Tucked into central Alberta east of Ponoka, the small village of Donalda has a history that stretches back to the early twentieth century. Norwegian settlers were the first to put down roots here, and they gave the community the name Eidswold in recognition of their heritage. That changed in 1910 when the Canadian Northern Railway arrived, and the settlement was renamed Donalda in honour of Donalda Crossway, a niece of railway official Sir Donald Mann. The village was formally founded in 1911 and covers a modest land area of 0.97 square kilometres. As of the 2021 census, 226 residents called Donalda home, living across 109 of the village’s 123 private dwellings, giving it a population density of roughly 233 people per square kilometre. That figure represented a modest rise of 3.2% from the 219 residents recorded in 2016, which had itself declined from 259 in 2011.
Donalda is perhaps best known regionally as the home of the World’s Largest Oil Lamp, a striking structure standing 12.8 metres (42 feet) tall that has earned its place among the celebrated Giants of the Prairies. The village also supports a local school, Donalda School, which serves approximately 80 students from pre-kindergarten through grade 9. Among the community’s notable former residents are actor and model Tricia Helfer, best known for her role as Number Six in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, steer wrestler Cody Cassidy, and electrical engineering professor Robert E. Collin.