that season according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The highest temperature ever recorded in Quesnel was on 17 July 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 31 December 1927 and 17 January 1950. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Quesnel had a population of 9,889 living in 4,508 of its 4,766 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 9,879. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. According to the same census, Quesnel had a census agglomeration population of 23,113, which represented a decrease from 23,146 in the 2016 census. The median household income in 2015 for Quesnel was $60,651, which is slightly below the British Columbia provincial average of $69,995. As of 2018, the population of Quesnel is estimated to be a little over 10,000 people living within the city, with roughly 13,000 people living outside the city limits but within the metro area. Ethnicity Religion According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Quesnel included: Irreligion (6,050 persons or 62.5%) Christianity (3,260 persons or 33.7%) Sikhism (185 persons or 1.9%) Hinduism (70 persons or 0.7%) Buddhism (15 persons or 0.2%) Indigenous Spirituality (10 persons or 0.1%) Other (90 persons or 0.9%) Economy Quesnel is a city known for its forestry, particularly the production of pulp and lumber. Forestry is the single biggest employer in Quesnel. Quesnel is home to a massive paper mill that was built in 1981. The mill is currently run by West Fraser Timber. Administration Quesnel's city government consists of a seven-member council, that is one mayor and six Councillors. The current city council, elected in 2022 for a four-year term, is composed of Mayor Ron Paul and Councillors Scott Elliott, Tony Goulet, Debora McKelvie, Laurey-Anne Roodenburg, Martin Runge, and Mitch Vik. Education Quesnel is part of School District 28, which contains several elementary schools, as well as a Junior and a Senior Secondary School (Quesnel Junior High School and Correlieu Senior Secondary School respectively). Also, within the school district is McNaughton Centre which is an Alternate High school. For post secondary education, Quesnel has the College of New Caledonia and University of Northern British Columbia shared campus, which offers several programs, including four year nursing and social work degrees, foundation or apprenticeship-level trades certification, health sciences, human services, academic upgrading, or industry and continuing education courses. The