Alberta

Alberta

Coat of arms of Alberta Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Fortis et liber" (Latin) "Strong and free"
Capital	Edmonton, Alberta
Largest city	Calgary
Official languages	English language
Government
- Lieutenant-Governor	Norman Kwong
- Premier	Ed Stelmach (Alberta Progressive Conservatives)
Federal representation	in Canadian Parliament
- House seats	28
- Senate seats	6
Confederation	September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province])
Area	Ranked 6th
- Total	661,848 km² (255,541 sq mi)
- Land	642,317 km² (248,000 sq mi)
- Water (%)	19,531 km² (7,541 sq mi) (2.95%)
Population	Ranked 4th
- Total (2006)	3,290,350
- Density	5.10/km² (13.2/sq mi)
GDP	Ranked 3rd
- Total (2005)	$215.858 billion
- Per capita	$66,279 (2nd)
Abbreviations
- Postal	AB
- ISO 3166-2	CA-AB
Time zone	Coordinated Universal Time
Postal code prefix	List of T Postal Codes of Canada
Flower	24px Rosa acicularis
Tree	Lodgepole Pine
Bird	Great Horned Owl
Web site	www.gov.ab.ca
Rankings include all provinces and territories

Alberta is one of the Western provinces of Canada, joining the confederation on September 1, 1905. Alberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia (west), Saskatchewan (east), Northwest Territories (north), and the U.S. state of Montana (south). Alberta is one of two provinces (the other being New Brunswick) to border only a single U.S. state. It is also one of two provinces that are completely landlocked (the other being Saskatchewan).

The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the center of the province. Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's tar sands, oil sands, and other northern resource industries. The city of Calgary is also a major distribution and transportation hub, in addition to being one of Canada's major commerce centers. According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas have now both exceeded 1 million people, Calgary being slightly more populous than Edmonton.

Alberta is named after the Duchess of Argyll, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Princess Louise was the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Lake Louise, the village of Caroline, and Mount Alberta were also named in her honor.

Geography

With the exception of the southeastern section, the province is well watered. Alberta contains dozens of rivers and lakes used for swimming, water skiing, fishing, and a full range of other water sports. There are three large lakes and a multitude of smaller lakes. Part of Lake Athabasca lies in the province of Saskatchewan. Lake Claire lies just west of Lake Athabasca in Wood Buffalo National Park.

Moraine lake in Banff National Park

Because Alberta extends for &&&&&&&&&&&01200.&&&&&01,200 km from north to south, and about 600 km wide at its greatest east-west extent, it is natural that the climate should vary considerably between the 49^th and 60^th parallels. It is also further influenced by its elevation since the province is a high plateau. The elevation ranges from about &&&&&&&&&&&01000.&&&&&01,000 meters in the south (Calgary is about &&&&&&&&&&&01000.&&&&&01,000–&&&&&&&&&&&01200.&&&&&01,200 meters and Red Deer is about 850 meters) to 650 meters in the north. The presence of a wall of mountains on the west and open prairies on the east also influences the weather.

Northern Alberta is mostly covered by taiga boreal forest and has fewer frost-free days than southern Alberta, which has a semi-arid climate. The southeastern corner of Alberta experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province. Western Alberta is protected by the mountains, and enjoys the mild temperatures brought by winter chinook winds, while southeastern Alberta is a generally flat, dry prairie with some hills, where temperatures are most extreme. They can range from very cold (−31°F or −35°C or lower in the winter) to very hot (100°F or 38°C or higher in the summer).

Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and taiga boreal forest to the north. After southern Ontario, central Alberta is the most likely region in Canada to experience tornadoes. 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, due to the role of orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains, which enhances the updraft/downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of hail.

Overall, Alberta has cold winters, with a temperature average of about −10°C (14°F) in the south to −24°C (−12°F) in the north. In the south along the foothills of the Rockies, the winter cold is sometimes interrupted by Chinook winds which can propel temperatures upward in a short time frame close to or infrequently above 20°C (68°F). These conditions most commonly occur in February or March. In the summer, the average daytime temperatures range from around 21°C (70°F) in the Rocky Mountains (valleys) and far north to near 30°C (86°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 over periods of years, although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation. Alberta experiences a good amount of sunshine for its northern location owing to its fairly dry climate; the east-central part of the province (bordering Saskatchewan), is the sunniest place in Canada with an average of over &&&&&&&&&&&02500.&&&&&02,500 hours a year.

Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, is located almost in the geographic center of the province, and most of Alberta's oil is refined here. Southern Alberta, where Calgary is located, is known for its ranching. Much of the unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain or to dairy farming, with ranching and grasslands predominant in the south.

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

Alberta is one of only two Canadian provinces to have no maritime coast (the other being the neighboring province of Saskatchewan.)

Fauna

The three climatic regions (alpine, forest, and prairie) of Alberta are home to many different species of animals. The south and central prairie was the land of the bison, its grasses providing a great pasture and breeding ground. The buffalo population was decimated during early settlement, but since then buffalo have made a strong comeback and thrive on farms and in parks all over Alberta.

The Bighorn Sheep is Alberta's provincial animal

Alberta is home to many large carnivores. Among them are the grizzly bear and American black Bear, which are found in the mountains and wooded regions. Smaller carnivores of the dog and cat families include coyotes, wolves, foxes, lynxes, bobcats, and mountain lions (cougar).

Herbivorous, or plant-eating animals, are found throughout the province. Moose and deer (both mule and white-tail varieties) are found in the wooded regions, and pronghorn antelope 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 variety of venomous snake, the prairie rattlesnake.

Central and northern Alberta and the region farther north is the nesting-ground of 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. Rivers and lakes are well stocked with pike, walleye, whitefish, trout (Rainbow, Brook, and Brown), and even sturgeon. 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.

Flora

In central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring brings the prairie anemone, the avens, crocuses, and other early flowers. The advancing summer introduces many flowers of the sunflower family, until in August the plains are one blaze of yellow and purple. The southern and east-central parts of Alberta are covered by a short, nutritious grass, which dries up as summer lengthens, to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the buffalo bean, fleabane, and sagebrush. Both yellow and purple clover fill the ditches with their beauty and aromatic scents. The trees in the parkland region of the province grow in clumps and belts on the hillsides. These are largely deciduous, typically birch, poplar, and tamarack. Many species of willow and other shrubs grow in virtually any terrain. On the north side of the North Saskatchewan River evergreen forests prevail for hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. Aspen poplar, balsam poplar (or cottonwood), and paper birch are the primary large deciduous species. Conifers include Jack pine, Rocky Mountain pine, Lodgepole pine, both white and black spruce, and the deciduous conifer tamarack.

Economy

Alberta's economy is one of the strongest in Canada, supported by the burgeoning petroleum industry and to a lesser extent,agriculture and technology. The per capita GDP in 2005 was by far the highest of any province in Canada at Canadian dollar $66,279.This was 56 percent higher than the national average and more than twice that of some of the Atlantic provinces. This deviation from the national average was the largest for any province in Canadian history.

The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized region in the province and one of the densest in Canada. Measured from north to south, the region covers a distance of roughly 400 kilometers. In 2001, the population of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor was 2.15 million (72 percent of Alberta's population). It is also one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the corridor is the only Canadian urban center to amass a U.S level of wealth while maintaining a Canadian-style quality of life, offering universal health care benefits. The study found GDP per capita in the corridor is 10 percent above average U.S. metropolitan areas and 40 percent above other Canadian cities.

According to the Fraser Institute, Alberta also has very high levels of economic freedom. It is by far the most free economy in Canada and is rated as the fourth most free economy of U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

Industry

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

The Athabasca Oil Sands (sometimes known as the Athabasca Tar Sands) have estimated non-conventional oil reserves approximately equal to the conventional oil reserves of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.7 trillion barrels (254 km³).With the development of new extraction methods such as steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), which was developed in Alberta, bitumen and synthetic crude oil can be produced at costs close to those of conventional crude. Many companies employ both conventional surface mining, strip mining, and non-conventional in situ methods to extract the bitumen from the oil sands. With current technology and at current prices, about 315 billion barrels (50 km³) of bitumen are recoverable. Fort McMurray, one of Canada's fastest growing and liveliest cities, has grown enormously in recent years because of the large corporations involved in oil production.

Another factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the Tar Sands is the price of oil. The oil price increases of recent years made it more profitable to extract this oil, which in the past would give little profit or even a loss.

