Canadian Northern Railway Station

The heritage value of the Canadian Northern Railway Station at Smoky Lake lies in its architectural significance as a fine example of a Standard Third Class, Plan 100-72 railway station and in its symbolic value as an emblem of the central role of railways in opening the province to settlement and agriculture.

In 1918, as World War One neared its conclusion, the federal government established the Soldiers' Settlement Board, an agency designed to help returning veterans acquire land and reintegrate into civilian life. In response to this initiative, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) extended its line northeast of Edmonton to Smoky Lake, a community perceived to be an ideal venue for the repatriated soldiers. In 1919, the CNoR built a Standard Third Class, Plan 100-72 station at Smoky Lake to serve the community. The station was typical of small rural stations constructed by the CNoR at the time. Designed by influential Winnipeg architect, Ralph Benjamin Pratt, the station featured a high hipped roof with gabled dormers - an architectural element that Pratt effectively developed into an instantly recognizable trademark for CNoR stations. The main floor included a waiting area and office while the second storey provided living quarters for the station agent. A baggage room to the west offered space for freight storage. When it was initially built, the station's exterior was clad in wood shingling. In 1920, the CNoR was amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway (CNR); in 1936, the CNR covered the shingle siding in stucco and added the company's corporate colours of forest green and gold to the building's trim - a standard CNR practice that homogenized the appearance of stations along lines absorbed by the company. The station was closed in the 1980s. The Smoky Lake Canadian Northern Railway Station is one of the oldest surviving examples of this particular type of building in Alberta.

With the gradual disappearance of early train stations from Alberta's communities, buildings like the Smoky Lake Canadian Northern Railway Station have gained increased historic significance as symbols of the essential role that the railways played in establishing settlement and agricultural economy in the province.