This part of the Alberta area is known as the "Palliser Triangle" search google. So they probably left, but where?
The name Bjerkan is not on the Master Surname Index (not online) (mostly burials in Alberta cemeteries) of the Alberta Genealogical Society.
Yes he is on the Alberta Homestead Records,
http://abgensoc.ca/The cemeteries of this Winnifred area are in poor condition and some names of burials may have been lost.
You could as for a Genealogical Search, but that may be $40.00.
http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/766.cfm Peter