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. With a growing economy, Alberta has several financial institutions dealing with civil and private funds.

Agriculture and forestry

File:Field 150.jpg

Canola field in central Alberta

Agriculture has a significant position in Alberta's economy. Approximately, 24 percent of Canada's annual agricultural output comes from Alberta, allowing for the 57,000 farms and ranches that are found to be a large employer of many Albertans. Over three million cattle are residents of the province at one time or another, and Albertan beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta.

Alberta's immense agricultural economy annually exports 64 percent of its commodities to over 130 countries, averaging a commission of approximately $4.2 billion a year.As an export-oriented province, Alberta consists of five major agricultural commodities: cattle and calves at $2.2 billion, wheat at $1.1 billion, canola at $690 million, hogs at $390 million, and barley at $330 million.

Grain elevator in southern Alberta

Wheat and canola are primary farm crops, with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production, with other cereals and grains 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 decreased and farmers now truck the grain to central points.

Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers in southern Alberta wintering beehives indoors in specially designed barns. They then migrate north during the summer into the Peace River valley where the season is short, but the working days are long for the Western honey bee to produce honey from clovers and fireweed. Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, which some beekeepers service.

The vast northern forest reserves of softwood allow Alberta to produce large quantities of lumber, oriented strand board (OSB), and plywood. Several other plants in northern Alberta supply North America and the Pacific Rim nations with bleached wood pulp and newsprint.

Government and politics

The government of Alberta is organized as a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature. Its unicameral Legislative Assembly consists of 83 members.

Locally municipal governments and school boards are elected and operate separately. Their boundaries may or may not coincide. Municipalities, where the same body acted as both local government and school board, were formally referred to as "counties" in Alberta.

As Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state for the Government of Alberta. Her duties in Alberta are carried out by Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong. Although the lieutenant governor is technically the most powerful person in Alberta, (s)he is in reality a figurehead whose actions are restricted by custom and constitutional convention. The government is therefore headed by the premier of Alberta. The current premier is Ed Stelmach, who was elected as leader of the governing Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta on December 2, 2006.

Alberta's Legislative Building in Edmonton.

As is the case in a parliamentary system, the premier is a member of the Legislative Assembly, and he draws all the members of his 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 province's revenue comes mainly from the taxation of oil, natural gas, beef, softwood lumber, and wheat, but also includes a tax on corporate and personal income, gaming revenue, and grants from the government of Canada, primarily for infrastructure projects. Albertans are the lowest-taxed people in Canada, and Alberta is the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax (though residents are still subject to the federal sales tax, the Goods and Services Tax). Alberta's municipalities and school jurisdictions have their own governments, which (usually) work in cooperation with the provincial government.

Alberta's elections tend to yield results that are much more conservative than those of other Canadian provinces. Alberta has traditionally had three political parties, the Alberta Progressive Conservatives ("Conservatives" or "Tories"), the Liberals, and the New Democratic Party. A fourth party, 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. Since that time, no other political party has governed Alberta. In fact, only four 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, and the currently governing Progressive Conservative Party, from 1971 to the present.

As is the case with many western Canadian provinces, Alberta has had occasional surges in separatist sentiment. Even during the 1980s, when these feelings were at their strongest, there has never been enough interest in secession to initiate any major movements or referenda. There are a number of groups wishing to promote the independence of Alberta in some form currently active in the province.

In the Alberta 2004 provincial election, the Progressive Conservative Party was re-elected as a majority government (62 members), the Liberal Party of Alberta was elected as the official opposition (16 members), the New Democratic Party elected 4 members, and the Alberta Alliance Party, running to the right of the Conservatives, won 1 seat.

Education

As with any Canadian province, the Albertan Legislature has (almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education. Since 1905 the Alberta School Act 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/or regulate universities, colleges, technical institutions, and other educational forms and institutions (public charter schools, private schools, home schooling).

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 Roman Catholic Church 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.

Public school 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). Home schoolers may choose to follow the Program of Studies or develop their own Program of Studies.

Colleges and universities

Alberta's oldest and largest university is Edmonton's University of Alberta. 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. There are also Athabasca University, which focuses on distance learning, and the University of Lethbridge. Fifteen colleges receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). There is also a large and active private sector of post-secondary institutions, including DeVry University.

