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Wikipedia

Alberta

January 10, 2023

This article is about the Canadian province. For other uses, see Alberta (disambiguation).

Alberta (/ælˈbɜːrtə/ al-BUR-tə) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories (NWT) to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. It is one of the only two landlocked provinces in Canada (Saskatchewan being the other).[8] The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains, while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity. Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional Chinook winds.[9]

Alberta
Province
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Fortis et liber (Latin)
("Strong and free")
Coordinates: 55°59′30″N 114°22′36″W / 55.99167°N 114.37667°W / 55.99167; -114.37667[1]Coordinates: 55°59′30″N 114°22′36″W / 55.99167°N 114.37667°W / 55.99167; -114.37667[1]
CountryCanada
ConfederationSeptember 1, 1905; 117 years ago (1905-09-01) (split from NWT) (10th, with Saskatchewan)
CapitalEdmonton
Largest cityCalgary
Largest metroCalgary Region
Government
 • TypeParliamentary constitutional monarchy
 • Lieutenant governorSalma Lakhani
 • PremierDanielle Smith
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Alberta
Federal representationParliament of Canada
House seats34 of 338 (10.1%)
Senate seats6 of 105 (5.7%)
Area
 • Total661,848 km2 (255,541 sq mi)
 • Land640,081 km2 (247,137 sq mi)
 • Water19,531 km2 (7,541 sq mi)  3%
 • Rank6th
 6.6% of Canada
Population
 (2021)
 • Total4,262,635 [2]
 • Estimate 
(Q4 2022)
4,601,314 [3]
 • Rank4th
 • Density6.66/km2 (17.2/sq mi)
DemonymAlbertan
Official languagesEnglish[4][5]
GDP
 • Rank3rd
 • Total (2015)CA$326.433 billion[6]
 • Per capitaCA$78,100 (2nd)
HDI
 • HDI (2019)0.948[7] — Very high (1st)
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (Mountain DST)
Canadian postal abbr.
AB
Postal code prefix
T
ISO 3166 codeCA-AB
FlowerWild rose
TreeLodgepole pine
BirdGreat horned owl
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Alberta is the fourth largest province by area at 661,848 square kilometres (255,541 square miles),[10] and the fourth most populous, being home to 4,262,635 people.[2] Alberta's capital is Edmonton, while Calgary is its largest city.[11] The two are Alberta's largest census metropolitan areas.[12] More than half of Albertans live in either Edmonton or Calgary, which contributes to continuing the rivalry between the two cities. English is the official language of the province. In 2016, 76.0% of Albertans were anglophone, 1.8% were francophone and 22.2% were allophone.[13]

Alberta's economy is based on hydrocarbons, petrochemical industries, livestock and agriculture.[14] The oil and gas industry has been a pillar of Alberta's economy since 1947, when substantial oil deposits were discovered at Leduc No. 1 well.[15] It has also become a part of the province's identity. Since Alberta is the province most rich in hydrocarbons, it provides 70% of the oil and natural gas exploited on Canadian soil. In 2018, Alberta's output was CA$338.2 billion, 15.27% of Canada's GDP.[16][17]

In the past, Alberta's political landscape hosted parties like the centre-left Liberals and the agrarian United Farmers of Alberta. Today, Alberta is generally perceived as a conservative province. The right-wing Social Credit Party held office continually from 1935 to 1971 before the centre-right Progressive Conservatives held office continually from 1971 to 2015, the latter being the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.

Before becoming part of Canada, Alberta was home to several First Nations like Plains Indians and Woodland Cree. It was also a territory used by fur traders of the rival companies Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company. The Dominion of Canada bought the lands that would become Alberta as part of the NWT in 1870.[18] From the late 1800s to early 1900s, many immigrants arrived to prevent the prairies from being annexed by the US. Growing wheat and cattle ranching also became very profitable. In 1905, the Alberta Act was passed, creating the province of Alberta.[19] Massive oil reserves were discovered in 1947. The exploitation of oil sands began in 1967.[15]

Alberta is renowned for its natural beauty, richness in fossils and for housing important nature reserves. Alberta is home to six UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites: the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park.[20] Other popular sites include Banff National Park, Elk Island National Park, Jasper National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, and Drumheller.

Etymology

Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939),[21] the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada (1878–83). Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour.[22][23]

The name "Alberta" itself is a feminine Latinized form of Albert, the name of Princess Louise's father, the Prince Consort (cf. Medieval Latin: Albertus, masculine) and its Germanic cognates, ultimately derived from the Proto-Germanic language *Aþalaberhtaz (compound of "noble" + "bright/famous").[24][25]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Alberta
 
A topographic map of Alberta, showing cities, towns, municipal district (county) and rural municipality borders, and natural features

Alberta, with an area of 661,848 square kilometres (255,541 square miles), is the fourth-largest province after Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.[26]

Alberta's southern border is the 49th parallel north, which separates it from the U.S. state of Montana. The 60th parallel north divides Alberta from the Northwest Territories. The 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan; while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60°N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains, and from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a generally southeasterly direction until it reaches the Montana border at 49°N.[27]

The province extends 1,223 kilometres (760 miles) north to south and 660 kilometres (410 miles) east to west at its maximum width. Its highest point is 3,747 metres (12,293 feet) at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border while its lowest point is 152 metres (499 feet) on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast.[28]

With the exception of the semi-arid climate of the steppe in the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources. There are numerous rivers and lakes in Alberta used for swimming, fishing and a range of water sports. There are three large lakes, Lake Claire (1,436 km2 [554 sq mi]) in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake (1,168 km2 [451 sq mi]), and Lake Athabasca (7,898 km2 [3,049 sq mi]), which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. The longest river in the province is the Athabasca River, which travels 1,538 km (956 mi) from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca.[29]

The largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2,100 m3/s (74,000 cu ft/s).[30] The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River.

Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, is located at about the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly major city in Canada and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada. With its proximity to Canada's largest oil fields, the region has most of western Canada's oil refinery capacity. Calgary is about 280 km (170 mi) south of Edmonton and 240 km (150 mi) north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country. Almost 75% of the province's population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The land grant policy to the railways served as a means to populate the province in its early years.[31]

 
Moraine Lake at Banff National Park. The Alberta Mountain forests makes up the southwestern boundary of Alberta.

Most of the northern half of the province is boreal forest, while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are largely temperate coniferous forests of the Alberta Mountain forests and Alberta–British Columbia foothills forests. The southern quarter of the province is prairie, ranging from shortgrass prairie in the southeastern corner to mixed grass prairie in an arc to the west and north of it. The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton, and then east to Lloydminster, contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population. Much of the unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain or to dairy farming, with mixed farming more common in the north and centre, while ranching and irrigated agriculture predominate in the south.[32]

The Alberta badlands are located in southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland, and features deep canyons and striking landforms. Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks, showcases the badlands terrain, desert flora, and remnants from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape.

Climate

 
Köppen climate types in Alberta

Alberta extends for over 1,200 km (750 mi) from north to south; its climate, therefore, varies considerably. Average high temperatures in January range from 0 °C (32 °F) in the southwest to −24 °C (−11 °F) in the far north. The presence of the Rocky Mountains also influences the climate to the southwest, which disrupts the flow of the prevailing westerly winds and causes them to drop most of their moisture on the western slopes of the mountain ranges before reaching the province, casting a rain shadow over much of Alberta. The northerly location and isolation from the weather systems of the Pacific Ocean cause Alberta to have a dry climate with little moderation from the ocean. Annual precipitation ranges from 300 mm (12 in) in the southeast to 450 mm (18 in) in the north, except in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where total precipitation including snowfall can reach 600 mm (24 in) annually.[28][33]

 
Southeastern Alberta features a semi-arid steppe climate.

Northern Alberta is mostly covered by boreal forest and has a subarctic climate. The agricultural area of southern Alberta has a semi-arid steppe climate because the annual precipitation is less than the water that evaporates or is used by plants. The southeastern corner of Alberta, part of the Palliser Triangle, experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province, and as a result, suffers frequent crop yield problems and occasional severe droughts. Western Alberta is protected by the mountains and enjoys the mild temperatures brought by winter Chinook winds. Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north.

Alberta has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The province is open to cold Arctic weather systems from the north, which often produce cold winter conditions. As the fronts between the air masses shift north and south across Alberta, the temperature can change rapidly. Arctic air masses in the winter produce extreme minimum temperatures varying from −54 °C (−65 °F) in northern Alberta to −46 °C (−51 °F) in southern Alberta, although temperatures at these extremes are rare.

In the summer, continental air masses have produced record maximum temperatures from 32 °C (90 °F) in the mountains to over 40 °C (104 °F) in southeastern Alberta.[34] Alberta is a sunny province. Annual bright sunshine totals range between 1,900 up to just under 2,600 hours per year. Northern Alberta gets about 18 hours of daylight in the summer.[34] The average daytime temperatures range from around 21 °C (70 °F) in the Rocky Mountain valleys and far north, up to around 28 °C (82 °F) in the dry prairie of the southeast. The northern and western parts of the province experience higher rainfall and lower evaporation rates caused by cooler summer temperatures. The south and east-central portions are prone to drought-like conditions sometimes persisting for several years, although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation, sometimes resulting in flooding.

In the winter, the Alberta clipper, a type of intense, fast-moving winter storm that generally forms over or near the province and, pushed with great speed by the continental polar jetstream, descends over the rest of southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States.[35] In southwestern Alberta, the cold winters are frequently interrupted by warm, dry Chinook winds blowing from the mountains, which can propel temperatures upward from frigid conditions to well above the freezing point in a very short period. During one Chinook recorded at Pincher Creek, temperatures soared from −19 to 22 °C (−2 to 72 °F) in just one hour.[28] The region around Lethbridge has the most Chinooks, averaging 30 to 35 Chinook days per year. Calgary has a 56% chance of a white Christmas, while Edmonton has an 86% chance.[36]

After Saskatchewan, Alberta experiences the most tornadoes in Canada with an average of 15 verified per year.[37] Thunderstorms, some of them severe, are frequent in the summer, especially in central and southern Alberta. The region surrounding the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is notable for having the highest frequency of hail in Canada, which is caused by orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains, enhancing the updraft/downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of hail.

Climate averages for communities in Alberta[38]
Community Region July daily
maximum[38]		 January daily
maximum[38]		 Annual
precipitation[38]		 Plant
hardiness
zone[39]
Medicine Hat Southern Alberta 28 °C (82 °F) −3 °C (27 °F) 323 mm (12.7 in) 4b
Brooks Southern Alberta 28 °C (82 °F) −4 °C (25 °F) 301 mm (11.9 in) 4a
Lethbridge Southern Alberta 26 °C (79 °F) 0 °C (32 °F) 380 mm (15 in) 4b
Fort McMurray Northern Alberta 24 °C (75 °F) −12 °C (10 °F) 419 mm (16.5 in) 3a
Wetaskiwin Central Alberta 24 °C (75 °F) −5 °C (23 °F) 497 mm (19.6 in) 3b
Edmonton Edmonton Metropolitan Region 23 °C (73 °F) −6 °C (21 °F) 456 mm (18.0 in) 4a
Cold Lake Northern Alberta 23 °C (73 °F) −10 °C (14 °F) 421 mm (16.6 in) 3a
Camrose Central Alberta 23 °C (73 °F) −6 °C (21 °F) 438 mm (17.2 in) 3b
Fort Saskatchewan Edmonton Metropolitan Region 23 °C (73 °F) −7 °C (19 °F) 455 mm (17.9 in) 3b
Lloydminster Central Alberta 23 °C (73 °F) −10 °C (14 °F) 409 mm (16.1 in) 3a
Red Deer Central Alberta 23 °C (73 °F) −5 °C (23 °F) 486 mm (19.1 in) 4a
Grande Prairie Northern Alberta 23 °C (73 °F) −8 °C (18 °F) 445 mm (17.5 in) 3b
Leduc Edmonton Metropolitan Region 23 °C (73 °F) −6 °C (21 °F) 446 mm (17.6 in) 3b
Calgary Calgary Metropolitan Region 23 °C (73 °F) −1 °C (30 °F) 419 mm (16.5 in) 4a
Chestermere Calgary Metropolitan Region 23 °C (73 °F) −3 °C (27 °F) 412 mm (16.2 in) 3b
St. Albert Edmonton Metropolitan Region 22 °C (72 °F) −6 °C (21 °F) 466 mm (18.3 in) 4a
Lacombe Central Alberta 22 °C (72 °F) −5 °C (23 °F) 446 mm (17.6 in) 3b

Ecology

Flora

 
The wild rose is the provincial flower of Alberta.

In central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring is marked by the early flowering of the prairie crocus (Pulsatilla nuttalliana) anemone; this member of the buttercup family has been recorded flowering as early as March, though April is the usual month for the general population.[40] Other prairie flora known to flower early are the golden bean (Thermopsis rhombifolia) and wild rose (Rosa acicularis).[41] Members of the sunflower (Helianthus) family blossom on the prairie in the summer months between July and September.[42] The southern and east central parts of Alberta are covered by short prairie grass,[43] which dries up as summer lengthens, to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the prairie coneflower (Ratibida), fleabane, and sage (Artemisia). Both yellow and white sweet clover (Melilotus) can be found throughout the southern and central areas of the province.

The trees in the parkland region of the province grow in clumps and belts on the hillsides. These are largely deciduous, typically aspen, poplar, and willow. Many species of willow and other shrubs grow in virtually any terrain. North of the North Saskatchewan River, evergreen forests prevail for thousands of square kilometres. Aspen poplar, balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) (or in some parts cottonwood (Populus deltoides), and paper birch (Betula papyrifera) are the primary large deciduous species. Conifers include jack pine (Pinus banksiana), Rocky Mountain pine, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), both white and black spruce, and the deciduous conifer tamarack (Larix laricina).

Fauna

 
A bighorn sheep in Kananaskis Country. The bighorn sheep is the provincial mammal of Alberta.

The four climatic regions (alpine, boreal forest, parkland, and prairie) of Alberta are home to many different species of animals. The south and central prairie was the homeland of the American bison, also known as buffalo, with its grasses providing pasture and breeding ground for millions of buffalo. The buffalo population was decimated during early settlement, but since then, buffalo have made a comeback, living on farms and in parks all over Alberta.

Herbivores are found throughout the province. Moose, mule deer, elk, and white-tailed deer are found in the wooded regions, and pronghorn can be found in the prairies of southern Alberta. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats live in the Rocky Mountains. Rabbits, porcupines, skunks, squirrels, and many species of rodents and reptiles live in every corner of the province. Alberta is home to only one venomous snake species, the prairie rattlesnake.

Alberta is home to many large carnivores such as wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, and mountain lions, which are found in the mountains and wooded regions. Smaller carnivores of the canine and feline families include coyotes, red foxes, Canada lynx, and bobcats. Wolverines can also be found in the northwestern areas of the province.

