53°34N 113°25W, pop (2000e) 691 000. Capital of Alberta province, Canada, on banks of N Saskatchewan R; most northerly large city in North America; Fort Edmonton built by Hudson's Bay Company, 40 km/25 mi below present site, 1795; destroyed by Indians, 1807, and rebuilt on new site, 1819; reached by railway, 1891; chosen as capital, 1905; rapid growth after discovery of oil nearby, 1947; University of Alberta (1906) and Athabasca University (1972); airport; airfield; petrochemicals, retail and trade centre; ice hockey team, Edmonton Oilers; football team, Edmonton Eskimos; location of the 1978 Commonwealth Games; Legislative Building, George McDougall Memorial Shrine and Museum (1871); Klondike Days display, including the Sourdough Raft Race (Jul).
For other uses, see Edmonton (disambiguation).| City of Edmonton | |
|
Edmonton City Hall. |
|
|
(Coat of Arms of Edmonton, Alberta) |
(Flag of Edmonton) |
| Location of Edmonton within census division number 11 in Alberta, Canada | |
| Area | 683.88 km² |
| Metro area | 9,418.62 km² |
| Population | 712,391 (2006) |
| Pop'n rank | 5th |
| Metro pop'n | 1,016,000 (2005 est.) |
| Metro rank | 6th |
| Pop'n density | 974.0 |
| Location | 53°34′N 113°31′W |
| Altitude | 668 metres |
| Incorporation | 1904 |
| Province | Alberta |
| Census Division | 11 |
| Members of Parliament | Rona Ambrose, Ken Epp, Peter Goldring, Laurie Hawn, Rahim Jaffer, Michael Lake, James Rajotte, John G. Williams |
| Members of the Legislative Assembly | Bharat Agnihotri, Dan Backs, Bill Bonko, Laurie Blakeman, David Eggen, Mo Elsalhy, Dave Hancock, Thomas Lukaszuk, Hugh MacDonald, Ray Martin, Brian Mason, Weslyn Mather, Bruce Miller, Rick Miller, Raj Pannu, Kevin Taft, Maurice Tougas, Gene Zwozdesky |
| Mayor |
Stephen Mandel
(Past mayors) |
| City Manager | Al Maurer |
| Governing Body | Edmonton City Council |
| Time zone | Mountain (UTC-7) |
| Postal code | T5A to T6Z |
| Area Code | 780 |
| Official website: City of Edmonton | |
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, situated in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies.
At 684 km², the City of Edmonton proper covers a large area — larger in area than Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Montreal. Edmonton also has one of the lowest population densities in North America — about 67 times less than New York City.
Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the "Calgary-Edmonton Corridor" (one of four such regions that, in total, comprise 50% of the Canadian population) and is a staging point for large-scale oilsands projects occurring in the north of the province as well as large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.
Edmonton is Canada's second most populous provincial capital (after Toronto) and is known as a well-rounded cultural, government, and educational centre. It is home to North America's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall, and Canada's largest historical park, Fort Edmonton Park. In 2004, Edmonton celebrated the centennial of its incorporation as a city.
History
Exploration and settlement
The first inhabitants gathered in the area, which is now Edmonton, around 3000 BC and perhaps as early as 10,000 BC, when an ice-free corridor was opening up as the great ice sheets covering much of Canada melted.
In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer working for the Hudson's Bay Company, was probably the first European to enter the Edmonton area. The Hudson's Bay Company named its fort after the town of Edmonton in the UK (now a suburb in north London), the hometown of Sir James Winter Lake, then director of the Company.
John Rowand, a fur trader for the North West Company, arrived in Edmonton in 1804 and was vital to the fort's importance, for he established it as the main distribution centre for the entire northwest. Rowand became respected and accepted as a leader by the Plains Indians, managing Edmonton's fur trade with the Cree and Blackfoot in Edmonton for about 30 years. Fort Edmonton and the surrounding area was known to the local Cree as Amiskwaciy waskahigan (the "c" in Amiskwaciy is pronounced similar to a "ch"), meaning "Beaver Hills House". As Rowand had intended, Fort Edmonton became a major economic centre for Rupert's Land, as the lands comprising the present-day Prairie Provinces, northern Ontario and northern Canada were known at the time. Fort Edmonton was the major stopping point before pioneers headed up north or farther west.
