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hoping to attract Metis from all over
Western Canada. Only 300 Metis, who
had been continuously ignored by the
government, responded to his invita-
tion. Eventually settlers from a variety
of cultural backgrounds arrived. The
St. Paul Historical Museum examines
the area's diverse cultural background.
The Old St. Paul Rectory is located
nearby.
Cold Lake
Home to Canadian Forces Base Cold
Lake, this town actually relies on the
nearby oil sands for its economic well-
being. The nearby town of Medley is
really just the post offi ce, while Grand
Centre is where all the shops are. The
lake is the seventh largest in the prov-
ince with an area of 370 km
2
. Its name
is fi tting when you consider that its sur-
face remains frozen for fi ve months of
the year. Its 100m depths attract fi shers
who come here to catch northern pike,
walleye and trout.
5
Sailboats moored on Cold Lake.
© Travel Alberta
Site
in 1862, and two years later the
Hudson's Bay Company set up Fort
Victoria to compete with free traders at
the settlement. This wonderfully peace-
ful spot along the Saskatchewan River,
once a bustling village, was also the
centre of a Metis community. The town
was called Pakan, after a Cree chief
who was loyal to the Riel Rebellion.
When the railway moved to Smoky
Lake, all the buildings were relocated;
only the clerk's quarters were left be-
hind. Exhibits and trails point out the
highlights of this once thriving village
that has all but disappeared.
NORTH
OF EDMONTON
St. Albert
Just north of Edmonton lies the com-
munity of St. Albert, the oldest farming
settlement in Alberta. It began as a small
log chapel in 1861, built by the Mary
Immaculate Mission and Father Albert
Lacombe. Born in Québec in 1827,
Albert Lacombe began his missionary
work in the former city of St. Boniface,
now a part of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He
convinced Bishop Alexandre Taché of
St. Paul
The town of St. Paul was founded in
1896 when Father Albert Lacombe
established a Metis settlement here
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