Welcome to the Fort McKay Wellness Center
The Fort McKay Wellness Center is a drop-in recreation and leisure facility in Fort McKay, Alberta, for children and youth ages 5 to 17. Open year-round, the facility provides many programs such as the After School Program, Supper Program, Summer Camp, Structured Evening Programs, Youth Recreation Leisure and Leadership Program and so much more!
Upcoming Events
Our Latest News
Community Golden Egg Hunt: Getting Active Outdoors in the Winter Months!
The Community Golden Egg Hunt, hosted by the Fort McKay Wellness Center, began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to get community members outdoors and active during the winter months. Year over year, the egg hunt grew and continues to be a highly anticipated activity in the community to celebrate Easter. This year, the event prizes were sponsored by the Fort McKay Special Events Department, and featured 85 golden eggs hidden around the community for all to find! The event saw babies, toddlers, children, youth, adults and Elders running around through deep snow to find one of the lucky eggs! We estimate around 165 individuals out hunting this year! The following week on April 2nd, the Fort McKay Wellness Center also hosted an exclusive "Shiny Egg Hunt" for the little ones at the Fort McKay Daycare, where another 25 eggs and prizes were distributed, as well as a visit from the Easter bunny! The event was a huge success!
Fort McKay Wellness Center wins the Healthy Community Inspiration Award
On March 19th, 2026, the Fort McKay Wellness Center was presented with a Healthy Community Inspiration Award from Communities Choosewell and Alberta Recreation and Parks Association for our Fort McKay Mental Health and Indigenous Healing Symposium we organized and ran in October of 2024. Executive Director Julia Soucie and Board President Audrey Redcrow accepted the award at a ceremony that took place during the Healthy Communities Symposium and ARPA Parks Forum in Edmonton. We are absolutely honoured to have received this award.
The Fort McKay Wellness Center is a proud partner of the Jays Care Foundation
2025 Girls at Bat Program was a great success!
The Girls at Bat Program, in partnership with the Jays Care Foundation, ran from July 14th to 18th, 2025 from 10 AM to 2 PM daily. Girls At Bat is an introductory level baseball program designed to reduce some of the biggest barriers anyone identifying* as a girl may face when accessing or participating in sport. Some of these barriers include, but are not limited to, sport being too competitive, having a perceived lack of skill, limited access to opportunity, and low confidence. Girls At Bat works to remove these barriers by creating spaces that empower and centre the leadership and voices of girls and provide opportunities for them to learn and play sport amongst a resilient and inclusive community. The program changes the game for girls by focusing on four key pillars: connection, courage, leadership, and love of sport. This year, we had 32 participants attend the Girls at Bat Program at the Fort McKay Wellness Center.
Fort McKay Mental Health and Indigenous Healing Symposium a Great Success!
On October 2nd, 2024, the Fort McKay Wellness Center and Fort McKay First Nation held a Mental Health and Indigenous Healing Symposium which included a full day of educational and healing sessions designed to destigmatize mental health, promote healing and equip participants with tools and resources to manage their own mental health. The event featured a keynote speaker, youth sessions, adult sessions and Indigenous healing sessions in an interactive format to inspire motivation and empowerment to encourage positive mental health in our own lives as well as in our communities!
This was a sold-out event that hosted over 150 youth, adults and Elders from all over the region, including Janvier, Anzac, Fort Chipewyan, Fort McMurray, Fort McKay and Fort McMurray 468 First Nation. The event was made possible due to funding from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the Fort McKay First Nation, the Fort McKay Wellness Center and the Fort McKay Recreation and Cultural Society.
Fort McKay Wellness Center Wins Award!
This year, the Fort McKay Wellness Center won 1 of 5 Healthy Community Awards for our Adapted Physical Activity Program through the Communities Choosewell Program with Alberta Recreation and Parks Association! The award was presented to Wellness Center Staff, accepted by Kory Torraville, at the Communities Choosewell Healthy Communities Symposium on March 6th, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta!
Employees and Volunteers attend Mental Health and Wellness Retreat!
On July 27th and 28th, 2023, Fort McKay Wellness Centre staff, Board Members and volunteers came together at the River Cree Resort in Enoch, AB for a 2-day Employee and Volunteer Capacity Building and Mental Health Retreat. The 2-day event focused on Mental Health Literacy in the Workplace, Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Prevention, Self-Care and Stress Management, Board Development and Connecting with Nature for Mental Health Forest Therapy. This retreat was just one activity of a larger project, funded by the Government of Canada's Community Services Recovery Fund, to create a positive work environment and maintain positive mental health amongst employees and volunteers.
