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THE MOVE TO SPARWOOD - The Announcement
The beginning of the end for the twin communities of
Michel-Natal started in the early 1960s, with the now infamous
rumour that an anonymous British Columbia cabinet minister,
after driving through Michel-Natal from Alberta, declared that
the twin communities represented a dirty and deplorable
entranceway into B.C.
The rumour to this day remains unsubstantiated, but in 1964 a
controversial announcement was made by then B.C. Minister of
Municipal Affairs Dan Campbell that a joint venture was being
undertaken by the federal and provincial governments to
relocate Michel-Natal westward to a small hamlet called
Sparwood.
The main
motivation behind this study was to improve the health and
living standards of Michel-Natal residents by relocating
them to a cleaner locale. However, it was also clear that
the provincial government in particular was also interested
in promoting British Columbia's tourism industry, and that
the coal-dust laced buildings of Michel-Natal did not
represent an ideal entranceway into the province.
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