Central and northern Alberta and the region farther north are the nesting ground of many migratory birds. Vast numbers of ducks, geese, swans and pelicans arrive in Alberta every spring and nest on or near one of the hundreds of small lakes that dot northern Alberta. Eagles, hawks, owls, and crows are plentiful, and a huge variety of smaller seed and insect-eating birds can be found. Alberta, like other temperate regions, is home to mosquitoes, flies, wasps, and bees. Rivers and lakes are populated with pike, walleye, whitefish, rainbow, speckled, brown trout, and sturgeon. Native to the province, the bull trout, is the provincial fish and an official symbol of Alberta. Turtles are found in some water bodies in the southern part of the province. Frogs and salamanders are a few of the amphibians that make their homes in Alberta.

Alberta is the only province in Canada—as well as one of the few places in the world—that is free of Norwegian rats.[44] Since the early 1950s, the Government of Alberta has operated a rat-control program, which has been so successful that only isolated instances of wild rat sightings are reported, usually of rats arriving in the province aboard trucks or by rail. In 2006, Alberta Agriculture reported zero findings of wild rats; the only rat interceptions have been domesticated rats that have been seized from their owners. It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description; the animals can only be kept in the province by zoos, universities and colleges, and recognized research institutions. In 2009, several rats were found and captured, in small pockets in southern Alberta,[45] putting Alberta's rat-free status in jeopardy. A colony of rats was subsequently found in a landfill near Medicine Hat in 2012 and again in 2014.[46][47]

Paleontology

 
Specimens at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, located in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation at Dinosaur Provincial Park. Some of the specimens, from left to right, are Hypacrosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Lambeosaurus, Gorgosaurus (both in the background), Tyrannosaurus, and Triceratops.

Alberta has one of the greatest diversities and abundances of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils worldwide.[48] Taxa are represented by complete fossil skeletons, isolated material, microvertebrate remains, and even mass graves. At least 38 dinosaur type specimens were collected in the province. The Foremost Formation, Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Formations collectively comprise the Judith River Group and are the most thoroughly studied dinosaur-bearing strata in Alberta.[48]

Dinosaur-bearing strata are distributed widely throughout Alberta.[48] The Dinosaur Provincial Park area contains outcrops of the Dinosaur Park Formation and Oldman Formation. In Alberta's central and southern regions are intermittent Scollard Formation outcrops. In the Drumheller Valley and Edmonton regions there are exposed Horseshoe Canyon facies. Other formations have been recorded as well, like the Milk River and Foremost Formations. The latter two have a lower diversity of documented dinosaurs, primarily due to their lower total fossil quantity and neglect from collectors who are hindered by the isolation and scarcity of exposed outcrops. Their dinosaur fossils are primarily teeth recovered from microvertebrate fossil sites. Additional geologic formations that have produced only a few fossils are the Belly River Group and St. Mary River Formations of the southwest and the northwestern Wapiti Formation, which contains two Pachyrhinosaurus bone beds. The Bearpaw Formation represents strata deposited during a marine transgression. Dinosaurs are known from this formation, but represent specimens washed out to sea or reworked from older sediments.[48]

History

Main article: History of Alberta
See also: Timeline of Alberta history
 
Blackfoot Confederacy warriors in Macleod in 1907

Paleo-Indians arrived in Alberta at least 10,000 years ago, toward the end of the last ice age. They are thought to have migrated from Siberia to Alaska on a land bridge across the Bering Strait and then possibly moved down the east side of the Rocky Mountains through Alberta to settle the Americas. Others may have migrated down the coast of British Columbia and then moved inland.[49] Over time they differentiated into various First Nations peoples, including the Plains Indians of southern Alberta such as those of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Plains Cree, who generally lived by hunting buffalo, and the more northerly tribes such as the Woodland Cree and Chipewyan who hunted, trapped, and fished for a living.[28]

After the British arrival in Canada, approximately half of the province of Alberta, south of the Athabasca River drainage, became part of Rupert's Land which consisted of all land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay. This area was granted by Charles II of England to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1670, and rival fur trading companies were not allowed to trade in it.

The Athabasca River and the rivers north of it were not in HBC territory because they drained into the Arctic Ocean instead of Hudson Bay, and they were prime habitats for fur-bearing animals. The first European explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond, who learned of the Methye Portage, which allowed travel from southern rivers into the rivers north of Rupert's Land. Other North American fur traders formed the North West Company (NWC) of Montreal to compete with the HBC in 1779. The NWC occupied the northern part of Alberta territory. Peter Pond built Fort Athabasca on Lac la Biche in 1778. Roderick Mackenzie built Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca ten years later in 1788. His cousin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, followed the North Saskatchewan River to its northernmost point near Edmonton, then setting northward on foot, trekked to the Athabasca River, which he followed to Lake Athabasca. It was there he discovered the mighty outflow river which bears his name—the Mackenzie River—which he followed to its outlet in the Arctic Ocean. Returning to Lake Athabasca, he followed the Peace River upstream, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean, and so he became the first European to cross the North American continent north of Mexico.[50]

The extreme southernmost portion of Alberta was part of the French (and Spanish) territory of Louisiana and was sold to the United States in 1803. In the Treaty of 1818, the portion of Louisiana north of the Forty-Ninth Parallel was ceded to Great Britain.[51]

 
Fort Chipewyan, a trading post and regional headquarters for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1820

Fur trade expanded in the north, but bloody battles occurred between the rival HBC and NWC, and in 1821 the British government forced them to merge to stop the hostilities.[52] The amalgamated Hudson's Bay Company dominated trade in Alberta until 1870 when the newly formed Canadian Government purchased Rupert's Land. Northern Alberta was included in the North-Western Territory until 1870, when it and Rupert's land became Canada's North-West Territories.

 
Downtown Calgary was one of several areas afflicted during the 2013 Alberta floods.

First Nations negotiated the Numbered Treaties with the Crown in which the Crown gained title to the land that would later become Alberta, and the Crown committed to the ongoing support of the First Nations and guaranteed their hunting and fishing rights. The most significant treaties for Alberta are Treaty 6 (1876), Treaty 7 (1877) and Treaty 8 (1899).

The District of Alberta was created as part of the North-West Territories in 1882. As settlement increased, local representatives to the North-West Legislative Assembly were added. After a long campaign for autonomy, in 1905, the District of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial status, with the election of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as the first premier. Less than a decade later, the First World War presented special challenges to the new province as an extraordinary number of volunteers left relatively few workers to maintain services and production. Over 50% of Alberta's doctors volunteered for service overseas.[53]

On June 21, 2013, during the 2013 Alberta floods Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood and Oldman rivers and tributaries. A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders.[54]

In 2016, the Fort McMurray wildfire resulted in the largest fire evacuation of residents in Alberta's history, as more than 80,000 people were ordered to evacuate.[55][56]

Since 2020, Alberta has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[57]

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Alberta
 
Population density of Alberta

{ The 2021 Canadian census reported Alberta had a population of 4,262,635 living in 1,633,220 of its 1,772,670 total dwellings, an 4.8% change from its 2016 population of 4,067,175. With a land area of 634,658.27 km2 (245,042.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.7/km2 in 2021.[2] Statistics Canada estimated the province to have a population of 4,543,111 in Q3 of 2022.[58]

Since 2000, Alberta's population has experienced a relatively high rate of growth, mainly because of its burgeoning economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province had high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration compared to other provinces.[59]

In 2016, Alberta continued to have the youngest population among the provinces with a median age of 36.7 years, compared with the national median of 41.2 years. Also in 2016, Alberta had the smallest proportion of seniors (12.3%) among the provinces and one of the highest population shares of children (19.2%), further contributing to Alberta's young and growing population.[60]

About 81% of the population lives in urban areas and only about 19% in rural areas. The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and is one of the most densely populated areas of Canada.[61] Many of Alberta's cities and towns have experienced very high rates of growth in recent history.[when?] Alberta's population rose from 73,022 in 1901[62] to 3,290,350 according to the 2006 census.[63]

According to the 2016 census Alberta has 779,155 residents (19.2%) between the ages of 0–14, 2,787,805 residents (68.5%) between the ages of 15–64, and 500,215 residents (12.3%) aged 65 and over.[64]

Additionally, as per the 2016 census, 1,769,500 residents hold a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree, 895,885 residents have obtained a secondary (high) school diploma or equivalency certificate, and 540,665 residents do not have any certificate, diploma or degree.[64]

Municipalities

Main article: List of communities in Alberta
Largest metro areas and municipalities by population as of 2016
Census metropolitan areas: 2016[65] 2011[66] 2006[67] 2001[68] 1996[69]
Calgary CMA 1,392,609 1,214,839 1,079,310 951,395 821,628
Edmonton CMA 1,321,426 1,159,869 1,034,945 937,845 862,597
Lethbridge CMA 117,394 105,999 95,196 87,388 82,025
Urban municipalities (10 largest): 2016[70] 2011[71] 2006[72] 2001[73] 1996[74]
Calgary 1,239,220 1,096,833 988,193 878,866 768,082
Edmonton 932,546 812,201 730,372 666,104 616,306
Red Deer 100,418 90,564 82,772 67,707 60,080
Lethbridge 92,729 83,517 78,713 68,712 64,938
St. Albert (included in Edmonton CMA) 65,589 61,466 57,719 53,081 46,888
Medicine Hat 63,260 60,005 56,997 51,249 46,783
Grande Prairie 63,166 55,032 47,076 36,983 31,353
Airdrie (included in Calgary CMA) 61,581 42,564 28,927 20,382 15,946
Spruce Grove (included in Edmonton CMA) 34,066 26,171 19,496 15,983 14,271
Leduc (included in Edmonton CMA) 29,993 24,304 16,967 15,032 14,346
Specialized/rural municipalities (5 largest): 2016[70] 2011[71] 2006[72] 2001[73] 1996[74]
Strathcona County (included in Edmonton CMA) 98,044 92,490 82,511 71,986 64,176
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (includes Fort McMurray) 71,589 65,565 51,496 42,581 35,213
Rocky View County (included in Calgary CMA) 39,407 36,461 34,171 29,925 23,326
Parkland County (included in Edmonton CMA) 32,097 30,568 29,265 27,252 24,769
Municipal District of Foothills No. 31 22,766 21,258 19,736 16,764 13,714

Language

Main article: Demographics of Alberta § Languages

As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (4,109,720 or 98.37%), French (260,415 or 6.23%), Tagalog (172,625 or 4.13%), Punjabi (126,385 or 3.03%), Spanish (116,070 or 2.78%), Hindi (94,015 or 2.25%), Mandarin (82,095 or 1.97%), Arabic (76,760 or 1.84%), Cantonese (74,960 or 1.79%), and German (65,370 or 1.56%).[75] The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.

As of the 2016 census, English is the most common mother tongue, with 2,991,485 native speakers.[64] This is followed by Tagalog, with 99,035 speakers, German, with 80,050 speakers, French, with 72,150 native speakers, and Punjabi, with 68,695 speakers.[64]

The 2006 census found that English, with 2,576,670 native speakers, was the most common mother tongue of Albertans, representing 79.99% of the population. The next most common mother tongues were Chinese with 97,275 native speakers (3.02%), followed by German with 84,505 native speakers (2.62%) and French with 61,225 (1.90%).[76] Other mother tongues include: Punjabi, with 36,320 native speakers (1.13%); Tagalog, with 29,740 (0.92%); Ukrainian, with 29,455 (0.91%); Spanish, with 29,125 (0.90%); Polish, with 21,990 (0.68%); Arabic, with 20,495 (0.64%); Dutch, with 19,980 (0.62%); and Vietnamese, with 19,350 (0.60%). The most common aboriginal language is Cree 17,215 (0.53%). Other common mother tongues include Italian with 13,095 speakers (0.41%); Urdu with 11,275 (0.35%); and Korean with 10,845 (0.33%); then Hindi 8,985 (0.28%); Persian 7,700 (0.24%); Portuguese 7,205 (0.22%); and Hungarian 6,770 (0.21%).

According to Statistics Canada, Alberta is home to the second-highest proportion (2%) of Francophones in western Canada (after Manitoba). Despite this, relatively few Albertans claim French as their mother tongue. Many of Alberta's French-speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province, after migration from other areas of Canada or descending from Métis.

Ethnicity

Main article: Demographics of Alberta § Ethnic origins

Alberta has considerable ethnic diversity. In line with the rest of Canada, many are descended from immigrants of Western European nations, notably England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France, but large numbers later came from other regions of Europe, notably Germany, Ukraine and Scandinavia.[77]

As per the 2016 census, 253,460 Albertans identify as Aboriginal, including 136,585 as First Nations, 114,370 as Métis, and 2,500 as Inuit.[64] There are also 933,165 residents who identify as a visible minority, including 230,930 South Asian people, 166,195 Filipinos, and 158,200 Chinese respondents.[64]

In the 2006 Canadian census, the most commonly reported ethnic origins among Albertans were: 885,825 English (27.2%); 679,705 German (20.9%); 667,405 Canadian (20.5%); 661,265 Scottish (20.3%); 539,160 Irish (16.6%); 388,210 French (11.9%); 332,180 Ukrainian (10.2%); 172,910 Dutch (5.3%); 170,935 Polish (5.2%); 169,355 North American Indian (5.2%); 144,585 Norwegian (4.4%); and 137,600 Chinese (4.2%). (Each person could choose as many ethnicities as were applicable.)[78] Amongst those of British heritage, the Scots have had a particularly strong influence on place-names, with the names of many cities and towns including Calgary, Airdrie, Canmore, and Banff having Scottish origins.

Alberta is the third most diverse province in terms of visible minorities after British Columbia and Ontario with 13.9% of the population consisting of visible minorities in 2006.[79] Over one-third of the populations of Calgary and Edmonton belong to a visible minority group.[80]

Aboriginal Identity Peoples made up 5.8% of the population in 2006, about half of whom consist of First Nations and the other half are Métis. There are also a small number of Inuit in Alberta.[81] The number of Aboriginal Identity Peoples have been increasing at a rate greater than the population of Alberta.[81]

As reported in the 2001 census, the Chinese represented nearly 4% of Alberta's population, and South Asians represented more than 2%. Both Edmonton and Calgary have historic Chinatowns, and Calgary has Canada's third-largest Chinese community. The Chinese presence began with workers employed in the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. Indigenous Albertans makeup approximately 3% of the population.

Religion

Main article: Demographics of Alberta § Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Alberta included:[82]

As of the 2011 National Household Survey, the largest religious group was Roman Catholic, representing 24.3% of the population. Alberta had the second-highest percentage of non-religious residents among the provinces (after British Columbia) at 31.6% of the population. Of the remainder, 7.5% of the population identified themselves as belonging to the United Church of Canada, while 3.9% were Anglican. Lutherans made up 3.3% of the population while Baptists comprised 1.9%.[83] The remainder belonged to a wide variety of different religious affiliations, none of which constituted more than 2% of the population.

