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Edmonton redirects here. For other cities with the name Edmonton, see Edmonton (disambiguation)

Template:Canadian City Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, situated in the north central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farm land on the prairies. It is the second largest city in Alberta (after Calgary) and is the hub of the country's sixth largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) with a metro population of 1,014,000 (2005 est.)[1]. It also 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 plays host to a year round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of Festival City[2]. Among these is included The Fringe, North America's first and largest fringe event, Edmonton International Street Performer's Festival, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Cariwest, and many more. It has also hosted many international events, including the 2001 IAAF Track and Field Games, The West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix, and the 2005 World Masters Games. 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 (1904).

While traditionally focused on the oil industry, earning the name "Oil Capital of Canada" in the 1940s, Edmonton's economy has worked towards becoming the second most diverse in Canada[3]and now boasts a strong technology sector with major employers such as Telus, Dell, Intuit, Matrikon, BioWare, and General Electric all contributing to a 6.2% GDP growth, the largest in Canada.[4] Edmonton is home of Canadian Western Bank, the only charted bank HQ west of Toronto.

Geography and location

The west downtown development overlooks the river valley.

Edmonton is located at 53°34′N 113°30′W / 53.567°N 113.500°W / 53.567; -113.500, near the geographical centre of the province at an elevation of 668 m, or 2192 feet. At 670 km2, Edmonton is one of the largest cities by area in North America — larger in area than Chicago, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Detroit, Michigan. However, Edmonton also has the one of the lowest population densities in North America — about 67 times less than New York.

The city is bisected by the North Saskatchewan River, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Banff National Park and empties, via Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River, into Hudson Bay. It runs southwest to northeast through the city and is fed by numerous creeks throughout the city such as Mill Creek and Whitemud Creek. This creates numerous ravines, adding to the urban 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.

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. The public river valley parks provide a unique urban escape area with park styles ranging from full fledged urban parks to campsite-like roasting pits. This main 'Ribbon of Green' is supplemented by numerous parks located throughout the city, to give a total of 111 km2 of parkland. Most of the city has excellent bike and walking trail connections. [5] 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.

Several golf courses, both public and private, are also located in the river valley. The long summer daylight hours of this northern city provide for extended play well into the evening. Golf courses and the park system become a winter recreation area during this season. Cross-country skiing and skating is popular during the long winter. Four downhill ski slopes are located in the river valley as well, two within the city and two immediately outside.

Neighbourhoods

Edmonton has numerous distinct neighbourhoods.

The downtown core, which has seen massive redevelopment since the 1997 Capital City Downtown Plan was introduced, is home to the Central Business District (CBD) as well as over 12,000 residents [6]. Downtown proper consists of the Commercial Core, Arts District, Rice Howard Way Pedestrian Mall, MacKay Avenue, Jasper West, Warehouse District, and Government Precinct. To the west of Downtown are the areas of Grandin and Oliver which comprise the overall highest population density area in all of Alberta.

Radiating from the core are numerous inner city neighbourhoods such as Glenora, Westmount, Queen Mary Park, Central McDougall, McCauley, and Boyle Street on the north side of the river, while Windsor Park, Garneau, Strathcona, Bonnie Doon, and Strathern line the south side of the river. Several communities survived attempts by the municipal governments of the 1970s to rid the valley proper of all residents: these are Riverdale, Rossdale, Walterdale, and Cloverdale.

As with any city of its size, the inner communities give way to a collection of suburbs, generally classified as being outside the inner ring road and in extreme cases, outside of Anthony Henday Drive. The most well known of these is Mill Woods, which is home to approximately 85,000 residents. (If Mill Woods were a separate municipality, it would be Alberta's third largest city after Calgary and Edmonton.) Several new neighbourhoods are currently in formative stages in the South and Southwest, such as MacEwan, Terwillegar, and Rutherford.

Several Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) have begun to appear along the LRT line at Clareview with future developments planned at Belvedere (part of the Old Town Fort Road redevelopment project). Another TOD called Century Park is already under construction at the site of what was once Heritage Mall (now demolished) at the southern end of the future South LRT line. Century Park will eventually house up to 5,000 residents.

An overview of neighbourhoods can be found at the City of Edmonton's map website or at the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues' website.

