The Canyon Creek Hotel now sits empty, but that certainly wasn’t always the case.
The building originally began as the Canyon Creek Fish Hatchery, a federal facility built in 1928 by the Canadian Department of Marine and Fisheries to encourage local industry and provide employment, according to information from the M.D. of Lesser Slave River. It was later converted into a hotel around 1953 or 1954, according to Danny Schafer, a long-time local resident. Over time, it also operated as a restaurant and bar, becoming a place where locals could gather.
For Schafer, the hotel is tied to memories of a very different era.

The hatchery was part of a broader period of growth around Canyon Creek, when rail-era business activity helped support commercial fishing, transportation and other industries along Lesser Slave Lake. The M.D. describes the former hatchery as one of the few remaining reminders of that industrious period, noting that nearly every other trace of Canyon Creek’s early business boom has disappeared.
According to the M.D., a 1930 federal fisheries report indicated the Canyon Creek location produced more fish fry than any other hatchery in Canada that year. The report listed 16.8 million pickerel fry and 70.6 million whitefish fry from the site, figures that point to the scale of the operation and the importance once placed on the local fishery.

The M.D. says whitefish from the area commanded top dollar for several years in markets such as New York and Chicago, as well as other southern markets.
All of that changed in 1932, when the United States banned whitefish imports. After that, the focus shifted to domestic buyers, including mink farms in the region that relied on fish as feed.
The Province assumed operation of the hatchery in 1930, according to the M.D. Soon after, the hatchery closed, beginning the building’s long transition away from fisheries work and toward the role older residents remember more clearly today: a hotel, restaurant and gathering place.
Schafer recalls that during its years as a bar, the space was segregated between men and women.

In his recollection, that separation was simply how the establishment operated at the time, reflecting social norms that have since changed. His memories point to a period when the hotel was active and well used in Canyon Creek, serving not only travellers but also people from the surrounding area.
Today, the building is no longer in operation, and its future remains uncertain. Schafer says he does not believe the hotel will reopen. In his opinion, the cost of restoring or redeveloping the building would be too high, making it difficult for anyone to take on such a project.

At the same time, he acknowledged there may be options he is not aware of. Schafer says there could be grants or funding opportunities available that might support redevelopment, although he does not know of any specific programs that would apply.
The Canyon Creek Hotel now stands as a structure tied to the community’s past rather than its present. Its history—from hatchery to hotel to bar—reflects broader changes in Canyon Creek itself, as the area shifted from industry and transportation toward recreation, residential life and heritage.

In March 2023, the municipality says they removed hazardous remains of an old provincial fisheries dock that had deteriorated. According to the M.D., the old dock area contained large rocks, creosote-infused pilings and corroded iron spikes that posed ecological and public safety concerns. Creosote is carcinogenic and therefore a potential hazard to local people.

The cleanup was completed with grant funding from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. M.D. crews broke ground in the fall of 2022 and finished the project in early 2023. The work included removing 35 loads of deteriorated wooden beams and piles, along with 137 dump truck loads of rocks.

Those rocks were later cleaned and placed near the lakeshore at a new campground by the Widewater recreation area, according to the M.D.

The municipality says the project followed years of planning and collaboration with federal counterparts and was intended to close a chapter of local history responsibly while making the old Canyon Creek Harbour safer and more useful for recreation.
What began as a federal fisheries project became part of local commerce and community life, and the surrounding harbour area has more recently been reshaped with safety, environmental protection and recreation in mind.

For Schafer and many others, the building is a reminder of what the community once was.
The M.D.’s historical information also shows the site was more than a former hotel.
It was once connected to federal and provincial fisheries work, export markets, local employment, mink farming and, more recently, municipal efforts to clean up an aging waterfront site.

Sara Driedger
Lakeside Leader