TelkwaBritish Columbia

For health, Telkwa gets a D

The region has more smokers than British Columbia, 14% of adults to 8.9%. Expected years of life at birth: 77.0, below both British Columbia’s towns (81.0) and Canadian towns (81.5). Add to that, in the health survey, just over two in five adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, fewer than British Columbia’s 50%. What sets Telkwa apart within its region is a longer trip to hospital, 13 km for the average resident (3.7 km typical). For health survey and life expectancy, the only official count covers all of the Northwest Health Service Delivery Area, Telkwa included.

Telkwa faces fewer hazards than 85% of Canadian towns

NRCan’s model puts the yearly earthquake loss at $0.016 per $1,000 of building value, about level with Canadian towns ($0.030) and below British Columbia’s towns ($0.36). Fire seldom reaches Telkwa: since 1986, 0.1% of the land within 25 km has burned (0.004% a year). Also worth knowing: about as many homes carry radon around Telkwa as elsewhere, 5.2% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Flood mapping exists: 2 studies, most recently by Province of B.C. - Water, Lands, and Resource Stewardship. Figures for radon tests are published for the Northwest health region as a whole, not for Telkwa alone.

Summers stay cool in Telkwa: July afternoons reach 21.8°C, below British Columbia’s towns and Canadian towns

January nights fall to −10.9°C on average, below British Columbia’s towns (0.5°C) but above Canadian towns (−13.5°C). Most of the snow comes in December, about 48 cm. Frost usually lifts by 26 May and returns around 17 September: 113 days without it. A normal October brings 66 mm of precipitation, more than any other month.

More households own their home in Telkwa than in British Columbia’s towns or across Canadian towns: 88%

Shelter took 30% or more of income for 17% of households, below British Columbia’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike. Rent took 20% of household income, below British Columbia’s towns (24%) and close to Canadian towns (20%).

Telkwa is younger than 88% of Canadian towns: a median age of 35.6

Nearly one in ten residents came to Canada as immigrants, between British Columbia’s towns (12%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). Visible minorities make up 3.4% of the population, below both British Columbia’s towns (8.6%) and Canadian towns (15%).

The car carries 94% of commuters in Telkwa, more than in both British Columbia’s towns and Canadian towns

Commutes averaged 27 min, close to British Columbia’s towns (26 min) and above Canadian towns (26 min).

Expect November days around 1°C in Telkwa, nights around −5°C

Snow is normal by November, about 38 cm over the month. Into December, the normals move to −3°C and −10°C. Expect about 54 mm of rain and snow over November. Across the year, normals run from −11°C nights in January to 22°C afternoons in July.

Telkwa sends Ellis Ross (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from Skeena—Bulkley Valley

From British Columbia come 43 MPs, 20 of them with the Liberal Party of Canada.

Telkwa has no public library of its own; the nearest is Smithers Public Library, 13 km away

The next is Houston Public Library (Houston), 41 km away.

Tyhee Lake Park begins where Telkwa ends

10 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name. 8.5 km out lies the largest, Burnt Cabin Bog Ecological Reserve, at 669 ha. Protected areas cover 3.3% of the land within 10 km, below British Columbia’s towns (6.7%) but above Canadian towns (2.3%). National parks are all over 100 km off.

Telkwa’s teenagers travel 41 km to the nearest high school

Violent crime weighs more where Telkwa is policed than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 107

No police detachment reports under Telkwa’s name, so these are the nearest detachment’s figures, not the town’s own

Its police area records 18.1 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Where it is policed, thefts, break-ins and damage came to 21.3 per 1,000 a year, lower than both British Columbia’s towns (31) and Canadian towns (31.2).