Tucked into the southern Alberta plains near the junction of Highway 52 and Highway 845, Raymond sits south of Lethbridge within the boundaries of the County of Warner No. 5. The town traces its roots to 1901, when mining magnate and industrialist Jesse Knight established the community and named it after his son, Raymond. Knight’s vision centred on a sugar beet industry, and his plans to construct a sugar factory drew roughly 1,500 settlers to the area within just a few years. Raymond was incorporated as a village in the North-West Territories on May 30, 1902, and achieved town status a mere thirteen months later on July 1, 1903.
Today, Raymond has a population of approximately 4,199 residents, according to the 2021 federal census – a growth of around 13.1% from the 3,713 people recorded in 2016. The town covers a land area of 7.63 square kilometres, with a population density of roughly 550 people per square kilometre. A significant majority of residents belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which maintains four meetinghouses, eleven congregations, and one stake within the community. The nearest LDS temple, the Cardston Alberta Temple, is located about 60 kilometres to the southwest in Cardston. Raymond also has Baptist, Mennonite, and United Church of Canada congregations. Notably, until 2006 the Raymond Buddhist Church held the distinction of being the oldest continually used Buddhist sanctuary in Canada before its temple was relocated to Lethbridge. The town is also recognised for its connection to Japanese-Canadian history in Alberta, its strong tradition in high school sports including basketball, Canadian football, judo, and women’s rugby, its well-regarded school band programs, and its popular annual rodeo held during the first week of July. Raymond has also been highlighted as one of the first communities in Alberta to move toward becoming a net-zero solar-powered community, following the installation of solar panels on most town buildings. Statistics Canada has consistently ranked Raymond among the top five communities in Canada for charitable donations per capita.