Climate

Edmonton has a northern continental climate with extreme seasonal temperatures, although they are not quite as extreme as in Regina or Winnipeg. However, Edmonton still has one of the greatest temperature ranges in Canada. The average variance ranges from −16°C (3°F) in January to 23°C (73°F) in July, although over the course of a year, temperatures as high as 35°C (95°F) and as low as −43°C (-45°F) may occur.

According to the Köppen climate classification, Edmonton has a moist mid-latitude climate with cold winters (Köppen climate class Dfb). However, the term "moist" is misleading, as Edmonton's year-round climate is actually fairly dry on average. But cooler summer temperatures compared to those further south makes for a lower evaporation rate, allowing for farming with less risk of a severe drought. The low evaporation rate is also the reason Edmonton sits in an aspen parkland biome rather than a prairie biome. However, this could change within a century if global warming continues unchecked. Summer typically lasts from late May into the early parts of September, while winter is in force from November through March. However, winters can and do vary greatly in length and severity.

Edmonton has somewhat dry winters and receives much less snow than many other North American cities: on average 123.5 cm (48.6 inches) per annum. Even in the wettest month, July, the region receives only 101 mm (4.0 inches) of rain. However, extremes can occur such as the 114 mm of rainfall that fell on July 31, 1953. Edmonton receives an average of 477 mm (18.8 inches) of precipitation annually. Summer thunderstorms can be frequent and sometimes severe enough to produce large hail, damaging winds, funnel clouds and even tornadoes. However, tornadoes near Edmonton are far weaker and short-lived compared to their counterparts farther south. Tornadoes nearly as powerful as the F4 tornado which struck Edmonton on July 31, 1987, are very rare.

Edmonton is the most northerly major city in North America with a metro population of over 1 million. It is at the same latitude as Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool, England. At the summer solstice, Edmonton receives 17 hours and six minutes of daylight, with twilight extending well beyond that.

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. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.9 per cent of the resident population of Edmonton. This compares with 6.2 per cent in Alberta, and almost 5.6 per cent for Canada overall.

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 Greater Edmonton Area compared with a resident population in the province of Alberta of 2,974,807 people.


Religion


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 1,014,000. [7]

History

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. They were no doubt taking advantage of the timber, water and wildlife in the region.

European traders from the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company set up trading posts in the area of present day Fort Saskatchewan beginning in 1795. The trading posts later moved upstream to present day Edmonton. The two companies merged in 1821, and in 1830 the last fort was built on the present site of the Alberta Legislature.

Alberta Legislative Building in 2005.

The fort was named for the town of Edmonton in the UK (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 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". Fort Edmonton became a local economic centre, the major stopping point before pioneers headed up north or farther west.

The Hudson's Bay Company sold Rupert's Land, as the area was known at the time, to the Dominion of Canada. The new Canadian lands became the North West Territories. People began settling in the vicinity of Fort Edmonton in the 1870s after the government offered the land to settlers at a good price. Edmonton officially became a town in 1892 with a population of 700. The city boomed during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 as thousands of eager prospectors heading north via the "All Canadian Route," stopping in Edmonton for supplies.

Oil rig monument at the southern tourist "Gateway Park" entrance on Hwy 2.

The railway reached the area in 1891 with a terminal in Strathcona on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. The town of Strathcona grew faster than Edmonton until 1905 when the Canadian Northern Railway opened its transcontinental line through Edmonton.

By 1904 Edmonton had 9,000 residents, and a year later, when Alberta became a province, it became incorporated as a city and was declared the provincial capital. Initially the Alberta Legislature met in the Mackay Avenue School, while the Legislature Building was being erected on the north shore of the North Saskatchewan River.

In 1912 Edmonton, on the north side of the river, amalgamated with Strathcona to the south and attained a combined population of 53,000. The High Level Rail Bridge across the river was completed in 1913, linking the north and south sides of Edmonton. The population quickly grew to around 75,000 but dropped back down to 50,000 during World War I.

In the 1930s Edmonton continued to thrive as a northern business centre, and an aviation shipping point for food and medical supplies using the new bush planes. In 1942 the construction of the Alaska Highway made the city into a major ground transportation and supply centre to the far north. It was at about this time that Edmonton officially became known as "Gateway to the North."

