Resting along the banks of the Peace River in northern Alberta, Fort Vermilion is one of Canada’s oldest European settlements, sharing that distinction with Fort Chipewyan. The community traces its roots to 1788, when the North West Company established a trading post upstream of the impassible Vermilion Chutes. Its name comes from the vivid, vermilion-coloured clays found along the river banks. Following the merger of 1821, the post passed to the Hudson’s Bay Company and had grown into a prosperous fur trading operation by 1830. For much of its early history, the river served as the primary route for transporting goods and furs, with steamboats and ferries carrying supplies during ice-free months. The first steam-powered vessel, the St. Charles, began serving the community in 1903, navigating roughly 847 kilometres from Hudson’s Hope to Fort Vermilion. A bridge constructed over the Peace River in 1974 finally ended the community’s long-standing winter isolation. Today, Fort Vermilion sits within Mackenzie County and serves as the location of that county’s municipal office. Mackenzie County holds the distinction of being Alberta’s largest municipality by land area. The hamlet falls within Census Division No. 17.
Fort Vermilion recorded a population of 753 residents in the 2021 Census, representing a notable increase of 17.8% from the 639 people counted in 2016. The hamlet covers a land area of 5.36 square kilometres, giving it a population density of roughly 140.5 people per square kilometre. Heritage and history are well preserved here, with the Fort Vermilion National Historic Site recognising the original Old Bay House, home of the chief factor, which was listed in 1968 for its significance as the site of both North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company posts. A visitor centre housed in a 1923 dovetailed log house, the 1907 Clark House, and the 1912 Trappers Shack – a provincially listed historic site – all contribute to the hamlet’s rich built heritage. The local airport was renamed in 2018 to honour Canadian bush pilot and First World War flying ace Wop May, who flew to Fort Vermilion in 1929 carrying lifesaving medicine. The first Anglican church in the community was built in 1877, adding yet another chapter to a history that stretches back well over two centuries.