Infrastructure

The main north-south corridor in Alberta is the provincial Highway 2, which begins south of Cardston at the Carway border crossing and is part of the CANAMEX corridor. Alberta Highway 4, which effectively extends U.S. Interstate Highway 15 into Alberta and is the busiest U.S. gateway to the province, begins at the Coutts, border crossing and ends at Lethbridge. Alberta provincial Highway 3 joins Lethbridge to Fort Macleod and links Alberta provincial highway 4 to Alberta provincial Highway 2.Highway 2 travels northward through Fort Macleod, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton before dividing into two highways.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. Past Edmonton, one branch continues northwest as Alberta provincial Highway 43 turns into Grande Prairie, Alberta and the PeaceRiver Country; the other (Alberta provincial Highway 63) travels northeast to Fort McMurray, Alberta, the location of the Athabasca Tar Sands. Highway 2 is supplemented by two more highways that run parallel to it: Alberta provincial Highway 22, west of highway 2, known as "the cowboy trail," and Alberta provincial Highway 21, east of highway 2.

Alberta two has main east-west corridors. The southern corridor, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near Medicine Hat, Alberta, runs westward through Calgary, and leaves Alberta through Banff National Park.The northern corridor, also part of the Trans-Canada network but known alternatively as the Yellowhead Highway (Alberta Highway 16), runs west from Lloydminster in eastern Alberta, through Edmonton and Jasper National Park into British Columbia. On a sunny spring or fall day, one of the most scenic drives is along the Icefields Parkway, which runs for 228 km between Jasper and Lake Louise, with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length.

Another major corridor through central Alberta is Alberta provincial Highway 11 (also known as the David Thompson Highway), which runs west from the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park through Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer, connecting with Alberta provincial Highway 12, 20km west of Stettler. The highway connects many of the smaller towns in central Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton, as it crosses Alberta provincial Highway 2 just west of Red Deer.

Urban stretches of Alberta's major highways and freeways are often called trails. For example, Highway 2 is Deerfoot Trail as it passes through Calgary, Calgary Trail as it leaves Edmonton southbound, and St. Albert Trail as it leaves Edmonton northbound toward the city of St. Albert. Visitors from outside Alberta often find this disconcerting, accustomed as they are to the notion that a trail is an unpaved route primarily for pedestrians.

Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge have substantial mass transit systems. Edmonton and Calgary also operate light rail vehicles.

Alberta is well-connected by air, with international airports at both Edmonton and Calgary. Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport are the fourth and fifth busiest airport in Canada. Calgary's airport is a hub for WestJet Airlines and a regional hub for Air Canada. Calgary's airport primarily serves the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) for connecting flights to British Columbia, eastern Canada, 15 major US centres, nine European airports, and four destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. Edmonton's airport acts as a hub for the Canadian north and has connections to all major Canadian airports as well as 9 major US airports, 3 European airports and 6 Mexican and Caribbean airports.

There are over 9000 km of operating mainline railway, and many tourists see Alberta aboard Via Rail or Rocky Mountain Railtours. The Canadian Pacific Railway company operates railway freight across the province.

Health care in Alberta is divided into nine Health regions: Aspen Regional Health Authority: Calgary Health Region, Capital Health (Edmonton), Chinook Health, David Thompson Regional Health Authority, East Central Health, Northern Lights Health Region, Palliser Health Region and Peace Country Health Region.

Culture

Calgary Stampede

Summer brings many festivals to the province. The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the world's second largest after Edinburgh's. The folk music festivals in both Calgary and Edmonton are two of Canada's largest and both cities host a number of annual multicultural events. With a large number of summer and winter events, Edmonton prides itself as being the "Festival City." The city's "heritage days" festival sees the participation of over 70 national groups. Calgary is also home to Carifest, the second largest Caribbean festival in the nation (after Caribana in Toronto). The city is also famous for its Calgary Stampede, dubbed "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." The Stampede is Canada's biggest rodeo festival and features various races and competitions like calf roping, and bull riding. These events highlight the province's cultural diversity and love of entertainment. Most of the major cities have several performing theatre companies who entertain in venues as diverse as Edmonton's Arts Barns and the Francis Winspear Centre for Music.