The oil boom years
The first major oil discovery for Edmonton and the rest of the province was made on February 13, 1947 near the town of Leduc to the south. Although oil reserves were already known as early as 1914 to exist in the southern parts of Alberta, they produced very little oil compared to those around Edmonton. Additional oil reserves were also discovered during the late 1940s and the 1950s in the Edmonton area near the town of Redwater.
The subsequent oil boom gave Edmonton new status as the Oil Capital of Canada.
Recent history
In 1981, the largest shopping mall in North America, West Edmonton Mall, opened.
On July 31, 1987, a devastating tornado, ranked as an F4 on the Fujita scale, hit the city and killed 27 people. Then-Mayor Laurence Decore cited the community's response to the tornado as evidence that Edmonton was a "city of champions", which later became the city's slogan.
The city entered its current period of economic recovery and prosperity by the late 1990s, helped by a strong recovery in oil prices and further economic diversification. While oil production and refining remains the basis of many jobs in Edmonton, the city's economy has managed to diversify economically, producing even more jobs.
Geography and location
Edmonton is located near the geographical centre of the province at an elevation of 668 m (2192 ft).
The North Saskatchewan River bisects this city and originates at the Columbia Icefield in Banff National Park. Edmonton is situated at the boundary between prairie to the south and boreal
forest to the north, in a transitional area known as aspen parkland.
Parkland and environment
Edmonton's river valley constitutes the longest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America, and Edmonton has the highest per capita area of parkland of any Canadian city.
Edmonton's streets and parklands are also home to one of the largest remaining concentrations of healthy American Elm trees in the world, unaffected by Dutch Elm disease, which has wiped out vast numbers of such trees in eastern North America.
The City of Edmonton has named five parks in its River Valley Parks System in honour of each of "The Famous Five".
Neighbourhoods
See also List of neighbourhoods in Edmonton.
Edmonton has numerous distinct neighbourhoods.
The downtown core, which has seen increasing redevelopment since the 1997 Capital City Downtown Plan was introduced, is home to the Central Business District (CBD) as well as over 4000 residents.
Radiating from the core are numerous inner city neighbourhoods such as Oliver, Glenora, Westmount, Queen Mary Park, Central McDougall, Boyle Street and McCauley on the north side of the river, while Windsor Park, Garneau, Strathcona, Bonnie Doon, and Strathearn line the south side of the river. If Mill Woods were a separate municipality, it would be Alberta's third largest city after Calgary and Edmonton.
Climate
Edmonton has a northern continental climate with extreme seasonal temperatures, although the city has milder winters than either Regina or Winnipeg, which are both located at a more southerly latitude.
Edmonton has a dry climate.
Edmonton is the most northerly major city in North America with a metro population of over 1 million. Edmonton receives 2,289 hours of sunshine per year, and is one of Canada's sunniest cities.
Economy
Edmonton is the major economic centre for northern Alberta and a major centre for the oil and gas industry. The Edmonton Economic Development Corporation estimated that as of January 2005 the total value of major projects under construction in northern Alberta was $81.5 billion with $18.2 billion occurring within Greater Edmonton.
Edmonton traditionally has been a hub for Albertan petrochemical industries, earning it the nickname "Oil Capital of Canada" in the 1940s.
Despite the focus on oil and gas, Edmonton's economy has worked towards becoming the second most diverse in Canada.
Much of the growth in technology sectors is due to Edmonton's reputation as one of Canada’s premier research and education centres. Research initiatives are anchored by educational institutions such as the University of Alberta as well as government initiatives underway at the Alberta Research Council and Edmonton Research Park.
During the 1980s Edmonton started to become a major financial centre with both regional offices of Canada's major banks and locally based institutions opening. The 1990s saw a solidification of the economy and now Edmonton is home of Canadian Western Bank, the only publicly traded Schedule I chartered bank headquarters west of Toronto.
Edmonton has been the birth place of several companies which have grown to international stature such as PCL Construction , and Stantec .
The geographical location of Edmonton has made it an ideal spot for distribution and logistics.
Demographics
According to the mid-2001 census, the population estimates there were 937,845 people residing within Edmonton's metropolitan area, located in the province of Alberta, of whom 49.6 per cent were male and 50.4 per cent were female.