Members of LDS Church are mostly concentrated in the extreme south of the province. Alberta has a population of Hutterites, a communal Anabaptist sect similar to the Mennonites, and has a significant population of Seventh-day Adventists. Alberta is home to several Byzantine Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immigration, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada's Western Diocese which is based in Edmonton. Muslims made up 3.2% of the population, Sikhs 1.5%, Buddhists 1.2%, and Hindus 1.0%. Many of these are immigrants, but others have roots that go back to the first settlers of the prairies. Canada's oldest mosque, the Al-Rashid Mosque, is located in Edmonton,[84] whereas Calgary is home to Canada's largest mosque, the Baitun Nur Mosque.[85] Alberta is also home to a growing Jewish population of about 15,400 people who constituted 0.3% of Alberta's population. Most of Alberta's Jews live in the metropolitan areas of Calgary (8,200) and Edmonton (5,500).[86]

Economy

Main article: Economy of Alberta
See also: List of Canadian provinces and territories by gross domestic product
 
Petroleum resources in Alberta

Alberta's economy was one of the strongest in the world, supported by the burgeoning petroleum industry and to a lesser extent, agriculture and technology. In 2013, Alberta's per capita GDP exceeded that of the United States, Norway, or Switzerland,[87] and was the highest of any province in Canada at CA$84,390. This was 56% higher than the national average of CA$53,870 and more than twice that of some of the Atlantic provinces.[88][89] In 2006, the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history.[90] According to the 2006 census,[91] the median annual family income after taxes was $70,986 in Alberta (compared to $60,270 in Canada as a whole). In 2014, Alberta had the second-largest economy in Canada after Ontario, with a GDP exceeding CA$376 billion.[92] The GDP of the province calculated at basic prices rose by 4.6% in 2017 to $327.4 billion, which was the largest increase recorded in Canada, and it ended two consecutive years of decreases.[93]

Alberta's debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to peak at 12.1% in fiscal year 2021–2022, falling to 11.3% the following year.[94]

The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada. The region covers a distance of roughly 400 km (250 mi) north to south. In 2001, the population of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor was 2.15 million (72% of Alberta's population).[95] It is also one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor to be the only Canadian urban centre to amass a United States level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian style quality of life, offering universal health care benefits. The study found that GDP per capita in the corridor was 10% above average United States metropolitan areas and 40% above other Canadian cities at that time.

The Fraser Institute states that Alberta also has very high levels of economic freedom and rates Alberta as the freest economy in Canada,[96] and second-freest economy amongst U.S. states and Canadian provinces.[97]

In 2014, merchandise exports totalled US$121.4 billion. Energy revenues totalled $111.7 billion and Energy resource exports totalled $90.8 billion. Farm Cash receipts from agricultural products totalled $12.9 billion. Shipments of forest products totalled $5.4 billion while exports were $2.7 billion. Manufacturing sales totalled $79.4 billion, and Alberta's information and communications technology (ICT) industries generated over $13 billion in revenue. In total, Alberta's 2014 GDP amassed $364.5 billion in 2007 dollars, or $414.3 billion in 2015 dollars. In 2015, Alberta's GDP grew unstably despite low oil prices, with growth rates as high 4.4% and as low as 0.2%.[98][99]

Agriculture and forestry

 
Cows in Rocky View. Nearly one-half of Canadian beef is produced here.

Agriculture has a significant position in the province's economy. The province has over three million head of cattle,[100] and Alberta beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta. Alberta is one of the top producers of plains buffalo (bison) for the consumer market. Sheep for wool and mutton are also raised.

Wheat and canola[101] are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production; other grains are also prominent. Much of the farming is dryland farming, often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation. Continuous cropping (in which there is no fallow season) is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion. Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreasing; farmers typically truck the grain to central points.[102]

Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed. Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this need.[103]

 
Canola field, Edmonton

Forestry plays a vital role in Alberta's economy, providing over 15,000 jobs and contributing billions of dollars annually.[104] Uses for harvested timber include pulpwood, hardwood, engineered wood and bioproducts such as chemicals and biofuels.

Industry

Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in Canada. Alberta is the world's second-largest exporter of natural gas and the fourth-largest producer.[105] Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north-central Alberta. In both Red Deer and Edmonton, polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products that are shipped all over the world. Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton.

The Athabasca oil sands surrounding Fort McMurray have estimated unconventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion barrels (254 km3). Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands. As of late 2006, there were over $100 billion in oil sands projects under construction or in the planning stages in northeastern Alberta.[106]

Another factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the oil sands is the price of oil. The oil price increases since 2003 have made it profitable to extract this oil, which in the past would give little profit or even a loss. By mid-2014, rising costs and stabilizing oil prices threatened the economic viability of some projects. An example of this was the shelving of the Joslyn north project in the Athabasca region in May 2014.[107]

With concerted effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably patents related to interactive liquid-crystal display systems.[108] With a growing economy, Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Alberta

Alberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of the 20th century, with attractions including outdoor locales for skiing, hiking, and camping, shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall, Calgary Stampede, outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, as well as more eclectic attractions. According to Alberta Economic Development, Calgary and Edmonton both host over four million visitors annually. Banff, Jasper and the Rocky Mountains are visited by about three million people per year.[109] Alberta tourism relies heavily on Southern Ontario tourists, as well as tourists from other parts of Canada, the United States, and many other countries.

There are also natural attractions like Elk Island National Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, and the Columbia Icefield. Alberta's Rockies include well-known tourist destinations Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. The two mountain parks are connected by the scenic Icefields Parkway. Banff is located 128 km (80 mi) west of Calgary on Highway 1, and Jasper is located 366 km (227 mi) west of Edmonton on the Yellowhead Highway. Five of Canada's fourteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located within the province: Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. A number of these areas hold ski resorts, most notably Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Norquay and Nakiska.

 
Bronco riding at the Calgary Stampede. The event is one of the world's largest rodeos.

About 1.2 million people visit the Calgary Stampede,[110] a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry. About 700,000 people enjoy Edmonton's K-Days (formerly Klondike Days and Capital EX).[111][112] Edmonton was the gateway to the only all-Canadian route to the Yukon gold fields, and the only route which did not require gold-seekers to travel the exhausting and dangerous Chilkoot Pass.

Another tourist destination that draws more than 650,000 visitors each year is the Drumheller Valley, located northeast of Calgary. Drumheller, "Dinosaur Capital of The World", offers the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Drumheller also had a rich mining history being one of Western Canada's largest coal producers during the war years. Another attraction in east-central Alberta is Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions, a popular tourist attraction operated out of Stettler, that offers train excursions into the prairie and caters to tens of thousands of visitors every year.

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Alberta and Monarchy in Alberta
See also: List of premiers of Alberta, List of Alberta general elections, and Executive Council of Alberta
 
Distribution of Alberta's 6 specialized municipalities (red) and 74 rural municipalities, which include municipal districts (often named as counties) (orange), improvement districts (dark green) and special areas (light green) (2020)

The Government of Alberta is organized as a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature. Its unicameral legislature—the Legislative Assembly—consists of 87 members elected first past the post (FPTP) from single-member constituencies.[113] Locally municipal governments and school boards are elected and operate separately. Their boundaries do not necessarily coincide.

As King of Canada, Charles III is the head of state for the Government of Alberta. His duties in Alberta are carried out by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani.[114] The King and lieutenant governor are figureheads whose actions are highly restricted by custom and constitutional convention. The lieutenant governor handles numerous honorific duties in the name of the King. The government is headed by the premier. The premier is normally a member of the Legislative Assembly, and draws all the members of the Cabinet from among the members of the Legislative Assembly. The City of Edmonton is the seat of the provincial government—the capital of Alberta. The current premier is Danielle Smith, who was sworn in on October 11th, 2022.

 
The Alberta Legislative Building serves as the meeting place for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Alberta's elections have tended to yield much more conservative outcomes than those of other Canadian provinces. Since the 1960s, Alberta has had three main political parties, the Progressive Conservatives ("Conservatives" or "Tories"), the Liberals, and the social democratic New Democrats. The Wildrose Party, a more libertarian party formed in early 2008, gained much support in the 2012 election and became the official opposition, a role it held until 2017 when it was dissolved and succeeded by the new United Conservative Party created by the merger of Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives. The strongly conservative Social Credit Party was a power in Alberta for many decades, but fell from the political map after the Progressive Conservatives came to power in 1971.

For 44 years the Progressive Conservatives governed Alberta. They lost the 2015 election to the NDP (which formed their own government for the first time in provincial history, breaking almost 80 consecutive years of right-wing rule),[115] suggesting at the time a possible shift to the left in the province, also indicated by the election of progressive mayors in both of Alberta's major cities.[116] Since becoming a province in 1905, Alberta has seen only five changes of government—only six parties have governed Alberta: the Liberals, from 1905 to 1921; the United Farmers of Alberta, from 1921 to 1935; the Social Credit Party, from 1935 to 1971; the Progressive Conservative Party, from 1971 to 2015; from 2015 to 2019, the Alberta New Democratic Party; and from 2019, the United Conservative Party, with the most recent transfer of power being the first time in provincial history that an incumbent government was not returned to a second term.

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal districts (often named as counties), improvement districts, and special areas), Métis settlements, and Indian reserves. All types of municipalities are governed by local residents and were incorporated under various provincial acts, with the exception of improvement districts (governed by either the provincial or federal government), and Indian reserves (governed by local band governments under federal jurisdiction).

Law enforcement

 
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in St. Albert. The RCMP provides municipal policing throughout most of Alberta.

Policing in the province of Alberta upon its creation was the responsibility of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. In 1917, due to pressures of the First World War, the Alberta Provincial Police was created. This organization policed the province until it was disbanded as a Great Depression-era cost-cutting measure in 1932. It was at that time the, now renamed, Royal Canadian Mounted Police resumed policing of the province, specifically RCMP "K" Division. With the advent of the Alberta Sheriffs Branch, the distribution of duties of law enforcement in Alberta has been evolving as certain aspects, such as traffic enforcement, mobile surveillance and the close protection of the Premier of Alberta have been transferred to the Sheriffs. In 2006, Alberta formed the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) to combat organized crime and the serious offences that accompany it. ALERT is made up of members of the RCMP, Sheriffs Branch, and various major municipal police forces in Alberta.

Military

Military bases in Alberta include Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Cold Lake, CFB Edmonton, CFB Suffield and CFB Wainwright. Air force units stationed at CFB Cold Lake have access to the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range.[117] CFB Edmonton is the headquarters for the 3rd Canadian Division.[118] CFB Suffield hosts British troops and is the largest training facility in Canada.[119]

Taxation

According to Alberta's 2009 budget, government revenue in that year came mainly from royalties on non-renewable natural resources (30.4%), personal income taxes (22.3%), corporate and other taxes (19.6%), and grants from the federal government primarily for infrastructure projects (9.8%).[120] In 2014, Alberta received $6.1 billion in bitumen royalties. With the drop in the price of oil in 2015 it was down to $1.4 billion. In 2016, Alberta received "about $837 million in royalty payments from oil sands Royalty Projects".[121] According to the 2018–2021 fiscal plan, the two top sources of revenue in 2016 were personal income tax at $10,763 million and federal transfers of $7,976 million with total resource revenue at $3,097 million.[122]: 45  Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax. Alberta residents are subject to the federal sales tax, the Goods and Services Tax of 5%.

2018–2021 fiscal plan
Revenue source in millions of dollars[122]
personal income tax 10,763
federal transfers 7,976
Other tax revenue 5,649
Corporate income tax 3,769
Premiums, fees and licenses 3,701
Investment income 3,698
Resource revenue – other 1,614
Resource revenue – Bitumen royalties 1,483
Net income from business enterprises 543
Total revenue 42,293

From 2001 to 2016, Alberta was the only Canadian province to have a flat tax of 10% of taxable income, which was introduced by Premier, Ralph Klein, as part of the Alberta Tax Advantage, which also included a zero-percent tax on income below a "generous personal exemption".[123][124]

In 2016, under Premier Rachel Notley, while most Albertans continued to pay the 10% income tax rate, new tax brackets 12%, 14%, and 15% for those with higher incomes ($128,145 annually or more) were introduced.[125][123] Alberta's personal income tax system maintained a progressive character by continuing to grant residents personal tax exemptions of $18,451,[126] in addition to a variety of tax deductions for persons with disabilities, students, and the aged.[127] Alberta's municipalities and school jurisdictions have their own governments who usually work in co-operation with the provincial government. By 2018, most Albertans continued to pay the 10% income tax rate.[125]

According to a March 2015 Statistics Canada report, the median household income in Alberta in 2014 was about $100,000, which is 23% higher than the Canadian national average.[128]

Based on Statistic Canada reports, low-income Albertans, who earn less than $25,000 and those in the high-income bracket earning $150,000 or more, are the lowest-taxed people in Canada.[125] Those in the middle income brackets representing those that earn about $25,000 to $75,000[Notes 1] pay more in provincial taxes than residents in British Columbia and Ontario.[125] In terms of income tax, Alberta is the "best province" for those with a low income because there is no provincial income tax for those who earn $18,915 or less.[125] Even with the 2016 progressive tax brackets up to 15%, Albertans who have the highest incomes, those with a $150,000 annual income or more—about 178,000 people in 2015, pay the least in taxes in Canada.[125] — About 1.9 million Albertans earned between $25,000 and $150,000 in 2015.[125]

Alberta also privatized alcohol distribution. By 2010, privatization had increased outlets from 304 stores to 1,726; 1,300 jobs to 4,000 jobs; and 3,325 products to 16,495 products.[129] Tax revenue also increased from $400 million to $700 million.

In 2017/18 Alberta collected about $2.4 billion in education property taxes from municipalities.[130] Alberta municipalities raise a significant portion of their income through levying property taxes.[131] The value of assessed property in Alberta was approximately $727 billion in 2011.[132] Most real property is assessed according to its market value.[131] The exceptions to market value assessment are farmland, railways, machinery and equipment and linear property, all of which is assessed by regulated rates.[133] Depending on the property type, property owners may appeal a property assessment to their municipal 'Local Assessment Review Board', 'Composite Assessment Review Board,' or the Alberta Municipal Government Board.[131][134]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Alberta
See also: List of festivals in Alberta

Summer brings many festivals to the province of Alberta, especially in Edmonton. The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the world's second-largest after the Edinburgh Festival. Both Calgary and Edmonton host many annual festivals and events, including folk music festivals. The city's "heritage days" festival sees the participation of over 70 ethnic groups. Edmonton's Churchill Square is home to a large number of the festivals, including the large Taste of Edmonton and The Works Art & Design Festival throughout the summer months.

The City of Calgary is also famous for its Stampede, dubbed "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". The Stampede is Canada's biggest rodeo festival and features various races and competitions, such as calf roping and bull riding. In line with the western tradition of rodeo are the cultural artisans that reside and create unique Alberta western heritage crafts.

