Raymond

Town in south Alberta, Canada; population (1996 est) 3,100. It is located 29 km/18 mi southeast of Lethbridge. The economy is based on agricultural services, and grain elevators and feed lots are the biggest local employers. Many residents commute to Lethbridge to work.

Raymond was founded as a Mormon settlement in 1901 by mining industrialist Jesse Knight, who named the town after his son. It was incorporated in 1903. Its economy used to be dominated by a beet sugar factory, giving the town the nickname ‘Sugar City’, but the factory closed in 1963. The town has many residents of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly relocated to the area during World War II. Canada's first rodeo was held here in 1902, and the rodeo has continued as an annual event.