Pin Quest Alberta

Crowsnest Pass takes its name from the nearby Crowsnest mountain that overlooks the community. Competing explanations for the origin of the mountains name include a translation from native Blackfoot referring to the nesting of crows at the foot of the mountain, or a battle between the Blackfoot and an invading Crow tribe from Montana during which a piece of the mountain broke away killing hundreds of the fighters, ending the battle. In that story, the area was named Crow’s Nest Pass to honour the fallen Crow tribe warriors.

Jasper shares a name with Jasper National Park. The community was founded as a trading post and originally called Fitzhugh after the General Manager and Vice President of the Grand Trunk Railway. It was later renamed after Jasper Haws, one of the early trade post managers. 

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo shares a name with the nearby Wood Buffalo National Park. This is the largest national park in Canada and was established as a protected area for the world’s largest herd of free roaming wood bison from which the park and municipality take their name. 

In 1897 Donald Alexander Smith was appointed to the British Peerage in recognition of his role in Canadian history including financing the Canadian Pacific Railway, and serving as Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, MLA for Winnipeg-St. John, MP for Selkirk, and president of the Bank of Montreal. When he learned that his preferred title “Lord Glencoe” was associated with a massacre of Scottish Chieftains, he created the name “Strathcona” as a Gaelic variant of Glencoe. The community would adopt this same name in recognition of Lord Strathcona’s Contributions.