluence of Bissette Creek and Pouce Coupé River, but soon moved on to Dunvegan, Alberta. Tremblay, joined by his wife and children in 1908, built his cabin at the confluence of

and Pouce Coupé River. Tremblay used his cabin as a trading post for local aboriginal tribe and resting place for the trickle of travellers that passed through. He also tried ranching cattle and helped cut trails south to

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in Northern Alberta, northwestern Alberta, Canada, within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Alberta Highway 43, Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) ...

and north to Fort St. John. When the Dominion Government opened the

Peace River Block The Peace River Block is a area of land in northeastern British Columbia, in the Peace River Country. In exchange for building a rail line across Canada to British Columbia, the Canadian Pacific Railway was given the Railway Belt, of land on e ...

for homesteading, the trails created an influx of settlers between 1912 and 1914. A community began to emerge around Tremblay's cabin as he ran a small store and post office. This also aided inexperienced settlers. This community center moved in 1916 when the post office moved to Frank Haskin's general store and a bank opened nearby. After World War I homestead grants to returning soldiers created another wave of settlers and the community center moved to its present location in the early 1920s when the post office and other businesses moved to a newly subdivided townsite on Charlie LeRoy's homestead. Until 1932 Pouce Coupe would be the service center for the region. The federal government established an office in the emerging village in 1915 and provincial government followed in 1921. The first school opened in 1917, the Alberta Red Cross opened a hospital in 1921, and the Pouce Coupe Light and Power Co. was established in 1931. As Northern Alberta Railways was extending their rail lines westward, to Wembley, Alberta in 1924 and to Hythe, Alberta in 1928, it was expected that Pouce Coupe would be next in line.The Choice of Terminal for the N.A.R..
Dorthea Calverley, 1983. URL accessed on xx December 2006. However, as land prices rose and speculation increased, the company made a deal to build the next station near the smaller community of Dawson Creek. The first train went through Pouce Coupe and arrived in Dawson Creek on January 15, 1931. Despite the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and Dawson Creek's increasing dominance over the region as the westernmost rail connection, Pouce Coupe continued to grow, and incorporated as a village, as westward migration into the

continued. Pouce Coupe BC Population

The 1941 census recorded 251 people living in the village. In 1942 the population swelled, as the US Army unloaded thousands of men and construction material in nearby Dawson Creek to build the

Alaska Highway Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

rates and lower participation rate than the provincial averages. The low participation rate reflects the relatively old population which consists of retired rural farmers and residents. Being a retirement destination, the two largest employers in Pouce Coupe in 2005 were two healthcare homes.South Peace Regional Profile, 72 Industrial business is concentrated in the highway and oil & gas field construction and servicing. Being only about 10 km from Dawson Creek's downtown and industrial park, residents commute to the larger city for employment, shopping and services. The 2001 Census estimated that only 3% of people in Pouce Coupe between 20 and 64 years old graduated from a university, a fraction of the 24% provincial average and 40% did not graduate from secondary school, double the provincial average. The only school in the village is the Pouce Coupe Elementary School. It has the capacity for 450 students but the enrollment has decreased from 148 to 99 students between 2001 and 2006. A study by the

Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a Canadian Conservatism in Canada, conservative public policy think tank registered as a Charitable organization, charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has ...

found that the elementary school had one of the worst academic performances in the province in 2004. The village elects one

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

trustee, for representation on School District 59. Pouce Coupe students commute to South Peace Secondary School in Dawson Creek for high school education. Northern Lights College, also in Dawson Creek, is the closest post-secondary school.

Culture, recreation and media

Other than an annual Canada Day parade and festival, there are few cultural or recreational events within the village. No newspapers or television/radio stations operate within the village but the ''Peace River Block Daily News'' and CJDC-TV include Pouce Coupe in their coverage. The municipality operates the Pouce Coupe Municipal Library and two parks: Village Square and Harden Park. The South Peace Community Multiplex, located between the city and the village and partly funded by the village, was scheduled to open in 2007 and contain an aquatic centre with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, an indoor equestrian centre, and an indoor running track. The Peace River Regional District manages the Pouce Coupe Regional Park, on the southern border of the municipality, which has an amphitheatre and camping spots. Nearby provincial parks include the Sudeten Provincial Park, Swan Lake Provincial Park, and One Island Lake Provincial Park all to the south. Bear Mountain, to the west, has a downhill ski complex and an extensive trail system used for motorized and non-motorized recreation. With Dawson Creek so close, many Pouce Coupe residents use cultural and recreational facilities there.

Government and politics

The Village of Pouce Coupe's council-manager form of

municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

is headed by a mayor (who also represents Pouce Coupe on the Peace River Regional District's governing board) and a four-member council; these positions are subject to

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

elections every three years. The mayor's chair is currently vacant due to the resignation in September 2013 of Larry Fynn for health reasons. Fynn was elected in November 2011, defeating incumbent mayor Lyman Clark, who in turn defeated incumbent mayor Barb Smith in 2008. Smith had defeated Sandy Hull, who was acting-mayor since the death of mayor Doyle McNabb in April 2005. The village funds and administers a sewerage system, a volunteer fire department, a library, parks, a cemetery, street lights, and roads except the highway. Pouce Coupe is part of the

Peace River South Peace River South is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created under the name South Peace River by the ''Constitution Amendment Act, 1955'', which split the old riding of Peace Ri ...

provincial electoral district, represented by

Blair Lekstrom Blair Lekstrom (born 1961) is a Canadian politician. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the riding of Peace River South from 2001 to 2013. A caucus member of the British Columbia Liberal Party ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

. In the 2001 provincial election, he was elected as the district's

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

with 57% support from the city's polls and re-elected in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

with 50% support.Elections BC (2005
Peace River South Electoral District (pdf)
, ''Statement of Votes, 2005''. URL accessed April 18, 2006. Before Lekstrom, Peace River South was represented by Jack Weisgerber. Weisgerber represented the riding between

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and 2001 as a member of the Social Credit Party of British Columbia, which made him Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and Minister of Native Affairs before becoming party leader between 1992 and 1993. In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

as leader of the Reform Party of British Columbia, Weisgerber won re-election even though Pouce Coupe polls put him in third place behind the losing BC Liberal Party and

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

candidates.Elections BC (1996
Peace River South Electoral District
, ''36th Provincial General Election - May 28, 1996'', 5. URL accessed April 18, 2006. Federally, Pouce Coupe is located in the Prince George—Peace River riding, represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

by Conservative Party Member of Parliament Bob Zimmer. Prior to Zimmer, the village was represented by Conservative Party member Jay Hill, who was first elected in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. Prior to Hill, the riding was represented by former Chetwynd mayor Frank Oberle of the Progressive Conservative Party who served as Minister of Science and Technology and later as Minister of Forestry. , style="width: 85px" , Bob Zimmer , align="right", 372 , align="right", 71% , align="right", 62% , Lois Boone , align="right", 99 , align="right", 19% , align="right", 26% , Hilary Crowley , align="right", 31 , align="right", 5.9% , align="right", 6.0% , Ben Levine , align="right", 16 , align="right", 3.1% , align="right", 5.2% , Jeremy Cote , align="right", 5 , align="right", 1.0% , align="right", 1.1% , NDP , Pat Shaw , align="right", 66 , align="right", 28% , align="right", 27% , Independent , Donna Young , align="right", 16 , align="right", 6.7% , align="right", 2.9%

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in British Columbia Peace River Country