Canmore move aside, Cadomin could be our next booming tourist destination. The tiny hamlet 50 kilometres south of Hinton was once home to a thriving coal mining industry.
However, the community’s population has declined since the last mine in the area, Cardinal River Mine, closed in 2020.
To put things into perspective, the hamlet had a population of almost 2,000 in the 1930s. As of 2021, Cadomin had a population of just 54.
But Cadomin has no plans to roll over and die like other former boom-and-bust towns. Instead, the hamlet has set its sights on becoming the next tourist hotspot.
The hamlet’s population may only be 54 people year-round, but during long weekends, Cadomin’s population jumps to more than 200.
With this in mind, a proposal from the Cadomin Community Society for a $4 million community hall was recently approved by Yellowhead County.
On its own, Cadomin already offers plenty of ways to enjoy the Rockies, like hiking, hunting, fishing, and more.
In fact, going back to the 1970s, people have speculated that the area around Cadomin, which includes the Bighorn, could become Kananaskis-North for people living in Edmonton and northern Alberta.
The community hall could become the pearl that grounds this transition. Locals hope it will become the beating heart of a tourism boom where various events, such as weddings, potlucks, and music concerts, can be held.
While $4 million is a hefty price, Cadomin has received funding from various sources. Roughly three years ago, the former owner of the closed mine, Teck Resources, donated $400,000 toward the community hall project.
You might have heard about Teck Resources in the news lately. The Vancouver-based mining company is controversial.
In the past few weeks, it has made headlines trying to fend off a takeover bid by Swiss mining giant Glencore PLC. In January 2023, the company’s subsidiary, Teck Metals, was fined $2.2 million for a waste spill into the Columbia River in British Columbia (BC).
In another incident, Teck Coal, another subsidiary of Teck Resources, was fined $16 million for polluting waterways in East Kootenay, BC. The company’s hands are far from clean.
Even so, Teck Resources’ donation will go a long way for Cadomin. But others have chipped in as well. The province has provided the hamlet with $950,000, and Yellowhead County has contributed $2.25 million.
“It’s definitely going to become, without a doubt, a resort centre…We’re still short a couple hundred thousand, but we’re very close to getting across the goal line,” Curtis Way, president of the CCS, told CBC News.
Cadomin Community Society’s Way is hopeful that construction of the community hall will begin in June. If all goes according to plan, the project should be finished in December.
The community hall is already attracting tourism interest. Monty McNeice, the organizer of the Klondike Ultra Marathon, wants to introduce a new race in Cadomin.
McNeice plans to launch the race in 2024 and will use the community hall as a meeting point. Furthermore, Leah Vallee, owner of Cadomin’s only motel, has received more calls than ever from interested visitors.
With this in mind, things are looking up for Cadomin. If Canmore could change its identity, who’s to say Cadomin can’t?
