Cowley is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is west of Lethbridge and surrounded by the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9. It was settled in the 1880s and named by a rancher. Cowley Post Office opened in 1900, and in 1906 Cowley was incorporated as village. The community's name is a combination of "cow" and "lea". Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Cowley had a population of 216 living in 96 of its 110 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 209. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Cowley recorded a population of 209 living in 100 of its 113 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 236. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. Arts and culture Cowley was featured in the 2005 motion picture Brokeback Mountain as the fictional town of Signal, Wyoming. Cowley is featured on a 17c postage stamp issued by Canada Post in 1980 (August 27) to mark the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Province of Alberta. See also List of communities in Alberta List of villages in Alberta References External links 1906 establishments in Alberta Villages in Alberta