In mid-2001, 10.5 per cent of the resident population in Edmonton were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2 per cent in Canada, therefore, the average age is 35.4 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.
In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Edmonton grew by 8.7 per cent, compared with an increase of 10.3 per cent for Alberta as a whole. Population density of Edmonton averaged 99.6 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 4.6, for Alberta altogether.
At the time of the census in May 2001, the resident population of the Edmonton city authority had 666,104 people, but had 937,845 when encompassing the whole metropolitan area, compared with a resident population in the province of Alberta of 2,974,807 people.
|
Racial Profile White - 75.69% Asian - 10.15% Aboriginal - 4.62% Indian - 4.24% Black - 1.97% Arab - 1.58% Hispanic - 1.11% Other - 0.64% Source:Statistics Canada |
Religion Protestant: 31.2% Catholic: 29.4% No religion: 24.4% Other Christian: 3.9% Muslim: 2.9% Christian Orthodox: 2.6% Buddhist: 2.1% Sikh: 1.4% Hindu: 1.1% Other: 1.0% Source:Statistics Canada |
The City of Edmonton has conducted a civic census in early 2005. The 2005 civic census has revealed that the City of Edmonton's population is currently 712,391. The Greater Edmonton Area population as of 2005 was estimated at 1,016,000 (Statistics Canada estimate).
Infrastructure
Transportation
Air
Edmonton is served by two major and several smaller airports. The main airport, Edmonton International Airport is located south of the city limits, near the city of Leduc. Edmonton has scheduled service to all major Canadian hubs, most major US hubs, London Heathrow.
The smaller and older Edmonton City Centre Airport, — the oldest city-owned airport in Canada — is located just north of downtown Edmonton. Air passenger service from Edmonton City Centre Airport was consolidated to the International Airport in 1996.
Edmonton Airports controls Edmonton International, Edmonton City Centre and also Cooking Lake Airport and Villeneuve Airport, both of which primarily service general aviation and flight training services.
Inter-urban rail
Edmonton is served by VIA Rail passenger trains.
City public transit
The main public transportation networks are run by the Edmonton Transit System (ETS).
In 1908, Edmonton began operating an electric street railway system. Edmonton is one of only two major Canadian cities still operating electric trolley buses, the other being Vancouver. Today, Edmonton Transit operates a system of 49 trolley buses on core Routes 3, 5, 7, 120, 133, and 135 in the central and western parts of the city.
In addition to the bus routes, Edmonton has a light rail transit (LRT) line running from Clareview in the northeast to the Health Sciences building on the south side. The West LRT is expected to have the LRT extending all the way to West Edmonton Mall and beyond to the extreme western outskirts of the city.
Highways
Edmonton is connected to British Columbia and Saskatchewan via the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16, or Yellowhead Trail within city limits), and to Calgary and Red Deer via the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (known as Calgary Trail (southbound) or Gateway Boulevard (northbound) within city limits).
Arterial roads
Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) is a ring road transportation project which will eventually encircle the Edmonton Metropolitan area.
Street layout
Edmonton's streets were originally all named streets and arranged in such a way that avenues ran north-south and streets ran east-west. The first move to a grid-style system began as the city expanded west - the streets west of Queens Avenue were switched to be north-south oriented with 1st Street (now 101 Street) being west of Queens Avenue, and the street numbers increasing further west (IE 10th Street was one block west of 9th Street).
The city of Strathcona had adopted a grid and quandrant system before to it's amalgamation with Edmonton, with the city being centred on Main Street (now 105 Street) and Whyte Avenue (now officially 82 Avenue).
In 1914, following amalgamation with Strathcona, Edmonton adopted a new numbered street and avenue system, which with a few small modifications is still in use.
In the 1980s as the city grew, it began to run out of street numbers in the east and avenue numbers in the south.
All Edmonton streets now officially have their quadrant included at the end of their names, but it is usual — even on official signage — to omit the "NW" especially when there is no possibility of confusion with a street in another quadrant.
Waste disposal
Utilizing the largest stainless steel building in North America, Edmonton's waste management services' modern composting facility is the largest of its type in the world having the capacity to recycle 65 per cent of its residential waste.