In 2019, the then Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda announced the Alberta Artist in Residence program in conjunction with the province's first Month of the Artist[135] to celebrate the arts and the value they bring to the province, both socially and economically,[136] The Artist is selected each year via a public and competitive process is expected to do community outreach and attend events to promote the arts throughout the province. The award comes with $60,000 funding which includes travel and materials costs.[137] On January 31, 2019, Lauren Crazybull named Alberta's 1st Artist in Residence.[138][139][137] Alberta is the first province to launch an Artist in Residence program in Canada.

Sports

List of sport teams in Alberta
Team City League Stadium/Arena Capacity
Edmonton Oilers Edmonton National Hockey League Rogers Place 18 347
Calgary Flames Calgary National Hockey League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289
Edmonton Elks Edmonton Canadian Football League Commonwealth Stadium 60 081
Calgary Stampeders Calgary Canadian Football League McMahon Stadium 40 000
Calgary Wranglers Calgary American Hockey League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289
Calgary Hitmen Calgary Canadian Hockey League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289
Edmonton Oil Kings Edmonton Canadian Hockey League Rogers Place 18 347
Lethbridge Hurricanes Lethbridge Canadian Hockey League Enmax Centre 5 479
Medicine Hat Tigers Medicine Hat Canadian Hockey League Canalta Centre 7 100
Red Deer Rebels Red Deer Canadian Hockey League Peavey Mart Centrium 7 111
Cavalry FC Calgary Canadian Premier League ATCO Field 6 000
Edmonton Stingers Edmonton Canadian Elite Basketball League Edmonton Expo Centre 4 000
Calgary Roughnecks Calgary National Lacrosse League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289
Edmonton Riverhawks Edmonton West Coast League RE/MAX Field 9 200

Education

Main article: Education in Alberta

As with any Canadian province, the Alberta Legislature has (almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education. Since 1905, the Legislature has used this capacity to continue the model of locally elected public and separate school boards which originated prior to 1905, as well as to create and regulate universities, colleges, technical institutions, and other educational forms and institutions (public charter schools, private schools, homeschooling).

Elementary and secondary

There are forty-two public school jurisdictions in Alberta, and seventeen operating separate school jurisdictions. Sixteen of the operating separate school jurisdictions have a Catholic electorate, and one (St. Albert) has a Protestant electorate. In addition, one Protestant separate school district, Glen Avon, survives as a ward of the St. Paul Education Region. The City of Lloydminster straddles the Albertan/Saskatchewan border, and both the public and separate school systems in that city are counted in the above numbers: both of them operate according to Saskatchewan law.

For many years the provincial government has funded the greater part of the cost of providing K–12 education. Prior to 1994 public and separate school boards in Alberta had the legislative authority to levy a local tax on property as supplementary support for local education. In 1994, the government of the province eliminated this right for public school boards, but not for separate school boards. Since 1994 there has continued to be a tax on property in support of K–12 education; the difference is that the provincial government now sets the mill rate, the money is collected by the local municipal authority and remitted to the provincial government. The relevant legislation requires that all the money raised by this property tax must go to support K–12 education provided by school boards. The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them, according to a formula, to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities.

Public and separate school boards, charter schools, and private schools all follow the Program of Studies and the curriculum approved by the provincial department of education (Alberta Education). Homeschool tutors may choose to follow the Program of Studies or develop their own Program of Studies. Public and separate schools, charter schools, and approved private schools all employ teachers who are certificated by Alberta Education, they administer Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Examinations set by Alberta Education, and they may grant high school graduation certificates endorsed by Alberta Education.

Post-secondary

Main article: Higher education in Alberta
 
The University of Alberta in 2005. The institution is the oldest, and largest university in Alberta.

The University of Alberta, located in Edmonton and established in 1908, is Alberta's oldest and largest university. The University of Calgary, once affiliated with the University of Alberta, gained its autonomy in 1966 and is now the second-largest university in Alberta. Athabasca University, which focuses on distance learning, and the University of Lethbridge are located in Athabasca and Lethbridge respectively.

In early September 2009, Mount Royal University became Calgary's second public university, and in late September 2009, a similar move made MacEwan University Edmonton's second public university. There are 15 colleges that receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.[140] Two of the colleges, Red Deer College and Grande Prairie Regional College, were approved by the Alberta government to become degree-granting universities.[141]

There are also many private post-secondary institutions, mostly Christian Universities, bringing the total number of universities to 12. Students may also receive government loans and grants while attending selected private institutions. There was some controversy in 2005 over the rising cost of post-secondary education for students (as opposed to taxpayers). In 2005, Premier Ralph Klein made a promise that he would freeze tuition and look into ways of reducing schooling costs.[142][143]

Health care

Main article: Alberta Health Services
See also: Healthcare in Canada

Alberta provides a publicly funded, fully integrated health system, through Alberta Health Services (AHS)—a quasi-independent agency that delivers health care on behalf of the Government of Alberta's Ministry of Health.[144] The Alberta government provides health services for all its residents as set out by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984. Alberta became Canada's second province (after Saskatchewan) to adopt a Tommy Douglas-style program in 1950, a precursor to the modern medicare system.

Alberta's health care budget was $22.5 billion during the 2018–2019 fiscal year (approximately 45% of all government spending), making it the best-funded health-care system per-capita in Canada.[145] Every hour the province spends more than $2.5 million, (or $60 million per day), to maintain and improve health care in the province.[146]

Notable health, education, research, and resources facilities in Alberta, all of which are located within Calgary or Edmonton. Health centres in Calgary include:

 
Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary is the largest hospital in Alberta.

Health centres in Edmonton include:

The Edmonton Clinic complex, completed in 2012, provides a similar research, education, and care environment as the Mayo Clinic in the United States.[147][148]

All public health care services funded by the Government of Alberta are delivered operationally by Alberta Health Services. AHS is the province's single health authority, established on July 1, 2008, which replaced nine regional health authorities. AHS also funds all ground ambulance services in the province, as well as the province-wide Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) air ambulance service.[149]

Transportation

Air

See also: List of airports in Alberta
 
Calgary International Airport, the province's largest airport by passenger traffic.

Alberta is well-connected by air, with international airports in both Calgary and Edmonton. Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport are the fourth- and fifth-busiest in Canada, respectively. Calgary's airport is a hub for WestJet Airlines and a regional hub for Air Canada, primarily serving the prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) for connecting flights to British Columbia, eastern Canada, fifteen major United States centres, nine European airports, one Asian airport and four destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.[150] Edmonton's airport acts as a hub for the Canadian north and has connections to all major Canadian airports as well as airports in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean .[151]

Public transit

Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge have substantial public transit systems. In addition to buses, Calgary and Edmonton operate light rail transit (LRT) systems. Edmonton LRT, which is underground in the downtown core and on the surface outside the downtown core was the first of the modern generation of light rail systems to be built in North America, while the Calgary C Train has one of the highest numbers of daily riders of any LRT system in North America.

Rail

 
A Via Rail passenger train passing by freight trains in the background, at Jasper station

There are more than 9,000 km (5,600 mi) of operating mainline railway in Alberta. The vast majority of this trackage is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Canadian National Railway (CN) companies, which operate freight transport across the province. Additional railfreight service in the province is provided by two shortline railways: the Battle River Railway and Forty Mile Rail.

Passenger trains include Via Rail's Canadian (Toronto–Vancouver) and Jasper–Prince Rupert trains, which use the CN mainline and pass through Jasper National Park and parallel the Yellowhead Highway during at least part of their routes. The Rocky Mountaineer operates two sections: one from Vancouver to Banff over CP tracks, and a section that travels over CN tracks to Jasper.

Road

See also: List of Alberta provincial highways

Alberta has over 181,000 km (112,000 mi) of highways and roads, of which nearly 41,000 km (25,000 mi) are paved.[152] The main north–south corridor is Highway 2, which begins south of Cardston at the Carway border crossing and is part of the CANAMEX Corridor. Beginning at the Coutts border crossing and ending at Lethbridge, Highway 4, effectively extends Interstate 15 into Alberta and is the busiest United States gateway to the province. Highway 3 joins Lethbridge to Fort Macleod and links Highway 2 to Highway 4. Highway 2 travels north through Fort Macleod, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton.[153]

North of Edmonton, the highway continues to Athabasca, then northwesterly along the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake into High Prairie, north to Peace River, west to Fairview and finally south to Grande Prairie, where it ends at an interchange with Highway 43.[153] The section of Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton has been named the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to commemorate the visit of the monarch in 2005.[154] Highway 2 is supplemented by two more highways that run parallel to it: Highway 22, west of Highway 2, known as Cowboy Trail, and Highway 21, east of Highway 2. Highway 43 travels northwest into Grande Prairie and the Peace River Country. Travelling northeast from Edmonton, the Highway 63 connects to Fort McMurrayand the Athabasca oil sands.[153]

Alberta has two main east–west corridors. The southern corridor, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near Medicine Hat, runs westward through Calgary, and leaves Alberta through Banff National Park. The northern corridor, also part of the Trans-Canada network and known as the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), runs west from Lloydminster in eastern Alberta, through Edmonton and Jasper National Park into British Columbia.[153] One of the most scenic drives is along the Icefields Parkway, which runs for 228 km (142 mi) between Jasper and Lake Louise, with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length. A third corridor stretches across southern Alberta; Highway 3 runs between Crowsnest Pass and Medicine Hat through Lethbridge and forms the eastern portion of the Crowsnest Highway.[153] Another major corridor through central Alberta is Highway 11 (also known as the David Thompson Highway), which runs east from the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park through Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer, connecting with Highway 12, 20 km (12 mi) west of Stettler. The highway connects many of the smaller towns in central Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton, as it crosses Highway 2 just west of Red Deer.[153]

Urban stretches of Alberta's major highways and freeways are often called trails. For example, Highway 2, the main north–south highway in the province, is called Deerfoot Trail as it passes through Calgary but becomes Calgary Trail (southbound) and Gateway Boulevard (northbound) as it enters Edmonton and then turns into St. Albert Trail as it leaves Edmonton for the City of St. Albert. Calgary, in particular, has a tradition of calling its largest urban expressways trails and naming many of them after prominent First Nations individuals and tribes, such as Crowchild Trail, Deerfoot Trail, and Stoney Trail.[155]

Friendship partners

Alberta has relationships with many provinces, states, and other entities worldwide.[156]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ According to a 2018 CBC article, Albertans whose annual income is less than $25,000 pay the least income tax in Canada; those that earn about $50,000 "pay more than both Ontarians and British Columbians". Residents of British Columbia who earn about $75,000 pay $1,200 less in provincial taxes than those in Alberta. Albertans who earn about $100,000, "pay less than Ontarians but still more than people in B.C." Alberta taxpayers who earn $250,000 a year or more, pay $4,000 less in provincial taxes than someone with a similar income in B.C. and "about $18,000 less than in Quebec."

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  153. ^ a b c d e f "Provincial Highway 1–216 Progress Chart" (PDF). Alberta Transportation. March 2015. (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  154. ^ "Highway 2 receives 'Royal' treatment". Alberta Transportation. May 23, 2005. from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016. Highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary is now known as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway.
  155. ^ . Google Maps. Archived from the original (Map) on October 8, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  156. ^ . Government of Alberta. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  157. ^ (PDF). AlbertaCanada.com. Government of Alberta. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  158. ^ "California's Sister State Relationships". ca.gov. from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2016.

Further reading

  • Berry, Susan; Jack Brink (2004). Aboriginal Cultures in Alberta: Five Hundred Generations. Provincial Museum of Alberta. ISBN 0-7785-2852-9. Retrieved October 21, 2012. Alberta.
  • Cavanaugh, Catherine Anne; Michael Payne; Donald Wetherell; Catherine Cavanaugh (2006). Alberta formed, Alberta transformed, Volume 1. University of Alberta Press. ISBN 1-55238-194-3. from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  • Connors, Richard; Law, John M. (2005). Forging Alberta's constitutional framework. University of Alberta – Centre for Constitutional Studies. ISBN 0-88864-457-4. from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  • Holt, Faye Reineberg (2009). Alberta: A History in Photographs. Heritage House ; Lancaster : Gazelle. ISBN 978-1-894974-87-5. from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  • Melnyk, George (1999). The literary history of Alberta. University of Alberta Press. ISBN 0-88864-296-2. Retrieved October 21, 2012. Alberta.
  • Taylor, Alison (2001). The politics of educational reform in Alberta. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-4813-7. Retrieved October 21, 2012. Alberta.

External links

 
Look up Alberta in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Official website of the Government of Alberta  
  • Alberta at Curlie
  • List of streets in Alberta with maps