File:Refineryrow.jpg
The 1987 tornado

Shortly after World War II oil was discovered near the nearby towns of Leduc, Redwater, and Pembina. The area around Edmonton became home to most of Alberta's oil production, and the subsequent oil boom gave Edmonton new status as the Oil Capital of Canada. The city began growing even more dramatically after the Arab Oil Boycott of 1973, and combined with satellite municipalities such as St. Albert and Sherwood Park, Edmonton's metropolitan population now sits just over 1,014,000 (2005 civic census est.). Oil production and refining remains the basis of many Edmonton jobs, but other industries have also risen in prominence as the population grew and diversified.

In 1981, the largest shopping mall in the world, West Edmonton Mall, opened. The mall is Alberta's most popular tourist attraction, and contains an amusement park, waterpark, and luxury hotel in addition to the usual shops and services.

One of the most significant events ever to happen to the city took place on July 31, 1987. On a day that became known as "Black Friday", a tornado which ranked as an F4 on the Fujita scale hit the city and killed 27 people. 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.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Edmonton is served by Edmonton International Airport, which is the fifth busiest airport in Canada. In 2004, just over 4 million passengers used the facilities [8]. Air passenger service from the Municipal Airport downtown was consolidated to the International Airport in 1996 and now is mostly used for charter planes and flight training, although small non-chartered planes with fewer than 19 passengers are still allowed to land at the facility.

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 (Calgary Trail, or Gateway Boulevard). Edmonton is also served by VIA Rail passenger trains. The station is located on the northern rail route near the City Centre Airport. Formerly the VIA trains arrived at the CN office tower downtown, but the downtown trackage has been abandoned to the LRT and new urban development. The High Level Rail Bridge, formerly CPs route into the downtown, remains only for summer historical streetcar usage.

High Level Rail Bridge with lower LRT bridge and train crossing.

In 1908, Edmonton began operating an electric street railway system. In 1939, trolleys replaced the trams (Edmonton is one of only two major Canadian cities to still operate electric trolley buses, the other being Vancouver). Today, Edmonton Transit operates a system of 53 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 a Light rail transit (LRT) line running from Clareview in the northeast to the University of Alberta on the south side. In 1976, it was the first such system built by a city with a population less than one million people in North America. The line is surface level on previous railroad space in the northeast and goes underground through the downtown core. A dedicated bridge crossing the river valley leads it toward the university station. Further south LRT expansion is being developed at surface level (to come out of the tunnel just before the Health Sciences Station near the University of Alberta Hospital). The South LRT line will lead through the proposed South Campus and Southgate Mall, and eventually to the former Heritage Mall site (now being developed as Century Park, a transit-oriented development) in the south end of the city. Future north and west High Speed Transit routes (either for LRT or BRT) are currently being considered by council. Most current West LRT plans put the LRT extending all the way to Lewis Estates west of the mall on the extreme outskirts of the city.

Anthony Henday Drive (Highway 216) is a ring road transportation project which will eventually encircle the Edmonton Metropolitan area. The south west section is under construction with a confirmed opening date of 8 November 2005. The south east section has recently been announced and is anticipated to open in 2007[9]. The first stage of the north west portion is already under construction between the Yellowhead Highway and the New St. Albert west bypass, to open in 2007.

In 1914 Edmonton adopted a new numbered street and avenue system, which with a few small modifications is still in use. The centre of the city, Jasper Avenue and 101 Street, was set as the starting point. Jasper Avenue was one of the few streets that was not given a number, but the other avenues were numbered as if Jasper Avenue had been 101 Avenue.

Avenues run east and west; Streets run north and south. Avenue numbers increase to the north; street numbers increase to the west. When a street lies between two numbered streets, letters are used, for example, 107A Avenue lies between 107 Avenue and 108 Avenue.

Houses with odd numbers are on the east side of a street or the south side of an avenue. Dropping the last two digits of a house number tells you what two streets or avenues the house lies between, for example 8023 135A Avenue is between 80 Street and 81 Street, and 10004 104 Avenue is between 100 Street and 101 Street.