Together, the Waste Management Centre and Wastewater Treatment plant are known as the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence. water distribution systems
Edmonton's first power company established itself in 1891 installing street lights along its main avenue, Jasper Avenue.
Education
Post-secondary
Edmonton has become one of Canada's major educational centres with more than 60,000 full time post-secondary students spread over several institutions and campuses (total enrolment between the schools is as high as 170,000, which includes students enrolled in multiple institutions).
The University of Alberta (also known colloquially as the U of A), whose main campus is situated on the south side of Edmonton's river valley, is a board-governed, public institution with annual revenue of one billion dollars.
Other universities within the borders of Edmonton include Athabasca University, Concordia University College of Alberta , the King's University College, Taylor University College and Seminary, and the Edmonton campus of the University of Lethbridge.
Other Edmonton post-secondary institutions include Grant MacEwan College, which enrolls 40,791 students in programs leading to careers or university transfer, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), with 48,500 students enrolled in 190 technical, vocational and apprenticeship programs and NorQuest College, with 11,300 students, specializing in short courses in skills and academic upgrading.
K-12
Edmonton has three publicly funded school boards (districts), who provide kindergarten and grades one through twelve. The vast majority of students attend schools in the two large English language boards: the Edmonton Public Schools board and the separate Catholic School District. Included are the Edmonton Society for Christian Education and Edmonton Academy.
Both the Edmonton Public Schools and the Edmonton Catholic School District provide support and resources for those wishing to home school their children.
City life
Nightlife
There are several key concentrations of nightlife in the city of Edmonton. The most popular is the Whyte Avenue (82nd Avenue) strip, concentrated between 109 St. and 99 St. which today has the highest concentration of heritage buildings in Edmonton.
Downtown Edmonton has undergone a continual process of renewal and unprecedented growth since the mid 1990s. Various clubs such as the New City Suburbs, the Globe and Halo are also to be found along Edmonton's main street, Jasper Avenue. The Edmonton City Centre mall also houses an Empire Theatres movie theatre featuring 10 screens and the non-profit Metro Cinema shows a variety of underground or alternative films every week.
West Edmonton Mall holds several after hour establishments in addition to its many stores and attractions.
Culture
Edmonton has always been a city proud of its cultural accomplishments. Called one of the most acoustically perfect concert halls in Canada, it is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and hosts a wide variety of shows every year. Old Strathcona is home to the Theatre District, which holds the Transalta Arts Barns (headquarters of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival), The Walterdale Playhouse, Catalyst Theatre, and the Varscona Theatre (base of operations for several theatre companies, including Teatro la Quindicina, Shadow Theatre, Rapid Fire Theatre, Die-Nasty, and Oh Susanna!).
Museums and Galleries
There are also over 70 museums in Edmonton of ranging sizes.
The Art Gallery of Alberta is the city's largest single gallery.
Festivals
Edmonton plays host to several large festivals each year, hence its local nickname as 'the Festival City.' The following highlights some of Edmonton's larger festivals. The Edmonton International Street Performer's Festival takes place in mid-July and showcases street performance artists from around the world.
Edmonton's main summer festival is Capital EX (formerly Klondike Days.) Klondike Days (or K-Days) was originally an annual fair and exhibition which eventually adopted a gold rush theme.
The Edmonton International Fringe Festival, which takes place in mid-August, is the largest Fringe Theatre Festival in North America, and second only to the Edinburgh Fringe festival in the world. In August, Edmonton is also host to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, one of the most successful and popular folk music festivals in North America.
Many other festivals occur such as the River City Shakespeare Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Edmonton International Film Festival.
Attractions
Alberta Legislative Building Alberta Railway Museum Art Gallery of Alberta formerly known as Edmonton Art Gallery Capital EX Commonwealth Stadium Edmonton City Hall Edmonton Corn Maze Fort Edmonton Historical Park Muttart Conservatory Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Northlands Park Rexall Place Royal Alberta Museum TELUS World of Science, Edmonton (formerly, the Odyssium, formerly, the Edmonton Space and Sciences Centre) University of Alberta Valley Zoo West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Presented by The Brick Champ Car seriesSports and recreation
Edmonton has a proud heritage of very successful sports teams including the Edmonton Grads, Edmonton Eskimos, and Edmonton Oilers.