January 10, 2023
alberta, this, article, about, canadian, province, other, uses, disambiguation, ɜːr, thirteen, provinces, territories, canada, part, western, canada, three, prairie, provinces, bordered, british, columbia, west, saskatchewan, east, northwest, territories, nort. This article is about the Canadian province For other uses see Alberta disambiguation Alberta ae l ˈ b ɜːr t e al BUR te is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west Saskatchewan to the east the Northwest Territories NWT to the north and the U S state of Montana to the south It is one of the only two landlocked provinces in Canada Saskatchewan being the other 8 The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional Chinook winds 9 AlbertaProvinceFlagCoat of armsMotto s Fortis et liber Latin Strong and free BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL YT NT NUCoordinates 55 59 30 N 114 22 36 W 55 99167 N 114 37667 W 55 99167 114 37667 1 Coordinates 55 59 30 N 114 22 36 W 55 99167 N 114 37667 W 55 99167 114 37667 1 CountryCanadaConfederationSeptember 1 1905 117 years ago 1905 09 01 split from NWT 10th with Saskatchewan CapitalEdmontonLargest cityCalgaryLargest metroCalgary RegionGovernment TypeParliamentary constitutional monarchy Lieutenant governorSalma Lakhani PremierDanielle SmithLegislatureLegislative Assembly of AlbertaFederal representationParliament of CanadaHouse seats34 of 338 10 1 Senate seats6 of 105 5 7 Area Total661 848 km2 255 541 sq mi Land640 081 km2 247 137 sq mi Water19 531 km2 7 541 sq mi 3 Rank6th 6 6 of CanadaPopulation 2021 Total4 262 635 2 Estimate Q4 2022 4 601 314 3 Rank4th Density6 66 km2 17 2 sq mi DemonymAlbertanOfficial languagesEnglish 4 5 GDP Rank3rd Total 2015 CA 326 433 billion 6 Per capitaCA 78 100 2nd HDI HDI 2019 0 948 7 Very high 1st Time zoneUTC 07 00 Mountain Summer DST UTC 06 00 Mountain DST Canadian postal abbr ABPostal code prefixTISO 3166 codeCA ABFlowerWild roseTreeLodgepole pineBirdGreat horned owlRankings include all provinces and territoriesAlberta is the fourth largest province by area at 661 848 square kilometres 255 541 square miles 10 and the fourth most populous being home to 4 262 635 people 2 Alberta s capital is Edmonton while Calgary is its largest city 11 The two are Alberta s largest census metropolitan areas 12 More than half of Albertans live in either Edmonton or Calgary which contributes to continuing the rivalry between the two cities English is the official language of the province In 2016 76 0 of Albertans were anglophone 1 8 were francophone and 22 2 were allophone 13 Alberta s economy is based on hydrocarbons petrochemical industries livestock and agriculture 14 The oil and gas industry has been a pillar of Alberta s economy since 1947 when substantial oil deposits were discovered at Leduc No 1 well 15 It has also become a part of the province s identity Since Alberta is the province most rich in hydrocarbons it provides 70 of the oil and natural gas exploited on Canadian soil In 2018 Alberta s output was CA 338 2 billion 15 27 of Canada s GDP 16 17 In the past Alberta s political landscape hosted parties like the centre left Liberals and the agrarian United Farmers of Alberta Today Alberta is generally perceived as a conservative province The right wing Social Credit Party held office continually from 1935 to 1971 before the centre right Progressive Conservatives held office continually from 1971 to 2015 the latter being the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history Before becoming part of Canada Alberta was home to several First Nations like Plains Indians and Woodland Cree It was also a territory used by fur traders of the rival companies Hudson s Bay Company and North West Company The Dominion of Canada bought the lands that would become Alberta as part of the NWT in 1870 18 From the late 1800s to early 1900s many immigrants arrived to prevent the prairies from being annexed by the US Growing wheat and cattle ranching also became very profitable In 1905 the Alberta Act was passed creating the province of Alberta 19 Massive oil reserves were discovered in 1947 The exploitation of oil sands began in 1967 15 Alberta is renowned for its natural beauty richness in fossils and for housing important nature reserves Alberta is home to six UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks Dinosaur Provincial Park Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump Waterton Glacier International Peace Park Wood Buffalo National Park and Writing on Stone Provincial Park 20 Other popular sites include Banff National Park Elk Island National Park Jasper National Park Waterton Lakes National Park and Drumheller Contents 1 Etymology 2 Geography 2 1 Climate 2 2 Ecology 2 2 1 Flora 2 2 2 Fauna 2 3 Paleontology 3 History 4 Demographics 4 1 Municipalities 4 2 Language 4 3 Ethnicity 4 4 Religion 5 Economy 5 1 Agriculture and forestry 5 2 Industry 5 3 Tourism 6 Government and politics 6 1 Administrative divisions 6 2 Law enforcement 6 3 Military 6 4 Taxation 7 Culture 8 Sports 9 Education 9 1 Elementary and secondary 9 2 Post secondary 10 Health care 11 Transportation 11 1 Air 11 2 Public transit 11 3 Rail 11 4 Road 12 Friendship partners 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External linksEtymology EditAlberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta 1848 1939 21 the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell Marquess of Lorne Governor General of Canada 1878 83 Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour 22 23 The name Alberta itself is a feminine Latinized form of Albert the name of Princess Louise s father the Prince Consort cf Medieval Latin Albertus masculine and its Germanic cognates ultimately derived from the Proto Germanic language Athalaberhtaz compound of noble bright famous 24 25 Geography EditMain article Geography of Alberta A topographic map of Alberta showing cities towns municipal district county and rural municipality borders and natural features Alberta with an area of 661 848 square kilometres 255 541 square miles is the fourth largest province after Quebec Ontario and British Columbia 26 Alberta s southern border is the 49th parallel north which separates it from the U S state of Montana The 60th parallel north divides Alberta from the Northwest Territories The 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60 N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains and from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a generally southeasterly direction until it reaches the Montana border at 49 N 27 The province extends 1 223 kilometres 760 miles north to south and 660 kilometres 410 miles east to west at its maximum width Its highest point is 3 747 metres 12 293 feet at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border while its lowest point is 152 metres 499 feet on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast 28 With the exception of the semi arid climate of the steppe in the south eastern section the province has adequate water resources There are numerous rivers and lakes in Alberta used for swimming fishing and a range of water sports There are three large lakes Lake Claire 1 436 km2 554 sq mi in Wood Buffalo National Park Lesser Slave Lake 1 168 km2 451 sq mi and Lake Athabasca 7 898 km2 3 049 sq mi which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan The longest river in the province is the Athabasca River which travels 1 538 km 956 mi from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca 29 The largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2 100 m3 s 74 000 cu ft s 30 The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River a tributary of the Mackenzie River Alberta s capital city Edmonton is located at about the geographic centre of the province It is the most northerly major city in Canada and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada With its proximity to Canada s largest oil fields the region has most of western Canada s oil refinery capacity Calgary is about 280 km 170 mi south of Edmonton and 240 km 150 mi north of Montana surrounded by extensive ranching country Almost 75 of the province s population lives in the Calgary Edmonton Corridor The land grant policy to the railways served as a means to populate the province in its early years 31 Moraine Lake at Banff National Park The Alberta Mountain forests makes up the southwestern boundary of Alberta Most of the northern half of the province is boreal forest while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are largely temperate coniferous forests of the Alberta Mountain forests and Alberta British Columbia foothills forests The southern quarter of the province is prairie ranging from shortgrass prairie in the southeastern corner to mixed grass prairie in an arc to the west and north of it The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests from Calgary north to Edmonton and then east to Lloydminster contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population Much of the unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain or to dairy farming with mixed farming more common in the north and centre while ranching and irrigated agriculture predominate in the south 32 The Alberta badlands are located in southeastern Alberta where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland and features deep canyons and striking landforms Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks showcases the badlands terrain desert flora and remnants from Alberta s past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape Climate Edit Koppen climate types in Alberta Alberta extends for over 1 200 km 750 mi from north to south its climate therefore varies considerably Average high temperatures in January range from 0 C 32 F in the southwest to 24 C 11 F in the far north The presence of the Rocky Mountains also influences the climate to the southwest which disrupts the flow of the prevailing westerly winds and causes them to drop most of their moisture on the western slopes of the mountain ranges before reaching the province casting a rain shadow over much of Alberta The northerly location and isolation from the weather systems of the Pacific Ocean cause Alberta to have a dry climate with little moderation from the ocean Annual precipitation ranges from 300 mm 12 in in the southeast to 450 mm 18 in in the north except in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where total precipitation including snowfall can reach 600 mm 24 in annually 28 33 Southeastern Alberta features a semi arid steppe climate Northern Alberta is mostly covered by boreal forest and has a subarctic climate The agricultural area of southern Alberta has a semi arid steppe climate because the annual precipitation is less than the water that evaporates or is used by plants The southeastern corner of Alberta part of the Palliser Triangle experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province and as a result suffers frequent crop yield problems and occasional severe droughts Western Alberta is protected by the mountains and enjoys the mild temperatures brought by winter Chinook winds Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north Alberta has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters The province is open to cold Arctic weather systems from the north which often produce cold winter conditions As the fronts between the air masses shift north and south across Alberta the temperature can change rapidly Arctic air masses in the winter produce extreme minimum temperatures varying from 54 C 65 F in northern Alberta to 46 C 51 F in southern Alberta although temperatures at these extremes are rare In the summer continental air masses have produced record maximum temperatures from 32 C 90 F in the mountains to over 40 C 104 F in southeastern Alberta 34 Alberta is a sunny province Annual bright sunshine totals range between 1 900 up to just under 2 600 hours per year Northern Alberta gets about 18 hours of daylight in the summer 34 The average daytime temperatures range from around 21 C 70 F in the Rocky Mountain valleys and far north up to around 28 C 82 F in the dry prairie of the southeast The northern and western parts of the province experience higher rainfall and lower evaporation rates caused by cooler summer temperatures The south and east central portions are prone to drought like conditions sometimes persisting for several years although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation sometimes resulting in flooding In the winter the Alberta clipper a type of intense fast moving winter storm that generally forms over or near the province and pushed with great speed by the continental polar jetstream descends over the rest of southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States 35 In southwestern Alberta the cold winters are frequently interrupted by warm dry Chinook winds blowing from the mountains which can propel temperatures upward from frigid conditions to well above the freezing point in a very short period During one Chinook recorded at Pincher Creek temperatures soared from 19 to 22 C 2 to 72 F in just one hour 28 The region around Lethbridge has the most Chinooks averaging 30 to 35 Chinook days per year Calgary has a 56 chance of a white Christmas while Edmonton has an 86 chance 36 After Saskatchewan Alberta experiences the most tornadoes in Canada with an average of 15 verified per year 37 Thunderstorms some of them severe are frequent in the summer especially in central and southern Alberta The region surrounding the Calgary Edmonton Corridor is notable for having the highest frequency of hail in Canada which is caused by orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains enhancing the updraft downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of hail Climate averages for communities in Alberta 38 Community Region July dailymaximum 38 January dailymaximum 38 Annualprecipitation 38 Planthardinesszone 39 Medicine Hat Southern Alberta 28 C 82 F 3 C 27 F 323 mm 12 7 in 4bBrooks Southern Alberta 28 C 82 F 4 C 25 F 301 mm 11 9 in 4aLethbridge Southern Alberta 26 C 79 F 0 C 32 F 380 mm 15 in 4bFort McMurray Northern Alberta 24 C 75 F 12 C 10 F 419 mm 16 5 in 3aWetaskiwin Central Alberta 24 C 75 F 5 C 23 F 497 mm 19 6 in 3bEdmonton Edmonton Metropolitan Region 23 C 73 F 6 C 21 F 456 mm 18 0 in 4aCold Lake Northern Alberta 23 C 73 F 10 C 14 F 421 mm 16 6 in 3aCamrose Central Alberta 23 C 73 F 6 C 21 F 438 mm 17 2 in 3bFort Saskatchewan Edmonton Metropolitan Region 23 C 73 F 7 C 19 F 455 mm 17 9 in 3bLloydminster Central Alberta 23 C 73 F 10 C 14 F 409 mm 16 1 in 3aRed Deer Central Alberta 23 C 73 F 5 C 23 F 486 mm 19 1 in 4aGrande Prairie Northern Alberta 23 C 73 F 8 C 18 F 445 mm 17 5 in 3bLeduc Edmonton Metropolitan Region 23 C 73 F 6 C 21 F 446 mm 17 6 in 3bCalgary Calgary Metropolitan Region 23 C 73 F 1 C 30 F 419 mm 16 5 in 4aChestermere Calgary Metropolitan Region 23 C 73 F 3 C 27 F 412 mm 16 2 in 3bSt Albert Edmonton Metropolitan Region 22 C 72 F 6 C 21 F 466 mm 18 3 in 4aLacombe Central Alberta 22 C 72 F 5 C 23 F 446 mm 17 6 in 3bEcology Edit Flora Edit The wild rose is the provincial flower of Alberta In central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring is marked by the early flowering of the prairie crocus Pulsatilla nuttalliana anemone this member of the buttercup family has been recorded flowering as early as March though April is the usual month for the general population 40 Other prairie flora known to flower early are the golden bean Thermopsis rhombifolia and wild rose Rosa acicularis 41 Members of the sunflower Helianthus family blossom on the prairie in the summer months between July and September 42 The southern and east central parts of Alberta are covered by short prairie grass 43 which dries up as summer lengthens to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the prairie coneflower Ratibida fleabane and sage Artemisia Both yellow and white sweet clover Melilotus can be found throughout the southern and central areas of the province The trees in the parkland region of the province grow in clumps and belts on the hillsides These are largely deciduous typically aspen poplar and willow Many species of willow and other shrubs grow in virtually any terrain North of the North Saskatchewan River evergreen forests prevail for thousands of square kilometres Aspen poplar balsam poplar Populus balsamifera or in some parts cottonwood Populus deltoides and paper birch Betula papyrifera are the primary large deciduous species Conifers include jack pine Pinus banksiana Rocky Mountain pine lodgepole pine Pinus contorta both white and black spruce and the deciduous conifer tamarack Larix laricina Fauna Edit A bighorn sheep in Kananaskis Country The bighorn sheep is the provincial mammal of Alberta The four climatic regions alpine boreal forest parkland and prairie of Alberta are home to many different species of animals The south and central prairie was the homeland of the American bison also known as buffalo with its grasses providing pasture and breeding ground for millions of buffalo The buffalo population was decimated during early settlement but since then buffalo have made a comeback living on farms and in parks all over Alberta Herbivores are found throughout the province Moose mule deer elk and white tailed deer are found in the wooded regions and pronghorn can be found in the prairies of southern Alberta Bighorn sheep and mountain goats live in the Rocky Mountains Rabbits porcupines skunks squirrels and many species of rodents and reptiles live in every corner of the province Alberta is home to only one venomous snake species the prairie rattlesnake Alberta is home to many large carnivores such as wolves grizzly bears black bears and mountain lions which are found in the mountains and wooded regions Smaller carnivores of the canine and feline families include coyotes red foxes Canada lynx and bobcats Wolverines can also be found in the northwestern areas of the province Central and northern Alberta and the region farther north are the nesting ground of many migratory birds Vast numbers of ducks geese swans and pelicans arrive in Alberta every spring and nest on or near one of the hundreds of small lakes that dot northern Alberta Eagles hawks owls and crows are plentiful and a huge variety of smaller seed and insect eating birds can be found Alberta like other temperate regions is home to mosquitoes flies wasps and bees Rivers and lakes are populated with pike walleye whitefish rainbow speckled brown trout and sturgeon Native to the province the bull trout is the provincial fish and an official symbol of Alberta Turtles are found in some water bodies in the southern part of the province Frogs and salamanders are a few of the amphibians that make their homes in Alberta Alberta is the only province in Canada as well as one of the few places in the world that is free of Norwegian rats 44 Since the early 1950s the Government of Alberta has operated a rat control program which has been so successful that only isolated instances of wild rat sightings are reported usually of rats arriving in the province