Villeneuve, Alberta

Pre-settlement

Prior to the Canadian government's expansion into Western Canada, the area now known as Villeneuve was populated by Iroquois and Cree groups.^[7][8] They united under Chief Michel Calihoo, who signed Treaty 6 with Crown representatives in 1878, and became known as the Michel Band.^[7][8][9] The band, which initially received a reserve of 25,000 acres, would become the only band in Canada to be dissolved through involuntary enfranchisement, losing its territories and official status by 1958.^[10][11][12]

Settlement: 1890-1899

In the late 1800s, under the direction of Vital-Justin Grandin, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate campaigned to bring hundreds of French, Catholic to Western Canada.^[4][13][14]

Settlers first arrived in the area today known as Villeneuve in 1891, and a school opened to serve the area four years later.^[5] The locality was originally named St. Pierre by Archbishop Émile-Joseph Legal, who established a church of that name in the area in 1897.^[4]

Villeneuve: 1900-1940

The settlement's name changed to Villeneuve in 1900, when it received a post office named for politician Frederic Villeneuve.^[4][15] A general store opened shortly afterwards.^[5]

By 1906, the Edmonton–Slave Lake railway line, eventually operated by the Canadian National Railway, was active a mile north of Villeneuve.^[5][16] The introduction of a train brought three grain elevators to the hamlet.^[5]

A new church was built in 1910 to accommodate Villeneuve's growing parish, as was a school within the town site named Turcotte School.^[5] Villeneuve's church closed briefly between 1934 and 1935 as repairs were undertaken following a fire.^[17]

Later developments: 1941-1999

In 1948, a new two-room schoolhouse, Villeneuve School, opened to serve the hamlet.^[5] Extensive renovation work to the church, spearheaded by Father Peter O’Neil throughout the 1950s, saw the place of worship renamed to St. Peter's Church.^[5] Villeneuve School closed around 1964, and students were transported to St. Albert for their education instead.^[18][19]

Throughout the 1970s, Villeneuve's post office and grain elevators closed, and train services to the hamlet ended.^[5][15] Nonetheless, Villeneuve Community Hall opened by 1974,^[20] and a flight training site established by Transport Canada began operating in 1975.^[21] The original Turcotte School, which had been in use as a barn, was demolished in 1983.^[5]

Recent activity: 2000-present

In 2000, Edmonton Airports purchased Villeneuve Airport.^[5] When Edmonton City Centre Airport closed in 2013, Villeneuve was used for a time to handle overflow; its airport received a new 5,000-foot runway.^[5] Later that year, the Alberta Aviation Museum announced plans to open a Villeneuve location,^[22] which would host a vintage Boeing 737.^[23] The plane was flown into Villeneuve in November.^[23] The museum ultimately did not come to fruition, with its website defunct by 2015,^[24] but the 737 remains grounded in a field in Villeneuve as of 2025.^[25]

Between 2015 and 2023, Villeneuve hosted the annual Alberta International Airshow.^[26][27] In late 2025, Sturgeon Public Schools announced that Villeneuve Airport will host the first high school aviation program offered in the Edmonton area.^[28]

In early 2026, consultations began with Sturgeon County and Villeneuve residents concerning the potential introduction of a 1,600 acre solar farm near the hamlet.^[29] The installation, proposed by Canwest Solar Development Corp and investment firm Starlight, would administer 373,000 solar panels and expand the local power grid.^[29]

Places of worship

St. Peter Catholic Church is administered through the Archdiocese of Edmonton.^[34] Volunteers maintain its graveyard, which contains over 300 graves as of 2019.^[35]