Fort Liard
Fort Liard is a hamlet in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located north of the British Columbia border. It became accessible by road in 1984 with the completion of the Liard Highway.
The Hamlet of Fort Liard is served by two general merchandise stores: The General Store and The North West Company store. The K-12 community school, "Echo Dene School", has a student population of about 150. It also has a community health centre with four nurses, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment with four members, and a recreation centre, including a swimming pool, skating rink, youth centre and multi-court. There is a fuel centre that sells gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, emergency survival kits and convenience items. There is also a traditional craft store which sells locally made craft items.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Liard had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.In the 2016 Census the majority of the population, 445 people out of a total of 500, were Indigenous, either First Nations or Métis.
First Nations
The Dene of the community are represented by the Acho Dene Koe Band and the Métis by Fort Liard Metis Local 67. Both groups belong to the Deh Cho First Nations Tribal Council.Climate
Fort Liard has a borderline humid continental climate, just above a subarctic climate, characterized by extreme variation of temperatures between seasons. Temperatures can be warm in the summer, and cold in the winter. Fort Liard has an average frost free period of around 120 days, one of the longest in the territory.The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort Liard was on 13 July 2014 and 27 June 2021. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 15 January 1974.