Alberta is home to the second highest proportion (2.7 percent) of Francophones in western Canada (after Manitoba).Many of Alberta's French-speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province. Alberta also has significant ethnic diversity. Both the Chinese Canadian and Indo-Canadian communities repersents a large number of the population in Alberta. Both Edmonton and Calgary have Chinatowns, with Calgary's as being the third largest in Canada. Aboriginal peoples in Alberta make up approximately three percent of the population.

The major contributors to Alberta's ethnic diversity have been the European nations. Forty-four percent of Albertans are of British and Irish descent. In addition, Alberta is also home to a large numbers of Germans, Ukrainians, and Scandinavians.

Both cities are home to Canadian Football League (Calgary Stampeders) and National Hockey League (Calgary Flames) teams. Soccer, rugby union and lacrosse are also played professionally in Alberta.

Alberta is home to speakers of a number of languages, with many minority languages growing due to immigration. English remains the only official language used in all government services, although French is also an official language of the courts.

Tourism

File:Stephen Avenue.jpg

Stephen Avenue, Calgary. Photo courtesy of the Calgary Downtown Association.

Alberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of the twentieth century, with attractions including outdoor locales for skiing, hiking and camping, and shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall, outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, and international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, as well as more eclectic attractions.

According to Alberta Economic Development, Edmonton and Calgary both host over four million visitors annually. Banff, Jasper and the Rocky Mountains are visited by about three million people per year.

Alberta's Rocky Mountains 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 128km west of Calgary on Alberta provincial Highway 1 and Jasper is located 366km west of Edmonton on Alberta provincial Highway 16.

About 1.2 million people pass through the gates of Calgary's world-famous Calgary Stampede,a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry. About 800,000 people enjoy Edmonton's Capital Ex (formerly Klondike Days). 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.

Located in East-Central Alberta is Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions, a popular tourist attraction operated out of Stettler, Alberta that draws visitors from around the world. It boasts one of the few operable steam trains in the world, offering trips through the rolling prairie scenery. Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions caters to 10's of thousands of visitors every year.

Alberta is an important destination for tourists who love to ski and hike; Alberta boasts several world-class ski resorts such as Sunshine Village, Lake Louise Mountain Resort, Marmot Basin, Mount Norquay, and Nakiska. Hunters and fishermen from around the world are able to take home impressive trophies and tall tales from their experiences in Alberta's wilderness.

Demographics

File:Alberta pop.JPG

Alberta's population has grown steadily for over a century.

Alberta has enjoyed a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, due in large part to its burgeoning economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province saw high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration when compared to other provinces. As of late 2005, the population of the province was 3,306,359 (Albertans). 81% of this population lives in urban areas and 19% is rural. The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and one of the densest in Canada. Many of Alberta's cities and towns have also experienced very high rates of growth in recent history. Over the past century, Alberta's population rose from 73,022 in 1901 to 3,375,763 in 2006.

Most Albertans identify as "Canadian" (27.66%) and English (25.61%), with large groups of German (19.60%), Scottish (18.92%), Irish (15.68%), French (11.31%) and Ukrainian (9.71%).

Most Albertans identify as Christians. Alberta has a somewhat higher percentage of evangelical Christians than do other provinces. Conversely, Alberta also has the second highest percentage of Non-religious residents in Canada (after British Columbia). 44% of Albertans did not attend church last year.

The The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Alberta reside primarily in the extreme south of the province. Alberta also has a large Hutterite population, a communal Anabaptist sect similar to the Mennonites, and a significant population of Seventh-day Adventist Church. Alberta is also home to several Byzantine Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immmigration, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada's Archbishop of Edmonton and Western Canada, which is based in Edmonton.

Many people of the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim faiths also make Alberta their home. North America's oldest mosque is located in Edmonton.

Most of Alberta's 13,000-some Jews live in Calgary (7,500) and Edmonton (5,000).

History

File:AlexanderRutherford.png

Alexander Rutherford, Alberta's first premier

The first European arrived, on what is now Alberta, on September 11, 1754.Anthony Henday, a Hudson Bay Company fur trader, came seeking a trading agreement with the First Nations that occupied the territory. Prior to this, Alberta was part of Rupert's Land from the time of the incorporation of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670.