In the 1980s as the city grew, it began to run out of street numbers in the east and avenue numbers in the south. Therefore, in 1982 a quadrant system was adopted. Quadrant Avenue (1 Avenue; not yet built) and Meridian Street (1 Street) divide the city into four quadrants: northeast, northwest, southwest and, most recently, southeast. The vast majority of the city falls within the northwest quadrant.

All Edmonton streets now officially have their quadrant included at the end of their names, but it is usual to omit "northwest," especially when there is no possibility of confusion with a street in another quadrant. However, the city's emergency services have begun to encourage residents to get into the habit of using quadrants in all addresses.

Waste disposal

Edmonton's waste management services utilize a modern composting facility, the largest of its type in the world, to recycle 65 per cent of its residential waste. The co-composter is 38,690 square metres in size, equivalent to 8 football fields. It's designed to process 200,000 tonnes of residential solid waste per year and 22,500 dry tonnes of biosolids, turning them into 80,000 tonnes of compost annually.

Electric & water distribution systems

Edmonton's first power company established itself in 1891 installing street lights along its main avenue, Jasper Ave. The power company was bought by the Town of Edmonton in 1902 and remains under municipal ownership today as EPCOR. Also in charge of water treatment, in 2002, EPCOR installed the world's largest ultraviolet (UV) water treatment system at its E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant.

Education

University of Alberta main campus on the south side of Edmonton's river valley

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 enrollment between the schools is as high as 170,000, which includes students enrolled in multiple institutions).[10]

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. 35,000 students are served in more than 200 undergraduate programs and 170 graduate programs. Main campus consists of more than 90 buildings on 89 hectares of land with buildings dating back to the Unviersity's establishment in 1908. It is also home to Canada's second largest research library which ranks first in volumes per student with over 6 million and subscriptions to 13,000 full-text electronic journals and 500 electronic databases.

The University of Alberta has been internationally recognized on several fronts. For more information see [11]

Other universities within the borders of Edmonton include Athabasca University[12], Concordia University College[13], King's University College[14], Taylor University College and Seminary[15], and the Edmonton campus of the University of Lethbridge[16].

Other Edmonton post-secondary institutions include Grant MacEwan College, which enrolls 57,200 students in programs leading to careers or university transfer[17], NAIT, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, with 48,500 students enrolled in 190 technical, vocational and apprenticeship programs[18] and NorQuest College, with 11,300 students, specializing in short courses in skills and academic upgrading[19].

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 Edmonton Catholic School District. As well, since 1994, the francophone minority community has had their own school board, the North-Central Francophone School Authority, which, based in Edmonton, includes surrounding communities. Most recently the city has seen a small number of public charter schools open, independent of any board. All three school boards and public charter schools are funded through provincial grants and property taxes.

Some private schools exist as well. Included are the Edmonton Society for Christian Education[20] and Edmonton Academy[21].

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

The skyline of Edmonton at night.

There are several key concentrations of nightlife in the city of Edmonton. The most popular is the Whyte Avenue (82nd Avenue) strip which today has the highest concentration of heritage buildings in Edmonton. Once the heart of the town of Strathcona (annexed by Edmonton on 1 February 1912), it fell into disrepair during the middle of the 20th century. A concentrated effort to revive the area beginning in the late 1970s through the establishment of a Business Revitalization Zone has produced an area rich with restored historical buildings and pleasant streetscapes. Its proximity to the University of Alberta has led to a high concentration of establishments ranging from restaurants and pubs to trendy clubs while hosting a wide variety of shops during the day. This area also contains two independent movie theatres: the Garneau and Princess theatres.

Downtown Edmonton has undergone a continual process of renewal and unprecedented growth since the mid 1990s. Many buildings were demolished during the oil boom starting in the 1960s and continuing into the 80s to make way for office towers. As such, there have always been numerous pub-type establishments which cater primarily to the office crowd such as The Rose and Crown, Sherlock Holmes', and Elephant & Castle as well as many hotel lounges and restaurants. However, the past decade has seen a strong resurgance in more mainstream venues. Various clubs such as the New City Compound and Halo are also to be found along Edmonton's main street, Jasper Avenue. The Edmonton City Centre mall also houses a Cineplex Odeon 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. Bourbon Street has numerous eating establishments and clubs and casinos can also be found within the complex. Silver City, at the west end of the mall, features 13 screens and an IMAX theatre.

