Hinton, Alberta

Hinton
Town
Town of Hinton
Government Centre
Motto: 
Gateway to the Rockies
Location in Yellowhead County
Hinton
Location of Hinton in Alberta
Hinton
Hinton (Canada)
Hinton
Hinton (North America)
Coordinates: 53°24′40″N 117°33′46″W / 53.41111°N 117.56278°W / 53.41111; -117.56278
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Planning regionUpper Athabasca
Municipal districtYellowhead County
Founded1928
Incorporated 
 • New townNovember 1, 1956
 • TownDecember 29, 1958
AmalgamatedApril 1, 1957
Government
 • MayorBrian LaBerge
 • Governing body
Hinton Town Council
  • Kristen Chambers
  • Natalie Charlton
  • Gail Dunn
  • Donald MacLean
  • William McDonald
  • Dewly Nelson
 • ManagerJordan Panasiuk
 • MPWilliam Stevenson (CPC - Yellowhead)
 • MLAMartin Long (UCP - West Yellowhead)
Area
 (2021)
 • Land33.32 km2 (12.86 sq mi)
Elevation
990 m (3,250 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
9,817
 • Density294.6/km2 (763/sq mi)
 • Estimate (2022)
10,087
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Forward sortation area
Area codes780 / 587
Highways Highway 16 (TCH)Yellowhead Highway
Highway 40
WebsiteOfficial website

Hinton is a town in the foothills of Alberta, Canada, with a population of 9,817. It is in Yellowhead County, 81 km (50 mi) northeast of Jasper and about 284 km (176 mi) west of Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, at the intersection of the Yellowhead and Bighorn Highways. Situated on the south bank of the Athabasca River, Hinton is on Treaty 6 territory.

The Town of Hinton is named after its railway station, which in turn was named after William Hinton, a manager for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at the time it was built, in 1911. The area has been on Indigenous travel routes for thousands of years, and a fur trade route beginning in 1810. Its first homesteads were established at the end of the 19th Century. Aside from a coal boom in the 1930s, the population around the Hinton station remained low until 1956 when Northwest Pulp and Power built a pulp mill. The new town, with a population over 3,500, was incorporated in 1958.