Nestled in the heart of southern Alberta, the town of Taber sits at the crossroads of Highway 3 and Highway 36, roughly 51 kilometres east of the city of Lethbridge. The surrounding land falls within the Municipal District of Taber, and the region’s abundance of sunshine has earned the town a well-known distinction: the Corn Capital of Canada. That reputation is celebrated each year at the town’s annual Cornfest, held during the final week of August, drawing visitors from across the province.
From Railway Tank to Thriving Town
Taber’s origins are modest and practical. The site was originally designated Tank No. 77, a water stop along the railway line. In 1903, Mormon settlers arriving from the United States are credited with establishing the first hamlet at that location. When a post office was constructed in 1907, Canadian Pacific Railway officials named the settlement “Tabor,” likely inspired by Mount Tabor in the Holy Land. An alternate explanation ties the name to the word “tabernacle,” reflecting the faith of the early Mormon community in the area. Due to inconsistencies in printed records and station signage, the spelling was eventually standardised to “Taber.” The town grew into a productive coal mining centre, though that industry declined in the late 1920s before irrigation work in the region helped revive it during the 1930s. During the Second World War, Japanese Canadians were forcibly relocated to Alberta, with many compelled into labour in sugar beet fields. By 1950, a sugar beet processing plant operated by Rogers Sugar had been established in town, and it remains a significant part of the local economy. The area has also yielded notable archaeological finds, including the remains of extinct buffalo and the so-called Taber child, discovered in 1961 by Dr. Archie Stalker of the Geological Survey of Canada along the east bank of the Oldman River.
Population, Climate, and Geography
According to the 2021 federal census, Taber had a population of 8,862 residents living across 3,347 occupied private dwellings within a total housing stock of 3,481 units. That figure represents a growth of roughly 5.1 percent from the 2016 census count of 8,428. The town covers a land area of 19.32 square kilometres, yielding a population density of approximately 458.7 people per square kilometre. Taber experiences a semi-arid climate, classified under the Koppen system as BSk. Temperature extremes in the area have been notable: the highest recorded temperature reached 40.6 degrees Celsius on July 17, 1936, while the coldest dipped to -43.3 degrees Celsius on January 23, 1969.