aboard trucks or by rail In 2006 Alberta Agriculture reported zero findings of wild rats the only rat interceptions have been domesticated rats that have been seized from their owners It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description the animals can only be kept in the province by zoos universities and colleges and recognized research institutions In 2009 several rats were found and captured in small pockets in southern Alberta 45 putting Alberta s rat free status in jeopardy A colony of rats was subsequently found in a landfill near Medicine Hat in 2012 and again in 2014 46 47 Paleontology Edit Specimens at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology located in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation at Dinosaur Provincial Park Some of the specimens from left to right are Hypacrosaurus Edmontosaurus Lambeosaurus Gorgosaurus both in the background Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops Alberta has one of the greatest diversities and abundances of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils worldwide 48 Taxa are represented by complete fossil skeletons isolated material microvertebrate remains and even mass graves At least 38 dinosaur type specimens were collected in the province The Foremost Formation Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Formations collectively comprise the Judith River Group and are the most thoroughly studied dinosaur bearing strata in Alberta 48 Dinosaur bearing strata are distributed widely throughout Alberta 48 The Dinosaur Provincial Park area contains outcrops of the Dinosaur Park Formation and Oldman Formation In Alberta s central and southern regions are intermittent Scollard Formation outcrops In the Drumheller Valley and Edmonton regions there are exposed Horseshoe Canyon facies Other formations have been recorded as well like the Milk River and Foremost Formations The latter two have a lower diversity of documented dinosaurs primarily due to their lower total fossil quantity and neglect from collectors who are hindered by the isolation and scarcity of exposed outcrops Their dinosaur fossils are primarily teeth recovered from microvertebrate fossil sites Additional geologic formations that have produced only a few fossils are the Belly River Group and St Mary River Formations of the southwest and the northwestern Wapiti Formation which contains two Pachyrhinosaurus bone beds The Bearpaw Formation represents strata deposited during a marine transgression Dinosaurs are known from this formation but represent specimens washed out to sea or reworked from older sediments 48 History EditMain article History of Alberta See also Timeline of Alberta history Blackfoot Confederacy warriors in Macleod in 1907 Paleo Indians arrived in Alberta at least 10 000 years ago toward the end of the last ice age They are thought to have migrated from Siberia to Alaska on a land bridge across the Bering Strait and then possibly moved down the east side of the Rocky Mountains through Alberta to settle the Americas Others may have migrated down the coast of British Columbia and then moved inland 49 Over time they differentiated into various First Nations peoples including the Plains Indians of southern Alberta such as those of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Plains Cree who generally lived by hunting buffalo and the more northerly tribes such as the Woodland Cree and Chipewyan who hunted trapped and fished for a living 28 After the British arrival in Canada approximately half of the province of Alberta south of the Athabasca River drainage became part of Rupert s Land which consisted of all land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay This area was granted by Charles II of England to the Hudson s Bay Company HBC in 1670 and rival fur trading companies were not allowed to trade in it The Athabasca River and the rivers north of it were not in HBC territory because they drained into the Arctic Ocean instead of Hudson Bay and they were prime habitats for fur bearing animals The first European explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond who learned of the Methye Portage which allowed travel from southern rivers into the rivers north of Rupert s Land Other North American fur traders formed the North West Company NWC of Montreal to compete with the HBC in 1779 The NWC occupied the northern part of Alberta territory Peter Pond built Fort Athabasca on Lac la Biche in 1778 Roderick Mackenzie built Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca ten years later in 1788 His cousin Sir Alexander Mackenzie followed the North Saskatchewan River to its northernmost point near Edmonton then setting northward on foot trekked to the Athabasca River which he followed to Lake Athabasca It was there he discovered the mighty outflow river which bears his name the Mackenzie River which he followed to its outlet in the Arctic Ocean Returning to Lake Athabasca he followed the Peace River upstream eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean and so he became the first European to cross the North American continent north of Mexico 50 The extreme southernmost portion of Alberta was part of the French and Spanish territory of Louisiana and was sold to the United States in 1803 In the Treaty of 1818 the portion of Louisiana north of the Forty Ninth Parallel was ceded to Great Britain 51 Fort Chipewyan a trading post and regional headquarters for the Hudson s Bay Company in 1820 Fur trade expanded in the north but bloody battles occurred between the rival HBC and NWC and in 1821 the British government forced them to merge to stop the hostilities 52 The amalgamated Hudson s Bay Company dominated trade in Alberta until 1870 when the newly formed Canadian Government purchased Rupert s Land Northern Alberta was included in the North Western Territory until 1870 when it and Rupert s land became Canada s North West Territories Downtown Calgary was one of several areas afflicted during the 2013 Alberta floods First Nations negotiated the Numbered Treaties with the Crown in which the Crown gained title to the land that would later become Alberta and the Crown committed to the ongoing support of the First Nations and guaranteed their hunting and fishing rights The most significant treaties for Alberta are Treaty 6 1876 Treaty 7 1877 and Treaty 8 1899 The District of Alberta was created as part of the North West Territories in 1882 As settlement increased local representatives to the North West Legislative Assembly were added After a long campaign for autonomy in 1905 the District of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial status with the election of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as the first premier Less than a decade later the First World War presented special challenges to the new province as an extraordinary number of volunteers left relatively few workers to maintain services and production Over 50 of Alberta s doctors volunteered for service overseas 53 On June 21 2013 during the 2013 Alberta floods Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow Elbow Highwood and Oldman rivers and tributaries A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders 54 In 2016 the Fort McMurray wildfire resulted in the largest fire evacuation of residents in Alberta s history as more than 80 000 people were ordered to evacuate 55 56 Since 2020 Alberta has been affected by the COVID 19 pandemic 57 Demographics EditMain article Demographics of Alberta Population density of Alberta The 2021 Canadian census reported Alberta had a population of 4 262 635 living in 1 633 220 of its 1 772 670 total dwellings an 4 8 change from its 2016 population of 4 067 175 With a land area of 634 658 27 km2 245 042 93 sq mi it had a population density of 6 7 km2 in 2021 2 Statistics Canada estimated the province to have a population of 4 543 111 in Q3 of 2022 58 Since 2000 Alberta s population has experienced a relatively high rate of growth mainly because of its burgeoning economy Between 2003 and 2004 the province had high birthrates on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia relatively high immigration and a high rate of interprovincial migration compared to other provinces 59 In 2016 Alberta continued to have the youngest population among the provinces with a median age of 36 7 years compared with the national median of 41 2 years Also in 2016 Alberta had the smallest proportion of seniors 12 3 among the provinces and one of the highest population shares of children 19 2 further contributing to Alberta s young and growing population 60 About 81 of the population lives in urban areas and only about 19 in rural areas The Calgary Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and is one of the most densely populated areas of Canada 61 Many of Alberta s cities and towns have experienced very high rates of growth in recent history when Alberta s population rose from 73 022 in 1901 62 to 3 290 350 according to the 2006 census 63 According to the 2016 census Alberta has 779 155 residents 19 2 between the ages of 0 14 2 787 805 residents 68 5 between the ages of 15 64 and 500 215 residents 12 3 aged 65 and over 64 Additionally as per the 2016 census 1 769 500 residents hold a postsecondary certificate diploma or degree 895 885 residents have obtained a secondary high school diploma or equivalency certificate and 540 665 residents do not have any certificate diploma or degree 64 Municipalities Edit Main article List of communities in Alberta Airdrie Brooks Calgary Camrose Cold Lake Edmonton Fort Saskatchewan Grande Prairie Lacombe Leduc Lethbridge Lloydminster Medicine Hat Red Deer Spruce Grove St Albert Wetaskiwin Distribution of cities in Alberta Largest metro areas and municipalities by population as of 2016Census metropolitan areas 2016 65 2011 66 2006 67 2001 68 1996 69 Calgary CMA 1 392 609 1 214 839 1 079 310 951 395 821 628Edmonton CMA 1 321 426 1 159 869 1 034 945 937 845 862 597Lethbridge CMA 117 394 105 999 95 196 87 388 82 025Urban municipalities 10 largest 2016 70 2011 71 2006 72 2001 73 1996 74 Calgary 1 239 220 1 096 833 988 193 878 866 768 082Edmonton 932 546 812 201 730 372 666 104 616 306Red Deer 100 418 90 564 82 772 67 707 60 080Lethbridge 92 729 83 517 78 713 68 712 64 938St Albert included in Edmonton CMA 65 589 61 466 57 719 53 081 46 888Medicine Hat 63 260 60 005 56 997 51 249 46 783Grande Prairie 63 166 55 032 47 076 36 983 31 353Airdrie included in Calgary CMA 61 581 42 564 28 927 20 382 15 946Spruce Grove included in Edmonton CMA 34 066 26 171 19 496 15 983 14 271Leduc included in Edmonton CMA 29 993 24 304 16 967 15 032 14 346Specialized rural municipalities 5 largest 2016 70 2011 71 2006 72 2001 73 1996 74 Strathcona County included in Edmonton CMA 98 044 92 490 82 511 71 986 64 176Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo includes Fort McMurray 71 589 65 565 51 496 42 581 35 213Rocky View County included in Calgary CMA 39 407 36 461 34 171 29 925 23 326Parkland County included in Edmonton CMA 32 097 30 568 29 265 27 252 24 769Municipal District of Foothills No 31 22 766 21 258 19 736 16 764 13 714Language Edit Main article Demographics of Alberta Languages As of the 2021 Canadian Census the ten most spoken languages in the province included English 4 109 720 or 98 37 French 260 415 or 6 23 Tagalog 172 625 or 4 13 Punjabi 126 385 or 3 03 Spanish 116 070 or 2 78 Hindi 94 015 or 2 25 Mandarin 82 095 or 1 97 Arabic 76 760 or 1 84 Cantonese 74 960 or 1 79 and German 65 370 or 1 56 75 The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses As of the 2016 census English is the most common mother tongue with 2 991 485 native speakers 64 This is followed by Tagalog with 99 035 speakers German with 80 050 speakers French with 72 150 native speakers and Punjabi with 68 695 speakers 64 The 2006 census found that English with 2 576 670 native speakers was the most common mother tongue of Albertans representing 79 99 of the population The next most common mother tongues were Chinese with 97 275 native speakers 3 02 followed by German with 84 505 native speakers 2 62 and French with 61 225 1 90 76 Other mother tongues include Punjabi with 36 320 native speakers 1 13 Tagalog with 29 740 0 92 Ukrainian with 29 455 0 91 Spanish with 29 125 0 90 Polish with 21 990 0 68 Arabic with 20 495 0 64 Dutch with 19 980 0 62 and Vietnamese with 19 350 0 60 The most common aboriginal language is Cree 17 215 0 53 Other common mother tongues include Italian with 13 095 speakers 0 41 Urdu with 11 275 0 35 and Korean with 10 845 0 33 then Hindi 8 985 0 28 Persian 7 700 0 24 Portuguese 7 205 0 22 and Hungarian 6 770 0 21 According to Statistics Canada Alberta is home to the second highest proportion 2 of Francophones in western Canada after Manitoba Despite this relatively few Albertans claim French as their mother tongue Many of Alberta s French speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province after migration from other areas of Canada or descending from Metis Ethnicity Edit Main article Demographics of Alberta Ethnic origins Alberta has considerable ethnic diversity In line with the rest of Canada many are descended from immigrants of Western European nations notably England Scotland Ireland Wales and France but large numbers later came from other regions of Europe notably Germany Ukraine and Scandinavia 77 As per the 2016 census 253 460 Albertans identify as Aboriginal including 136 585 as First Nations 114 370 as Metis and 2 500 as Inuit 64 There are also 933 165 residents who identify as a visible minority including 230 930 South Asian people 166 195 Filipinos and 158 200 Chinese respondents 64 In the 2006 Canadian census the most commonly reported ethnic origins among Albertans were 885 825 English 27 2 679 705 German 20 9 667 405 Canadian 20 5 661 265 Scottish 20 3 539 160 Irish 16 6 388 210 French 11 9 332 180 Ukrainian 10 2 172 910 Dutch 5 3 170 935 Polish 5 2 169 355 North American Indian 5 2 144 585 Norwegian 4 4 and 137 600 Chinese 4 2 Each person could choose as many ethnicities as were applicable 78 Amongst those of British heritage the Scots have had a particularly strong influence on place names with the names of many cities and towns including Calgary Airdrie Canmore and Banff having Scottish origins Alberta is the third most diverse province in terms of visible minorities after British Columbia and Ontario with 13 9 of the population consisting of visible minorities in 2006 79 Over one third of the populations of Calgary and Edmonton belong to a visible minority group 80 Aboriginal Identity Peoples made up 5 8 of the population in 2006 about half of whom consist of First Nations and the other half are Metis There are also a small number of Inuit in Alberta 81 The number of Aboriginal Identity Peoples have been increasing at a rate greater than the population of Alberta 81 As reported in the 2001 census the Chinese represented nearly 4 of Alberta s population and South Asians represented more than 2 Both Edmonton and Calgary have historic Chinatowns and Calgary has Canada s third largest Chinese community The Chinese presence began with workers employed in the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s Indigenous Albertans makeup approximately 3 of the population Religion Edit Main article Demographics of Alberta Religion According to the 2021 census religious groups in Alberta included 82 Christianity 2 009 820 persons or 48 1 Irreligion 1 676 045 persons or 40 1 Islam 202 535 persons or 4 8 Sikhism 103 600 persons or 2 5 Hinduism 78 520 persons or 1 9 Buddhism 42 830 persons or 1 0 Indigenous Spirituality 19 755 persons or 0 5 Judaism 11 390 persons or 0 3 Other 33 220 persons or 0 8 As of the 2011 National Household Survey the largest religious group was Roman Catholic representing 24 3 of the population Alberta had the second highest percentage of non religious residents among the provinces after British Columbia at 31 6 of the population Of the remainder 7 5 of the population identified themselves as belonging to the United Church of Canada while 3 9 were Anglican Lutherans made up 3 3 of the population while Baptists comprised 1 9 83 The remainder belonged to a wide variety of different religious affiliations none of which constituted more than 2 of the population Members of LDS Church are mostly concentrated in the extreme south of the province Alberta has a population of Hutterites a communal Anabaptist sect similar to the Mennonites and has a significant population of Seventh day Adventists Alberta is home to several Byzantine Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immigration including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada s Western Diocese which is based in Edmonton Muslims made up 3 2 of the population Sikhs 1 5 Buddhists 1 2 and Hindus 1 0 Many of these are immigrants but others have roots that go back to the first settlers of the prairies Canada s oldest mosque the Al Rashid Mosque is located in Edmonton 84 whereas Calgary is home to Canada s largest mosque the Baitun Nur Mosque 85 Alberta is also home to a growing Jewish population of about 15 400 people who constituted 0 3 of Alberta s population Most of Alberta s Jews live in the metropolitan areas of Calgary 8 200 and Edmonton 5 500 86 Economy EditMain article Economy of Alberta See also List of Canadian provinces and territories by gross domestic product Petroleum resources in Alberta Alberta s economy was one of the strongest in the world supported by the burgeoning petroleum industry and to a lesser extent agriculture and technology In 2013 Alberta s per capita GDP exceeded that of the United States Norway or Switzerland 87 and was the highest of any province in Canada at CA 84 390 This was 56 higher than the national average of CA 53 870 and more than twice that of some of the Atlantic provinces 88 89 In 2006 the deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history 90 According to the 2006 census 91 the median annual family income after taxes was 70 986 in Alberta compared to 60 270 in Canada as a whole In 2014 Alberta had the second largest economy in Canada after Ontario with a GDP exceeding CA 376 billion 92 The GDP of the province calculated at basic prices rose by 4 6 in 2017 to 327 4 billion which was the largest increase recorded in Canada and it ended two consecutive years of decreases 93 Alberta s debt to GDP ratio is projected to peak at 12 1 in fiscal year 2021 2022 falling to 11 3 the following year 94 The Calgary Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada The region covers a distance of roughly 400 km 250 mi north to south In 2001 the population of the Calgary Edmonton Corridor was 2 15 million 72 of Alberta s population 95 It is also one of the fastest growing regions in the country A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor to be the only Canadian urban centre to amass a United States level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian style quality of life offering universal health care benefits The study found that GDP per capita in the corridor was 10 above average United States metropolitan areas and 40 above other Canadian cities