Nestled in central Alberta roughly 68 km east of Edmonton, Tofield sits at the crossroads of Highway 14, Highway 834, and Highway 626. The surrounding landscape reflects both natural richness and Indigenous heritage, with Beaverhill Lake lying immediately to the northeast of the community. The names of local creeks tell their own stories – Maskawan Creek, Amisk Creek, and Ketchamoot Creek each carry Aboriginal origins, with the last honouring Chief Ketchamoot, who travelled from Fort Pitt in 1860 to support the local Cree against Blackfoot rivals and, after a victory, chose to remain in the area. He is buried on the bank of the creek that bears his name. Before European settlers arrived, the region was home to the Cree, who relied on Beaverhill Lake for fish and wildfowl, harvested wild fruits, and hunted big game including bison across the land.
The town itself takes its name from Dr. J.H. Tofield, a Yorkshire-born physician and engineer who trained at Oxford, arrived in Edmonton in 1882, and served as an army doctor during the Riel Rebellion before settling in the area in 1893. The name was first applied to the local school district and then to the post office in March 1898. Tofield’s earliest post office dates to 1897, while the first school was established as far back as 1890. The community grew rapidly in the early 1900s, moving locations twice to align with the proposed and then confirmed route of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Tofield was proclaimed a village on September 9, 1907, and earned town status just two years later in 1909. The 2021 census recorded a population of 2,045 residents living in 807 of its 871 private dwellings, a modest decline of 1.7% from the 2,081 recorded in 2016. The town covers a land area of 8.21 km², giving it a population density of approximately 249 people per km².