For the next hundred years fur trading dominated most of Alberta.From the arrival of the North-West Company in 1731, the establishment of the prairies and communities such as Lac La Biche and Bonnyville began to arise. Fort La Jonquière was established near what is now Calgary in (1752). The North-West Company of Montreal occupied the northern part of Alberta territory before the Hudson's Bay Company arrived from Hudson Bay to take possession of it. The first explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond, who, on behalf of the North-West Company of Montreal, 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 being the first white man to cross the North American continent north of Mexico.

In order to compete with the North-West Company’s Alexander Mackenzie, the Hudson Bay Company also sent out surveyor’s Peter Fidler and David Thompson, to map and explore the Athabasca and Saskatchewan River. Eventually, by 1790, both the NWC and the HBC had competing posts near and across what is now northern and central Alberta, in areas such as Fort Chipewyan, Fort Vermilion, Fort George, Fort Assiniboine, Lesser Slave Lake, Fort Edmonton, and the Rocky Mountain House.However, with increased competition came many violent outburst, and by 1821 with some persuasion from the British government, the NWC merged with the HBC.By 1870, the fur trade industry was rapidly declining, leaving the HBC to build its last post at Fort Smith. On June 23rd, 1870, the Canadian government took into possession all HBC territory (also known as Rupert’s Land), which included the area now known as Alberta.

By the late 1850s, the Canadian government hired the John Palliser and his team to explore the arable lands of Alberta. The team, also known as the ‘Palliser Expedition,’ discovered many coal deposits, and passages through the Rocky Mountains appropriate for the construction of a railway.

By the 1870s, Alberta was beginning to take form with the foundation and creation of the ranching industry. In 1891, Calgary became the capital of the cattle industry, and was also the main shipping point for many livestock.

By the early 1880s, the Canadian government decided that a trans-Canada railway would be constructed. Funding for the railway was made possible due to immense land grants and colonization of large farming companies across Alberta.The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) came in Calgary in 1883. .

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. However, after Alberta provincial status was enacted four major controversies arose. The federal government imposed the following: that the francophone Roman Catholic population would be entitled separate schools; the boundaries between Saskatchewan and Alberta would consist on 110º west longitude; Edmonton receive capital status rather than Calgary; and the federal government retain control over the Crown lands and natural resources.

Thorough the early 1900’s the political movement known as the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) was created in order to provide support to those farmers that felt the pressure of poverty due to the triads of railways, grain-elevator companies, and banks.The UFA would retain control of the province until 1935, when William Aberhart’s Social Credit League overtook leadership of the province. Although the Great Depression, dismantled much of the UFA, C. H. Douglas presented the theory that it was the government responsibility to create social structures that would ensure that capital would not fall into few, but powerful hands. With this theory of thought Aberhart created the Social Credit Party, to which many farmers and miners embraced.

Although oil and gas were discovered earlier, the discovery of the Leduc Oilfield in February 1947 initiated the economic explosion throughout Alberta. Due to this find, Alberta has since relied heavily on the oil and gas industry to support the province.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bakken, Edna. "Discover Canada: Alberta." Grolier Limited, 1996. ISBN 978-0516066110
• Barr, B. M. & Smith, P. J. "Environment and Economy: Essays on the Human Geography of Alberta." The University of Alberta Press, 1984. ISBN 978-0888640420
• Breen, David. "Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board." The University of Alberta Press, 1993 ISBN 978-0888642455
• Harrison, Trevor. & Kachor, Jerrold. "Contested Classrooms: Education, globalization, and Democracy in Alberta." The University of Alberta Press, 1999 ISBN 978-0888643155
• Tupper, Allan & Gibbins, Roger. "Government and Politics in Alberta." The University of Alberta Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0888642431
• Palmer, Howard. "Alberta: A New History." Hurtig Publisher, 1990. ISBN 978-0888303400
• Zuehlke, Mark. "The Alberta Fact Book." Whitecap Books 1997 ISBN 978-1551105451

External links

• Government of Alberta website Retrieved Aug. 6, 2007.
• Travel Alberta
• Alberta Encyclopedia
• Alberta First - Alberta Community Profiles, statistics, facts
• CBC Digital Archives - Striking Oil in Alberta
• CBC Digital Archives - Electing Dynasties: Alberta Campaigns 1935 to 2001
• CBC Digital Archives - Alberta @ 100

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Alberta  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Alberta"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.