Peace River, Alberta

Peace River Peace River Crossing (1898–1916) Rivière-la-Paix (French)
Town
Town of Peace River
Peace River seen from the Sagitawa Lookout
Coat of arms
Location in the MD of Peace No. 135
Peace River Location of Peace River in Alberta Show map of Alberta Peace River Peace River (Canada) Show map of Canada
Coordinates: 56°14′09″N 117°17′55″W / 56.23583°N 117.29861°W / 56.23583; -117.29861
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region Sub-region	Northern Alberta
Planning region	Upper Peace
Adjacent municipal districts	Municipal District of Peace No. 135, County of Northern Lights and Northern Sunrise County
Incorporated[1]
• Village	June 2, 1914 (as Peace River Crossing)
• Name change	May 22, 1916
• Town	December 1, 1919
Government [2]
• Mayor	Elaine Manzer
• Governing body	Peace River Town Council Tanin Behnke Marc Boychuk Orren Ford Elaine Manzer Colin Needham Terry Sawchuck
• CAO	Christopher J. Parker
• MP	Arnold Viersen
• MLA	Daniel Williams
Area  (2021)[3]
• Land	25.34 km2 (9.78 sq mi)
Elevation	330 m (1,080 ft)
Population  (2021)[3][4]
• Total	6,619
• Density	261.2/km2 (677/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Forward sortation area	T8S
Area code(s)	+1-780, +1-587, +1-825
Highways	Highway 2 Highway 684 Highway 743 Highway 744
Waterways	Peace River Smoky River Heart River Pat's Creek
Website	peaceriver.ca

Peace River, originally named Peace River Crossing and known as Rivière-la-Paix in French,^[5] is a town in northwest Alberta, Canada. It is along the banks of the Peace River at its confluence with the Smoky River, the Heart River and Pat's Creek. It is approximately 486 kilometres (302 mi) northwest of Edmonton and 198 kilometres (123 mi) northeast of Grande Prairie on Highway 2. It was known as the Village of Peace River Crossing between 1914 and 1916.^[6]

The Peace River townsite is nearly 1,000 feet (300 m) below the relatively flat terrain surrounding it. Pat's Creek used to be an open channel through the town but is now channelled through a culvert under the town streets, re-emerging at the mouth on the Peace River at the Riverfront Park.

The population in the Town of Peace River was 6,729 in 2011, a 6.6% increase over its 2006 population.^[7][8] There are significant nodal settlements and subdivisions in the vicinity of the town on acreages along Highway 2 to the west, Highways 684 (Shaftesbury Trail)^[9] and 743^[10] as well as the southwest portion of Northern Sunrise County. Regionally, there are various First Nation communities to the northeast, French-Canadian farming communities to the south and to the east, and Mennonite and Hutterite German-Canadian farming communities to the north and northwest of the town.

Peace River was the site of the 2004 Alberta Winter Games. In 2010, Peace River, in conjunction with Grimshaw and surrounding municipalities, jointly hosted the 2010 Alberta Summer Games.