Richmound
Village in Saskatchewan, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richmound (2021 population: 118) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Enterprise No. 142 and Census Division No. 8. It is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta. The economy is driven in large part by the oil and gas sector as well as agriculture.
Richmound | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Richmound Location within Saskatchewan  Richmound Location within Canada | |
| Coordinates: 50.446°N 109.763°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Saskatchewan |
| Region | Saskatchewan |
| Census division | 8 |
| Rural municipality | Enterprise |
| Post office Founded | 1912-08-15 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Brad Miller |
| • Administrator | Brenda Ottenbreit |
| • Governing body | Richmound Village Council |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.47 km2 (0.18 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 118 |
| • Density | 327.8/km2 (849/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CST |
| Postal code | S0N 2E0 |
| Area code | 306 |
| Highways |    Highway 371 / Highway 635 |
| Website | Official website |
| [2][3][4][5] | |
The village has a community hall, church, skating arena, ball diamonds, a credit union and a general store. Students are bussed to a neighbouring village.
History
From 1908 to 1914 the area was settled by Germans, mostly Catholics from South Russia. The Richmound post office was established in 1912. St. Mary's Catholic church was founded northwest of Richmound in 1917, and moved to the community in 1928.[6] Richmound incorporated as a village on May 5, 1947.[7] In the 1980's, a natural gas discovery drove the creation of new businesses and housing. By the 2000's oil and gas activity subsided leading to job losses and the closure of the K-12 school in 2008. In the following years the local grocery store and curling rink also closed.[8]
In September 2023, the leader of a sovereign citizen group Romana Didulo and about fifteen to twenty-five supporters took up residence in the former school.[9][10] Didulo responded to demonstrations against her presence in Richmound by allegedly threatening local officials through emails and social media posts.[11][12][13] At 5:51am on September 3, 2025, Didulo, along with others, were arrested as part of a raid by the RCMP on the Richmound School.[14][15] The experience of the village with Didulo's group was part of an investigative series produced by CBC's Uncover podcast.[16]
On July 4, 2026, a community greenhouse project located near the former school was launched, aiming to bring the community together and to increase access to locally grown food, with the nearest grocery store from Richmound being located in Leader, Saskatchewan.[17]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Richmound had a population of 118 living in 55 of its 61 total private dwellings, a change of −19.7% from its 2016 population of 147. With a land area of 0.48 km2 (0.19 sq mi), it had a population density of 245.8/km2 (636.7/sq mi) in 2021.[20]
In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Richmound recorded a population of 147 living in 66 of its 78 total private dwellings, a −4.8% change from its 2011 population of 154. With a land area of 0.47 km2 (0.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 312.8/km2 (810.1/sq mi) in 2016.[21]