Edmonton
Edmonton is one of the top three places to live in Canada. Edmonton was also rated as a leading major city in North America according to the millennium edition of Places Rated Almanac.
Edmonton is the second largest Alberta city and the capital of Alberta. Greater Edmonton has a population of 945,000 people. As with many prairie cities, Edmonton has a very low population density.
Edmonton has one of the best educational systems in North America. Edmonton has 10 post-secondary institutions with over 170,000 post-secondary students. It is also the hub of biotechnology in Alberta.
Edmonton has long been known as the City of Champions, stemming from the glory days in the 80′s when they had successive NHL Stanley cups along with CFL Football Grey cups championships. Edmonton has also been known as Canada’s Festival city and named the cultural capital of Canada.
Edmonton is a tourism hotspot that boasts the world’s largest shopping mall as well as North America’s largest stretch of urban parkland. Edmonton is the gateway to the majestic Canadian Rockies, via road, air and Via Rail’s famed cross-country “The Canadian” train. It is also the sole major city on VIA Rails Trans-continental passenger rail system.
Some historic facts relating to Edmonton;
- It is started in 1795 as a North West Company fur trading post
- It was incorporated as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350
- It became the capital of Alberta in 1905
- It is the fifth-largest municipality in Canada
- It is the sixth largest metropolitan area by population in Canada
Edmonton is the northernmost North American city, serving as the northern anchor of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. A large number of municipal and provincial jobs are located in Edmonton. Oil processing and upgrading also plays a large role in Edmonton’s economy. Edmonton has recently been turned into the gateway to the oil sands as it is 435 kilometres to Fort McMurray and the closest international airport to the oil sands.