High Prairie is a town in northern Alberta, Canada within Big Lakes County. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 749, approximately 89km northeast of Valleyview and 118km west of Slave Lake.HistoryHigh Prairie's first post office opened in 1910. In 1914, the alignment of the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway, later known as the Northern Alberta Railway, was chosen to go through High Prairie instead of Grouard to the northeast. As a result, many residents and businesses from Grouard relocated to High Prairie once the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway was built.With an estimated population of 600 people, High Prairie was incorporated as a village on April 6, 1945 and subsequently as a town on January 10, 1950.DemographicsIn the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of High Prairie recorded a population of 2,564 living in 949 of its 1,116 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 2,600. With a land area of 7.22km2, it had a population density of in 2016.In the 2011 Census, High Prairie had a population of 2,600 living in 972 of its 1,069 total dwellings, a -6.6% change from its 2006 adjusted population of 2,785. With a land area of 7.92km2, it had a population density of in 2011. The population of the town, according to its 2007 municipal census is 2,836.