Fort Smith (Northwest Territories)

Fort Smith was founded around the Slave River. It served a vital link for water transportation between southern Canada and the western Arctic. Early fur traders found an established portage route from what is now Fort Fitzgerald on the western bank of the Slave River to Fort Smith. This route allowed its users to navigate the four sets of impassable rapids (Cassette Rapids, Pelican Rapids, Mountain Rapids, and Rapids of the Drowned). The portage trail had been traditionally used by local Indigenous people for centuries.

The Indigenous population of the region shifted as the fortunes of the tribes changed. By 1870, Cree had occupied the Slave River Valley. The Slavey had moved north by this time and the Chipewyan had also begun moving into the area.

Peter Pond of the North West Company was the first white trader to travel on the Slave River and make contact with Indigenous people in this region. He established a post on Lake Athabasca called Fort Chipewyan in the 1780s, at the head of the Slave River.

The fur trade, dominated by the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company, penetrated deeper into the Mackenzie River district in the 19th century. York boats were used to run the Slave River rapids and where needed small portages were established to bypass the most dangerous areas. In 1872, the Hudson's Bay Company built an outpost called Smith's Landing (Fort Fitzgerald) at the most southern set of the Slave River rapids. In 1874, another outpost was constructed at the most northern set of rapids. It was called Fort Smith. Both posts were named in honour of Donald Alexander Smith.

In 1898, the Yukon Gold Rush brought many gold seekers over the portages and through Fort Smith. By the 1930s, a significant part of the Fort Smith economy was centred around ship and barge building with the HBC and Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) establishing shipyards below Fort Smith.

Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922 with its operations and administration headquarters in Fort Smith. The discovery of gold in Yellowknife in 1938 also represented an economic boost to Fort Smith as many prospectors came passing through.

In 1942–1943, Fort Smith played its own small part in the war effort when huge armies raged around the globe in the Second World War. With a population of 250, Fort Smith hosted 2,000 US Army soldiers who were en route to the Canol Oil Pipeline Project at Norman Wells and the Canol Road. They brought hundreds of barge loads of supplies; and in order to move these, they built a tractor road from Fort Smith to Hay River and even farther north.

The continued gold fever that fuelled Yellowknife's growth also allowed Fort Smith's population to grow five-fold in the decade following 1945. This was reflected in the increase in government administrative facilities and the growth of its role as a transportation hub for the Mackenzie District.

The completion of a southern rail link to Hay River in 1964 meant that Fort Smith's role as the transportation hub was largely negated; and, subsequently, shipping operations on the Slave River ceased in 1968.

Today, Fort Smith's economy is based on the federal, territorial, and aboriginal governments along with education and tourism. In 2008, there was some interest in re-establishing a portage route to supply the Fort McMurray oilsands operations.

• 🌍 Fort Smith Visitor Information Centre, 149 MacDougal Rd (at Wood Buffalo National park office), ☏ +1 867-872-7960, +1 867-872-7962 (24-hr hotline), woodbuffaloinfo-infowoodbuffalo@pc.gc.ca. M-F 9AM-noon, 1-5PM. (updated May 2022)

• 🌍 Fort Smith Airport (YSM  ^IATA). The base of operations for Northwestern Air, provides flights from Edmonton, Fort Chipewyan, Hay River, High Level and Yellowknife. 

Fort Smith is accessible all year long via the Fort Smith Highway (Highway 5), a fully paved road that connects the town to Hay River.

During winter, there is a winter road which connects to Fort Chipewyan and from there to Fort McMurray.

It is possible by boat along Slave River to Fort Chipewyan and then along the Athabasca River to Fort McKay in summer.