Tucked into central Alberta south of Vegreville, Holden is a small village with a population that has hovered around 340 residents in recent years. According to the 2021 Census conducted by Statistics Canada, 338 people called Holden home, living in 171 of the village’s 205 private dwellings. That figure represented a modest decline of 3.4% from the 2016 count of 350 residents, which itself had fallen 8.1% from the 2011 population of 381. The village covers a land area of 1.55 square kilometres, giving it a population density of roughly 218 people per square kilometre.
The village takes its name from James Holden, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Among the notable people connected to Holden are drag racer Dale Armstrong and businessman Ted Newall, two figures who put this small central Alberta community on a broader map. Holden is included among the list of francophone communities in Alberta, reflecting the diverse cultural heritage found throughout the province’s central region.