Carrot River, Saskatchewan
Carrot River is a town located in northeast Saskatchewan (population: 1000) in Canada. The administration office for the Rural Municipality of Moose Range #486 is located in Carrot River. History. The name Carrot River comes from the Plains Cree word for river of wild carrots, referring to the wild carrots growing along the Carrot River. Settlement was slow until the Canadian National Railway came in 1931 bringing farmers from the south. The building of roads and drainage ditches improved land conditions around Carrot River. It became a village in 1941 and incorporated as a town on April  1, 1948. Demographics. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Carrot River had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Economy. In 1963, the Squaw Rapids Hydro-Electric was built 50 km north of Carrot River, forming Tobin Lake, an excellent fishing and recreation area close to the town which attracts tourists from all over the world. It was renamed to E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Dam in honour of E.B. (Bruce) Campbell, a former  SaskPower president, who was the assistant chief engineer during the construction of this station. The dam consists of eight units with a combined generating capacity of 288 net MW. The Weyerhaeuser sawmill once provided the town's largest source of employment. The operation has recently undergone a $14 million upgrade, although on February 20, 2008, Weyerhaeuser stated the mill would close permanently. In 2011, Edgewood Forest Products, after purchasing the mill, began production of wood for China. Premier Sask Inc. harvests peat, a decayed matter and the precursor to coal and has a packing and shipping plant at Carrot  River. Expanding markets for peat have allowed the Carrot River plant to expand. Premier Sask Inc. ships approximately 1.6 million cubic foot bales per year. Sports. The town is also the home of the Carrot River Outback Thunder Junior B Hockey Team. Games located in Carrot River draw crowds of 100-200, and play-off games draw crowds of 300-500.