Fairview is a town in Northwestern Alberta, in the heart of the Peace Country . It has a population of about 3,300 people. High quality soil in the surrounding area attracted settlers in the early 1900's who formed the hamlet of Waterhole. In 1928 the railway was built through the area, but bypassed Waterhole. The inhabitants moved 6 km north to found Fairview at its present-day site. Today Fairview is a regional centre for agricultural machinery sales and oil exploration. Fairivew is located about 560 km northwest of Edmonton, and 110 km north of Grande Prairie.

Hec MacLean was the renowned sportwriter for the Calgary Herald but then moved to Fairview to become publisher of the Fairview Post newspaper.