at that time The Fraser Institute states that Alberta also has very high levels of economic freedom and rates Alberta as the freest economy in Canada 96 and second freest economy amongst U S states and Canadian provinces 97 In 2014 merchandise exports totalled US 121 4 billion Energy revenues totalled 111 7 billion and Energy resource exports totalled 90 8 billion Farm Cash receipts from agricultural products totalled 12 9 billion Shipments of forest products totalled 5 4 billion while exports were 2 7 billion Manufacturing sales totalled 79 4 billion and Alberta s information and communications technology ICT industries generated over 13 billion in revenue In total Alberta s 2014 GDP amassed 364 5 billion in 2007 dollars or 414 3 billion in 2015 dollars In 2015 Alberta s GDP grew unstably despite low oil prices with growth rates as high 4 4 and as low as 0 2 98 99 Agriculture and forestry Edit Cows in Rocky View Nearly one half of Canadian beef is produced here Agriculture has a significant position in the province s economy The province has over three million head of cattle 100 and Alberta beef has a healthy worldwide market Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta Alberta is one of the top producers of plains buffalo bison for the consumer market Sheep for wool and mutton are also raised Wheat and canola 101 are primary farm crops with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production other grains are also prominent Much of the farming is dryland farming often with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation Continuous cropping in which there is no fallow season is gradually becoming a more common mode of production because of increased profits and a reduction of soil erosion Across the province the once common grain elevator is slowly being lost as rail lines are decreasing farmers typically truck the grain to central points 102 Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada with some beekeepers wintering hives indoors in specially designed barns in southern Alberta then migrating north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short but the working days are long for honeybees to produce honey from clover and fireweed Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination and some beekeepers service this need 103 Canola field Edmonton Forestry plays a vital role in Alberta s economy providing over 15 000 jobs and contributing billions of dollars annually 104 Uses for harvested timber include pulpwood hardwood engineered wood and bioproducts such as chemicals and biofuels Industry Edit Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil synthetic crude natural gas and gas products in Canada Alberta is the world s second largest exporter of natural gas and the fourth largest producer 105 Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta In both Red Deer and Edmonton polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products that are shipped all over the world Edmonton s oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton The Athabasca oil sands surrounding Fort McMurray have estimated unconventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world estimated to be 1 6 trillion barrels 254 km3 Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands As of late 2006 there were over 100 billion in oil sands projects under construction or in the planning stages in northeastern Alberta 106 Another factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the oil sands is the price of oil The oil price increases since 2003 have made it profitable to extract this oil which in the past would give little profit or even a loss By mid 2014 rising costs and stabilizing oil prices threatened the economic viability of some projects An example of this was the shelving of the Joslyn north project in the Athabasca region in May 2014 107 With concerted effort and support from the provincial government several high tech industries have found their birth in Alberta notably patents related to interactive liquid crystal display systems 108 With a growing economy Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds Tourism Edit Main article Tourism in Alberta The Three Sisters at Bow Valley Provincial Park in Canmore Alberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of the 20th century with attractions including outdoor locales for skiing hiking and camping shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall Calgary Stampede outdoor festivals professional athletic events international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games as well as more eclectic attractions According to Alberta Economic Development Calgary and Edmonton both host over four million visitors annually Banff Jasper and the Rocky Mountains are visited by about three million people per year 109 Alberta tourism relies heavily on Southern Ontario tourists as well as tourists from other parts of Canada the United States and many other countries There are also natural attractions like Elk Island National Park Wood Buffalo National Park and the Columbia Icefield Alberta s Rockies include well known tourist destinations Banff National Park and Jasper National Park The two mountain parks are connected by the scenic Icefields Parkway Banff is located 128 km 80 mi west of Calgary on Highway 1 and Jasper is located 366 km 227 mi west of Edmonton on the Yellowhead Highway Five of Canada s fourteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located within the province Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks Waterton Glacier International Peace Park Wood Buffalo National Park Dinosaur Provincial Park and Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump A number of these areas hold ski resorts most notably Banff Sunshine Lake Louise Marmot Basin Norquay and Nakiska Bronco riding at the Calgary Stampede The event is one of the world s largest rodeos About 1 2 million people visit the Calgary Stampede 110 a celebration of Canada s own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry About 700 000 people enjoy Edmonton s K Days formerly Klondike Days and Capital EX 111 112 Edmonton was the gateway to the only all Canadian route to the Yukon gold fields and the only route which did not require gold seekers to travel the exhausting and dangerous Chilkoot Pass Another tourist destination that draws more than 650 000 visitors each year is the Drumheller Valley located northeast of Calgary Drumheller Dinosaur Capital of The World offers the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology Drumheller also had a rich mining history being one of Western Canada s largest coal producers during the war years Another attraction in east central Alberta is Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions a popular tourist attraction operated out of Stettler that offers train excursions into the prairie and caters to tens of thousands of visitors every year Government and politics EditMain articles Politics of Alberta and Monarchy in AlbertaSee also List of premiers of Alberta List of Alberta general elections and Executive Council of Alberta Distribution of Alberta s 6 specialized municipalities red and 74 rural municipalities which include municipal districts often named as counties orange improvement districts dark green and special areas light green 2020 The Government of Alberta is organized as a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature Its unicameral legislature the Legislative Assembly consists of 87 members elected first past the post FPTP from single member constituencies 113 Locally municipal governments and school boards are elected and operate separately Their boundaries do not necessarily coincide As King of Canada Charles III is the head of state for the Government of Alberta His duties in Alberta are carried out by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani 114 The King and lieutenant governor are figureheads whose actions are highly restricted by custom and constitutional convention The lieutenant governor handles numerous honorific duties in the name of the King The government is headed by the premier The premier is normally a member of the Legislative Assembly and draws all the members of the Cabinet from among the members of the Legislative Assembly The City of Edmonton is the seat of the provincial government the capital of Alberta The current premier is Danielle Smith who was sworn in on October 11th 2022 The Alberta Legislative Building serves as the meeting place for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Alberta s elections have tended to yield much more conservative outcomes than those of other Canadian provinces Since the 1960s Alberta has had three main political parties the Progressive Conservatives Conservatives or Tories the Liberals and the social democratic New Democrats The Wildrose Party a more libertarian party formed in early 2008 gained much support in the 2012 election and became the official opposition a role it held until 2017 when it was dissolved and succeeded by the new United Conservative Party created by the merger of Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives The strongly conservative Social Credit Party was a power in Alberta for many decades but fell from the political map after the Progressive Conservatives came to power in 1971 For 44 years the Progressive Conservatives governed Alberta They lost the 2015 election to the NDP which formed their own government for the first time in provincial history breaking almost 80 consecutive years of right wing rule 115 suggesting at the time a possible shift to the left in the province also indicated by the election of progressive mayors in both of Alberta s major cities 116 Since becoming a province in 1905 Alberta has seen only five changes of government only six parties have governed Alberta the Liberals from 1905 to 1921 the United Farmers of Alberta from 1921 to 1935 the Social Credit Party from 1935 to 1971 the Progressive Conservative Party from 1971 to 2015 from 2015 to 2019 the Alberta New Democratic Party and from 2019 the United Conservative Party with the most recent transfer of power being the first time in provincial history that an incumbent government was not returned to a second term Administrative divisions Edit The province is divided into ten types of local governments urban municipalities including cities towns villages and summer villages specialized municipalities rural municipalities including municipal districts often named as counties improvement districts and special areas Metis settlements and Indian reserves All types of municipalities are governed by local residents and were incorporated under various provincial acts with the exception of improvement districts governed by either the provincial or federal government and Indian reserves governed by local band governments under federal jurisdiction Law enforcement Edit Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in St Albert The RCMP provides municipal policing throughout most of Alberta Policing in the province of Alberta upon its creation was the responsibility of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police In 1917 due to pressures of the First World War the Alberta Provincial Police was created This organization policed the province until it was disbanded as a Great Depression era cost cutting measure in 1932 It was at that time the now renamed Royal Canadian Mounted Police resumed policing of the province specifically RCMP K Division With the advent of the Alberta Sheriffs Branch the distribution of duties of law enforcement in Alberta has been evolving as certain aspects such as traffic enforcement mobile surveillance and the close protection of the Premier of Alberta have been transferred to the Sheriffs In 2006 Alberta formed the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams ALERT to combat organized crime and the serious offences that accompany it ALERT is made up of members of the RCMP Sheriffs Branch and various major municipal police forces in Alberta Military Edit Military bases in Alberta include Canadian Forces Base CFB Cold Lake CFB Edmonton CFB Suffield and CFB Wainwright Air force units stationed at CFB Cold Lake have access to the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range 117 CFB Edmonton is the headquarters for the 3rd Canadian Division 118 CFB Suffield hosts British troops and is the largest training facility in Canada 119 Taxation Edit According to Alberta s 2009 budget government revenue in that year came mainly from royalties on non renewable natural resources 30 4 personal income taxes 22 3 corporate and other taxes 19 6 and grants from the federal government primarily for infrastructure projects 9 8 120 In 2014 Alberta received 6 1 billion in bitumen royalties With the drop in the price of oil in 2015 it was down to 1 4 billion In 2016 Alberta received about 837 million in royalty payments from oil sands Royalty Projects 121 According to the 2018 2021 fiscal plan the two top sources of revenue in 2016 were personal income tax at 10 763 million and federal transfers of 7 976 million with total resource revenue at 3 097 million 122 45 Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax Alberta residents are subject to the federal sales tax the Goods and Services Tax of 5 2018 2021 fiscal plan Revenue source in millions of dollars 122 personal income tax 10 763federal transfers 7 976Other tax revenue 5 649Corporate income tax 3 769Premiums fees and licenses 3 701Investment income 3 698Resource revenue other 1 614Resource revenue Bitumen royalties 1 483Net income from business enterprises 543Total revenue 42 293From 2001 to 2016 Alberta was the only Canadian province to have a flat tax of 10 of taxable income which was introduced by Premier Ralph Klein as part of the Alberta Tax Advantage which also included a zero percent tax on income below a generous personal exemption 123 124 In 2016 under Premier Rachel Notley while most Albertans continued to pay the 10 income tax rate new tax brackets 12 14 and 15 for those with higher incomes 128 145 annually or more were introduced 125 123 Alberta s personal income tax system maintained a progressive character by continuing to grant residents personal tax exemptions of 18 451 126 in addition to a variety of tax deductions for persons with disabilities students and the aged 127 Alberta s municipalities and school jurisdictions have their own governments who usually work in co operation with the provincial government By 2018 most Albertans continued to pay the 10 income tax rate 125 According to a March 2015 Statistics Canada report the median household income in Alberta in 2014 was about 100 000 which is 23 higher than the Canadian national average 128 Based on Statistic Canada reports low income Albertans who earn less than 25 000 and those in the high income bracket earning 150 000 or more are the lowest taxed people in Canada 125 Those in the middle income brackets representing those that earn about 25 000 to 75 000 Notes 1 pay more in provincial taxes than residents in British Columbia and Ontario 125 In terms of income tax Alberta is the best province for those with a low income because there is no provincial income tax for those who earn 18 915 or less 125 Even with the 2016 progressive tax brackets up to 15 Albertans who have the highest incomes those with a 150 000 annual income or more about 178 000 people in 2015 pay the least in taxes in Canada 125 About 1 9 million Albertans earned between 25 000 and 150 000 in 2015 125 Alberta also privatized alcohol distribution By 2010 privatization had increased outlets from 304 stores to 1 726 1 300 jobs to 4 000 jobs and 3 325 products to 16 495 products 129 Tax revenue also increased from 400 million to 700 million In 2017 18 Alberta collected about 2 4 billion in education property taxes from municipalities 130 Alberta municipalities raise a significant portion of their income through levying property taxes 131 The value of assessed property in Alberta was approximately 727 billion in 2011 132 Most real property is assessed according to its market value 131 The exceptions to market value assessment are farmland railways machinery and equipment and linear property all of which is assessed by regulated rates 133 Depending on the property type property owners may appeal a property assessment to their municipal Local Assessment Review Board Composite Assessment Review Board or the Alberta Municipal Government Board 131 134 Culture EditMain article Culture of Alberta See also List of festivals in Alberta Summer brings many festivals to the province of Alberta especially in Edmonton The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the world s second largest after the Edinburgh Festival Both Calgary and Edmonton host many annual festivals and events including folk music festivals The city s heritage days festival sees the participation of over 70 ethnic groups Edmonton s Churchill Square is home to a large number of the festivals including the large Taste of Edmonton and The Works Art amp Design Festival throughout the summer months The City of Calgary is also famous for its Stampede dubbed The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth The Stampede is Canada s biggest rodeo festival and features various races and competitions such as calf roping and bull riding In line with the western tradition of rodeo are the cultural artisans that reside and create unique Alberta western heritage crafts In 2019 the then Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda announced the Alberta Artist in Residence program in conjunction with the province s first Month of the Artist 135 to celebrate the arts and the value they bring to the province both socially and economically 136 The Artist is selected each year via a public and competitive process is expected to do community outreach and attend events to promote the arts throughout the province The award comes with 60 000 funding which includes travel and materials costs 137 On January 31 2019 Lauren Crazybull named Alberta s 1st Artist in Residence 138 139 137 Alberta is the first province to launch an Artist in Residence program in Canada Sports EditList of sport teams in Alberta Team City League Stadium Arena CapacityEdmonton Oilers Edmonton National Hockey League Rogers Place 18 347Calgary Flames Calgary National Hockey League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289Edmonton Elks Edmonton Canadian Football League Commonwealth Stadium 60 081Calgary Stampeders Calgary Canadian Football League McMahon Stadium 40 000Calgary Wranglers Calgary American Hockey League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289Calgary Hitmen Calgary Canadian Hockey League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289Edmonton Oil Kings Edmonton Canadian Hockey League Rogers Place 18 347Lethbridge Hurricanes Lethbridge Canadian Hockey League Enmax Centre 5 479Medicine Hat Tigers Medicine Hat Canadian Hockey League Canalta Centre 7 100Red Deer Rebels Red Deer Canadian Hockey League Peavey Mart Centrium 7 111Cavalry FC Calgary Canadian Premier League ATCO Field 