Culture

File:Opus50 1.jpg
The Francis Winspear Centre for Music interior.


Edmonton has always been a city proud of its cultural accomplishments. As the city has grown, so has the cultural scene. While still retaining a strong element of 'blue-collar culture,' Edmonton is a proud home to many other features which add to its cosmopolitan flair.

Many events are anchored in the downtown Arts District, centred around the newly renovated Churchill Square (named in honour of Sir Winston Churchill).

  • The Francis Winspear Centre for Music was opened in 1997 after years of planning and fundraising [22]. 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. It houses the 3 million dollar Davis Concert Organ and seats 1916 patrons. An interesting aspect of its design is its separation into acoustically separate areas each of which are insulated from each other through acoustical barriers built into the structure. Patrons and artists can see these in the form of double-door 'sound locks.'
  • Across 102nd street is the Citadel Theatre, so named after the Salvation Army Citadel in which Joe Shoctor first started the Citadel Theatre company in 1965. It is now one of the largest theatre complexes in Canada with five halls each specializing in different kinds of productions [23]. For instance, the Maclab theatre features a thrust stage surrounded by a U shapped seating arrangement while the Shoctor theatre is a traditional stage setup.
  • One block north of the Citadel and Winspear is the Art Gallery of Alberta. Housed in an inconspicuous production of 1970s architecture, the AGA collection has over 5000 pieces of art. Fundraising is currently underway for a new building designed by Randall Stout.
  • On the University of Alberta grounds is the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, which recently reopened after being out of commission for a year during heavy renovations carried out as part of the province's Centennial celebrations. Both it and its southern twin in Calgary were constructed in 1955 for the Province's Silver Jubilee and have played host to many concerts, musicals, and ballets. Upon the completion of the renovations, it will seat 2534 people. The Edmonton Opera uses the Jubilee as their base of operations. On the front of the building is a quote from Suetonius: "He found a city built of brick - left it built of marble."

There are also over 70 museums in Edmonton of ranging sizes. The largest is the Royal Alberta Museum (formerly the Provincial Museum of Alberta, it was renamed by HM Queen Elizabeth II during her 2005 visit) which houses over 10 million objects in its collection. The main galleries are the Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture, Wild Alberta, and the Natural History Gallery. The main building, located on the river valley west of downtown in Glenora, was opened in 1967 and is now in the early stages of large-scale redevelopment [24]. Located on the grounds is Government House, the former residence of the province's Lieutenant-Governor. The RAM is in the early stages of a large expansion, dubbed "Project Rewnewal" [25].

Festivals

Edmonton plays host to several large festivals each year, hence its local nickname as 'the Festival City.'

2001 Sourdough Raft Race, passing beneath the High Level Bridge's Great Divide waterfall during Klondike Days.
  • The Edmonton International Film Festival [26], which runs from late September to early October, is now in its 19th year and is one of Canada's primary film festivals.
  • The Edmonton International Fringe Festival [27], 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.
  • The Heritage Days Festival is an ethnocultural food festival that takes place in Hawrelak Park on the Heritage Day long weekend (which includes the first Monday in August).
  • The Edmonton International Street Performer's Festival [28], taking place in mid-July, showcases street performance artists from around the world.
  • The River City Shakespeare Festival - Since 1989 the Free Will Players have staged the annual River City Shakespeare Festival, which takes place every summer from late June to mid-July. The Festival includes full-scale professional productions of two plays by William Shakespeare, as well as Camp Shakespeare - a summer drama camp for youth ages 8-16. All Festival activities take place in the 1,000 seat Heritage Amphitheater in Edmonton's beautiful Hawrelak Park.
  • For two weeks in July, Klondike Days [29] provides rides, music and other entertainment. Originally, Klondike Days (or K-Days) was an annual fair and exhibition which eventually adopted a gold rush theme. Attendance can exceed 750,000 over the festival. Activities include chuckwagon races, carnival rides and fairways, music, trade shows and daily fireworks. Since 1960, the Sourdough Raft Races have also been a popular event.
  • 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.
  • In early November, Edmonton plays host to The Canadian Finals Rodeo and Farmfair. This is the crown jewel in Canada's rodeo circuit and second only to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in prestige. Calgary's world famous Stampede is a stop on the qualifing circuit for this million dollar event.

