Oyen, Alberta

Oyen is a small town in eastern Alberta, close to the Saskatchewan boundary, north of Medicine Hat. The town is located on Highway 41, 4km south of its junction with Highway 9, and is the first major centre within Alberta for travellers entering from nearby Saskatchewan.Oyen is the service centre for a large but sparsely populated dryland farming area. In the surrounding area wheat, barley, and canola are important crops, and beef cattle are raised.GeographyClimateOyen experiences a semi-arid climate. Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short and warm. Precipitation is low, with an annual average of 322 mm, and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. Oyen's precipitation is narrowly below being a humid continental climate, a type it closely resembles in terms of yearly temperatures.DemographicsIn the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Oyen recorded a population of 1,001 living in 400 of its 422 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 973. With a land area of 5.28km2, it had a population density of in 2016.