6 000Edmonton Stingers Edmonton Canadian Elite Basketball League Edmonton Expo Centre 4 000Calgary Roughnecks Calgary National Lacrosse League Scotiabank Saddledome 19 289Edmonton Riverhawks Edmonton West Coast League RE MAX Field 9 200Education EditMain article Education in Alberta As with any Canadian province the Alberta Legislature has almost exclusive authority to make laws respecting education Since 1905 the Legislature has used this capacity to continue the model of locally elected public and separate school boards which originated prior to 1905 as well as to create and regulate universities colleges technical institutions and other educational forms and institutions public charter schools private schools homeschooling Elementary and secondary Edit There are forty two public school jurisdictions in Alberta and seventeen operating separate school jurisdictions Sixteen of the operating separate school jurisdictions have a Catholic electorate and one St Albert has a Protestant electorate In addition one Protestant separate school district Glen Avon survives as a ward of the St Paul Education Region The City of Lloydminster straddles the Albertan Saskatchewan border and both the public and separate school systems in that city are counted in the above numbers both of them operate according to Saskatchewan law For many years the provincial government has funded the greater part of the cost of providing K 12 education Prior to 1994 public and separate school boards in Alberta had the legislative authority to levy a local tax on property as supplementary support for local education In 1994 the government of the province eliminated this right for public school boards but not for separate school boards Since 1994 there has continued to be a tax on property in support of K 12 education the difference is that the provincial government now sets the mill rate the money is collected by the local municipal authority and remitted to the provincial government The relevant legislation requires that all the money raised by this property tax must go to support K 12 education provided by school boards The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them according to a formula to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities Public and separate school boards charter schools and private schools all follow the Program of Studies and the curriculum approved by the provincial department of education Alberta Education Homeschool tutors may choose to follow the Program of Studies or develop their own Program of Studies Public and separate schools charter schools and approved private schools all employ teachers who are certificated by Alberta Education they administer Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Examinations set by Alberta Education and they may grant high school graduation certificates endorsed by Alberta Education Post secondary Edit Main article Higher education in Alberta The University of Alberta in 2005 The institution is the oldest and largest university in Alberta The University of Alberta located in Edmonton and established in 1908 is Alberta s oldest and largest university The University of Calgary once affiliated with the University of Alberta gained its autonomy in 1966 and is now the second largest university in Alberta Athabasca University which focuses on distance learning and the University of Lethbridge are located in Athabasca and Lethbridge respectively In early September 2009 Mount Royal University became Calgary s second public university and in late September 2009 a similar move made MacEwan University Edmonton s second public university There are 15 colleges that receive direct public funding along with two technical institutes Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology 140 Two of the colleges Red Deer College and Grande Prairie Regional College were approved by the Alberta government to become degree granting universities 141 There are also many private post secondary institutions mostly Christian Universities bringing the total number of universities to 12 Students may also receive government loans and grants while attending selected private institutions There was some controversy in 2005 over the rising cost of post secondary education for students as opposed to taxpayers In 2005 Premier Ralph Klein made a promise that he would freeze tuition and look into ways of reducing schooling costs 142 143 Health care EditMain article Alberta Health Services See also Healthcare in Canada Alberta provides a publicly funded fully integrated health system through Alberta Health Services AHS a quasi independent agency that delivers health care on behalf of the Government of Alberta s Ministry of Health 144 The Alberta government provides health services for all its residents as set out by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984 Alberta became Canada s second province after Saskatchewan to adopt a Tommy Douglas style program in 1950 a precursor to the modern medicare system Alberta s health care budget was 22 5 billion during the 2018 2019 fiscal year approximately 45 of all government spending making it the best funded health care system per capita in Canada 145 Every hour the province spends more than 2 5 million or 60 million per day to maintain and improve health care in the province 146 Notable health education research and resources facilities in Alberta all of which are located within Calgary or Edmonton Health centres in Calgary include Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary is the largest hospital in Alberta Alberta Children s Hospital Foothills Medical Centre Grace Women s Health Centre Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta Peter Lougheed Centre Rockyview General Hospital South Health Campus Tom Baker Cancer Centre University of Calgary Medical Centre UCMC Health centres in Edmonton include Alberta Diabetes Institute Cross Cancer Institute Edmonton Clinic Grey Nuns Community Hospital Lois Hole Hospital for Women Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute Misericordia Community Hospital Rexall Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research Royal Alexandra Hospital Stollery Children s Hospital University of Alberta Hospital The Edmonton Clinic complex completed in 2012 provides a similar research education and care environment as the Mayo Clinic in the United States 147 148 All public health care services funded by the Government of Alberta are delivered operationally by Alberta Health Services AHS is the province s single health authority established on July 1 2008 which replaced nine regional health authorities AHS also funds all ground ambulance services in the province as well as the province wide Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service STARS air ambulance service 149 Transportation EditAir Edit See also List of airports in Alberta Calgary International Airport the province s largest airport by passenger traffic Alberta is well connected by air with international airports in both Calgary and Edmonton Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport are the fourth and fifth busiest in Canada respectively Calgary s airport is a hub for WestJet Airlines and a regional hub for Air Canada primarily serving the prairie provinces Alberta Saskatchewan and Manitoba for connecting flights to British Columbia eastern Canada fifteen major United States centres nine European airports one Asian airport and four destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean 150 Edmonton s airport acts as a hub for the Canadian north and has connections to all major Canadian airports as well as airports in the United States Europe Mexico and the Caribbean 151 Public transit Edit Calgary Edmonton Red Deer Medicine Hat and Lethbridge have substantial public transit systems In addition to buses Calgary and Edmonton operate light rail transit LRT systems Edmonton LRT which is underground in the downtown core and on the surface outside the downtown core was the first of the modern generation of light rail systems to be built in North America while the Calgary C Train has one of the highest numbers of daily riders of any LRT system in North America Rail Edit vteAlberta passenger railLegend Canadian to Saskatoon Toronto Wainwright Viking Edmonton Evansburg Edson Hinton Jasper Canadian to Vancouver Jasper Prince Rupert trainto Prince Rupert A Via Rail passenger train passing by freight trains in the background at Jasper station There are more than 9 000 km 5 600 mi of operating mainline railway in Alberta The vast majority of this trackage is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway CP and Canadian National Railway CN companies which operate freight transport across the province Additional railfreight service in the province is provided by two shortline railways the Battle River Railway and Forty Mile Rail Passenger trains include Via Rail s Canadian Toronto Vancouver and Jasper Prince Rupert trains which use the CN mainline and pass through Jasper National Park and parallel the Yellowhead Highway during at least part of their routes The Rocky Mountaineer operates two sections one from Vancouver to Banff over CP tracks and a section that travels over CN tracks to Jasper Road Edit See also List of Alberta provincial highways Alberta has over 181 000 km 112 000 mi of highways and roads of which nearly 41 000 km 25 000 mi are paved 152 The main north south corridor is Highway 2 which begins south of Cardston at the Carway border crossing and is part of the CANAMEX Corridor Beginning at the Coutts border crossing and ending at Lethbridge Highway 4 effectively extends Interstate 15 into Alberta and is the busiest United States gateway to the province Highway 3 joins Lethbridge to Fort Macleod and links Highway 2 to Highway 4 Highway 2 travels north through Fort Macleod Calgary Red Deer and Edmonton 153 Highway 1 the Trans Canada Highway at Alberta Highway 22 Cowboy Trail North of Edmonton the highway continues to Athabasca then northwesterly along the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake into High Prairie north to Peace River west to Fairview and finally south to Grande Prairie where it ends at an interchange with Highway 43 153 The section of Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton has been named the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to commemorate the visit of the monarch in 2005 154 Highway 2 is supplemented by two more highways that run parallel to it Highway 22 west of Highway 2 known as Cowboy Trail and Highway 21 east of Highway 2 Highway 43 travels northwest into Grande Prairie and the Peace River Country Travelling northeast from Edmonton the Highway 63 connects to Fort McMurrayand the Athabasca oil sands 153 Alberta has two main east west corridors The southern corridor part of the Trans Canada Highway system enters the province near Medicine Hat runs westward through Calgary and leaves Alberta through Banff National Park The northern corridor also part of the Trans Canada network and known as the Yellowhead Highway Highway 16 runs west from Lloydminster in eastern Alberta through Edmonton and Jasper National Park into British Columbia 153 One of the most scenic drives is along the Icefields Parkway which runs for 228 km 142 mi between Jasper and Lake Louise with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length A third corridor stretches across southern Alberta Highway 3 runs between Crowsnest Pass and Medicine Hat through Lethbridge and forms the eastern portion of the Crowsnest Highway 153 Another major corridor through central Alberta is Highway 11 also known as the David Thompson Highway which runs east from the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park through Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer connecting with Highway 12 20 km 12 mi west of Stettler The highway connects many of the smaller towns in central Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton as it crosses Highway 2 just west of Red Deer 153 Urban stretches of Alberta s major highways and freeways are often called trails For example Highway 2 the main north south highway in the province is called Deerfoot Trail as it passes through Calgary but becomes Calgary Trail southbound and Gateway Boulevard northbound as it enters Edmonton and then turns into St Albert Trail as it leaves Edmonton for the City of St Albert Calgary in particular has a tradition of calling its largest urban expressways trails and naming many of them after prominent First Nations individuals and tribes such as Crowchild Trail Deerfoot Trail and Stoney Trail 155 Friendship partners EditAlberta has relationships with many provinces states and other entities worldwide 156 Gangwon do South Korea 1974 157 Hokkaido Japan 1980 Heilongjiang China 1981 Montana United States 1985 Tyumen Russia 1992 Khanty Mansi Russia 1995 Yamalo Nenets Russia 1997 Jalisco Mexico 1999 Alaska United States 2002 Saxony Germany 2002 Ivano Frankivsk Ukraine 2004 Lviv Ukraine 2005 California United States 1997 158 Guangdong China 2017 See also Edit Canada portalIndex of Alberta related articles Outline of AlbertaNotes Edit According to a 2018 CBC article Albertans whose annual income is less than 25 000 pay the least income tax in Canada those that earn about 50 000 pay more than both Ontarians and British Columbians Residents of British Columbia who earn about 75 000 pay 1 200 less in provincial taxes than those in Alberta Albertans who earn about 100 000 pay less than Ontarians but still more than people in B C Alberta taxpayers who earn 250 000 a year or more pay 4 000 less in provincial taxes than someone with a similar income in B C and about 18 000 less than in Quebec References Edit Alberta Geographical Names Data Base Natural Resources Canada a b c Census Profile 2021 Census of Population Data table Statistics Canada February 9 2022 Archived from the original on February 9 2022 Retrieved February 9 2022 Population estimates quarterly Statistics Canada June 22 2022 Archived from the original on June 24 2022 Retrieved July 2 2022 Languages Act Government of Alberta Archived from the original on May 2 2021 Retrieved March 7 2019 Dupuis Serge February 5 2020 Francophones of Alberta Franco Albertains The Canadian Encyclopedia Archived from the original on August 10 2020 Retrieved September 30 2020 In 1988 as a reaction to the Supreme Court s Mercure case Alberta passed the Alberta Languages Act making English the province s official language and repealing the language rights enjoyed under the North West Territories Act while allowing French in the Legislative Assembly and court Gross domestic product expenditure based by province and territory 2015 Statistics Canada November 9 2016 Archived from the original on September 19 2012 Retrieved January 26 2017 Sub national HDI Global Data Lab globaldatalab org Archived from the original on July 18 2021 Retrieved July 18 2021 Get to know Canada Provinces and territories aem April 1 2011 Archived from the original on October 18 2020 Retrieved October 16 2020 Wenckstern Erin January 8 2015 Chinook winds and Alberta weather The Weather Network Archived from the original on October 4 2015 Retrieved October 3 2015 Harrison Raymond O Alberta Climate Encyclopedia Britannica Archived from the original on September 21 2017 Retrieved October 16 2020 The 10 Biggest Cities In Alberta WorldAtlas September 9 2019 Archived from the original on October 17 2020 Retrieved October 16 2020 Population and dwelling counts for Canada provinces and territories census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations 2016 and 2011 censuses 100 data Alberta Statistics Canada February 7 2018 Archived from the original on February 23 2020 Retrieved December 29 2020 Census 2016 Language of Albertans Archived December 4 2019 at the Wayback Machine consulted April 2021 Key Sectors investalberta ca Archived from the original on November 16 2019 Retrieved October 16 2020 a b The Leduc Era 1947 to 1970s Conventional Oil Alberta s Energy Heritage history alberta ca Archived from the original on October 19 2020 Retrieved October 16 2020 Economic Dashboard Gross Domestic Product economicdashboard alberta ca Archived from the original on February 18 2021 Retrieved September 21 2019 Dictionary Census of Population 2016 Market income www12 statcan gc ca May 3 2017 Archived from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved November 7 2019 History amp Geology Bow Valley Naturalists Archived from the original on February 14 2021 Retrieved October 16 2020 Alberta becomes a Province Alberta Online Encyclopedia Archived from the original on April 22 2009 Retrieved August 6 2009 World Heritage Sites in Alberta www albertaparks ca Archived from the original on September 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the original on April 10 2016 Retrieved October 12 2016 Highway 2 receives Royal treatment Alberta Transportation May 23 2005 Archived from the original on March 25 2016 Retrieved November 4 2016 Highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary is now known as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway Calgary Alberta Google Maps Archived from the original Map on October 8 2018 Retrieved December 8 2016 Twinning Relationships Government of Alberta Archived from the original on April 9 2016 Retrieved April 12 2014 Gangwon Alberta Relations PDF AlbertaCanada com Government of Alberta Archived from the original PDF on May 14 2013 Retrieved April 12 2014 California s Sister State Relationships ca gov Archived from the original on May 14 2016 Retrieved May 15 2016 Further reading EditBerry Susan Jack Brink 2004 Aboriginal Cultures in Alberta Five Hundred Generations Provincial Museum of Alberta ISBN 0 7785 2852 9 Retrieved October 21 2012 Alberta Cavanaugh Catherine Anne Michael Payne Donald Wetherell Catherine Cavanaugh 2006 Alberta formed Alberta transformed Volume 1 University of Alberta Press ISBN 1 55238 194 3 Archived from the original on June 14 2021 Retrieved October 21 2012 Connors Richard Law John M 2005 Forging Alberta s constitutional framework University of Alberta Centre for Constitutional Studies ISBN 0 88864 457 4 Archived from the original on June 14 2021 Retrieved October 21 2012 Holt Faye Reineberg 2009 Alberta A History in Photographs Heritage House Lancaster Gazelle ISBN 978 1 894974 87 5 Archived from the original on June 14 2021 Retrieved October 21 2012 Melnyk George 1999 The literary history of Alberta University of Alberta Press ISBN 0 88864 296 2 Retrieved October 21 2012 Alberta Taylor Alison 2001 The politics of educational reform in Alberta University of Toronto Press ISBN 0 8020 4813 7 Retrieved October 21 2012 Alberta External links Edit Look up Alberta in Wiktionary the free dictionary Alberta at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Official website of the Government of Alberta Alberta at Curlie Alberta Encyclopedia List of streets in Alberta with maps Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alberta amp oldid 1131992690, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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