Canada Day is celebrated with a pancake breakfast and other morning events at the Alberta Legislature grounds, the Silly Summer Parade in Old Strathcona, the Great Divide waterfall over the High Level Bridge, and evening fireworks.

Attractions

Sports and recreation

Edmonton was home to the Edmonton Grads, North America's sports team with the best win/loss record of all time. This women's basketball team defeated most American, European and Olympic challengers and compiled a record of 502 wins vs. 20 losses over 25 years, from 1915 until they disbanded in 1940 at the outbreak of the Second World War.

The Edmonton Oilers, originally one of the founding franchises of the World Hockey Association, joined the National Hockey League in 1979. They quickly became one of the best teams in the league, winning five Stanley Cup Championships between 1984 and 1990. Rexall Place (formerly known as and still often referred to as the Northlands Coliseum) is the home of the Oilers.

Commonwealth Stadium is home to the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The Eskimos hold the North American pro sports record for most consecutive playoff appearances (33 consecutive seasons, as of 2004), and have won the Grey Cup (the CFL championship trophy) 12 times since 1921. In addition to the Eskimos, Edmonton is host to two Canadian Junior Football League teams: the Edmonton Huskies and the Edmonton Wildcats. The city is also home to WWE Superstar & former World Heavyweight Champion, Chris Benoit.

The city had a minor-league baseball team in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, the Edmonton Trappers, playing at Telus Field, until the end of the 2004 season. The team moved to the Austin, Texas suburb of Round Rock, becoming the Round Rock Express. Beginning in 2005, the Edmonton Cracker-Cats will begin play in the independent Northern League.

Starting in the 2006 season, the Edmonton Rush franchise will be playing in the National Lacrosse League. Home games will be at Rexall Place.

Edmonton hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 2001 IAAF World Championships in Athletics [30], and the 2005 World Master Games.

Edmonton also has a circuit on the Champ Car World Series.

Media

Television

Edmonton has 6 broadcast television stations:

The cable television provider in Edmonton is Shaw Cable. Network programming from the United States is receieved on cable via affiliates from Spokane, Washington. The main satellite television providers are Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice

Radio

  • 162.400MHz(FM) KXLM Environment Canada Weather Radio(English and French Broadcasts)

Print

Edmonton has 2 large-circulation daily newspapers:

The free daily Dose news magazine is also distributed in Edmonton.

Edmonton also has two free weekly papers centering on the city's music scene, See Magazine and Vue Weekly.

The weekly Edmonton Examiner is also delivered free to households in Edmonton.

The University of Alberta has three regular publications: Official Student Newspaper The Gateway, Staff newspaper Folio and Alumni magazine New Trail.

Metropolitan area

Downtown Edmonton from the air

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. Larger communities include Sherwood Park (part of the municipality of Strathcona County), St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Nisku (major industrial area in Leduc County), and the towns of Beaumont, Devon and Morinville. This large scale fragmentation has played a role in the development of the Edmonton region. 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.

North: St. Albert | Sturgeon Municipal District
West: Parkland County
Stony Plain 135
Spruce Grove 		Edmonton East: Fort Saskatchewan   Strathcona County
South: Leduc County
Leduc (city)

Military

Edmonton is home to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG). Units in 1 CMBG include Lord Strathcona's Horse and two of the three battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. As well Edmonton has a large army reserve element from 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG) including B Squadron of The South Alberta Light Horse (SALH). The SALH is one of Alberta's oldest and most prestigious army reserve units.

Despite being far from Canada's coasts, Edmonton is the home of HMCS Nonsuch, a Naval Reserve unit.

Edmonton is also home to 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, for the Air Reserve.

Within Edmonton there are numerous Cadet Corps of the different elements.(Sea, Army, and Air Force) Click here for a list of these corps with contact information and location.

Sister cities

Edmonton is an official sister city of several cities worldwide, including Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Hull, Quebec.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edmonton.

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