Numerous minor-league teams in the City include the Edmonton Cracker-Cats and Edmonton Rush.
Edmonton hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1983 World University Games (Universiade), the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, and the 2005 World Master Games.
Edmonton has a circuit on the Champ Car World Series known as the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Presented by The Brick Champ Car series.
Current professional franchises
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
| Edmonton Oilers | National Hockey League | Rexall Place | 1972 | 5 |
| Edmonton Eskimos | Canadian Football League | Commonwealth Stadium | 1949 | 13 |
| Edmonton Rush | National Lacrosse League | Rexall Place | 2005 | 0 |
| Edmonton Cracker Cats | Northern League | Telus Field | 2005 | 0 |
| TBA | Western Hockey League | Rexall Place | 2007 | 0 |
Media
Television
Edmonton has six broadcast television stations:
| Channel 3: CFRN (CTV: CFRN) Channel 5: CBXT (CBC) Channel 9: CJAL (Access Alberta) Channel 11: CBXFT (SRC) Channel 13: CITV (Global) | Channel 51: CKEM (Citytv) |
The cable television provider in Edmonton is Shaw Cable.
Radio
| 88.5 FM - CJSR (University of Alberta Campus Eclectic Variety) 89.3 FM - Aboriginal Voices 90.1 FM - CBCX (Espace Musique) Classical Music 90.9 FM - CBX (CBC Radio Two) Classical Music 91.7 FM - CHBN ("The Bounce" , Hip-hop) 92.5 FM - CKNG ("Joe FM", Popular Music) 94.9 FM - CKUA (Provincial Eclectic Variety) 96.3 FM - CKRA ("Big Earl", Country) 97.3 FM - CIRK ("K-Rock", Classic Rock) 99.3 FM - CHMC ("Magic 99", Popular Jazz) 100.3 FM - CFBR ("The Bear", Active Rock) 101.7 FM - CKER ("101.7 World FM" Multi-Ethnic) 102.9 FM - CHDI ("Sonic 102.9", Modern Rock) 103.9 FM - CISN ("CISN Country 103.9", Country Music) 104.9 FM - CFMG ("EZRock", Easy Listening) 105.9 FM - CJRY ("Shine FM", Christian music) | 580 AM - CKUA (public broadcasting, Variety) 630 AM - CHED ("630 CHED" news/talk) 680 AM - CHFA (La Première Chaîne) 740 AM - CBX (CBC Radio One) 790 AM - CFCW ("790 CFCW", country) 880 AM - CHQT ("Cool 880", oldies) 930 AM - CJCA ("The Light", gospel music) 1260 AM - CFRN ("The Team", sports) 162.400 MHz (FM) XLM 572 Environment Canada Weatheradio (English and French Broadcasts) |
Edmonton has 2 large-circulation daily newspapers:
Edmonton Journal Edmonton SunEdmonton also has two free weekly papers focusing on the city's independent arts and entertainment, See Magazine and Vue Weekly.
The weekly Edmonton Examiner is also delivered free to households in Edmonton.
On-line Citizen Forums
connect2edmonton (partnered with Edmonton Economic Development Corp. , Edmonton Airports, the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce) (A youth oriented site most popular in Western Canada but popular worldwide.Metropolitan area
Edmonton is at the centre of a metropolitan area that includes 35 independent municipalities either adjacent to Edmonton's city limits or within several kilometres of it. Although several attempts have been made by the City of Edmonton to annex surrounding municipalities, no proposal has of yet been approved by the provincial government.
Military
Edmonton is home to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG), the regular army brigade group of Land Forces Western Area of the Canadian Army.
Historically, Edmonton's Regular Force military had been small until the 1990s.
Edmonton also has a large army reserve element from 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG) including the The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry) and B Squadron of The South Alberta Light Horse, one of Alberta's oldest army reserve units.
There are numerous cadet corps of the different elements (Sea, Army and Air Force) within Edmonton as well.
Sister cities
Edmonton is an official sister city of the following several cities worldwide:
Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China Wonju, Gangwon province, South Korea Austin, Texas Nashville, Tennessee Hull, Quebec (now a part of Gatineau, Quebec)
User Comments Add a comment…