Edmonton Information
Edmonton is the capital of the province of Alberta, making it the seat of the provincial Crown.
It is on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies.
It is the second largest city in Alberta after Calgary, with a population of 730,372 (2006), and is the hub of Canada's sixth largest census metropolitan area, with a metropolitan population of 1,034,945 (2006), making it the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million.
At 684 square kilometres (264 sq mi), the City of Edmonton covers an area larger than Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto or Montreal. Edmonton has one of the lowest population densities in North America, about 9.4% that of New York City.
Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor (one of four regions that together comprise 50% of the Canadian population) and is a staging point for large-scale oilsands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.
Edmonton is Canada's second most populous provincial capital (after Toronto) and is a cultural, government and educational centre. It plays host to a year round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of "The Festival City".
It is home to North America's largest mall and Canada's largest historic park.
In 2004, Edmonton celebrated the centennial of its incorporation as a city.
Geography
Edmonton is located near the geographical centre of the province at an elevation of 668 metres (2,192 ft). The terrain in and around Edmonton is generally flat to gently rolling, with ravines and deep river valleys, such as the North Saskatchewan River valley.
Despite the Canadian Rockies lying as close to Edmonton as roughly 220 kilometres to the southwest (only a few hours' drive away), the city is too distant for any of its peaks to be seen from even its tallest buildings.
The North Saskatchewan River bisects the city and originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park. It empties, via the Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River, into Hudson Bay. It runs from the southwest to the northeast and is fed by numerous creeks throughout the city, such as Mill Creek and Whitemud Creek. This creates numerous ravines, many of which have been incorporated into the urban parkland.
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. However, the aspen parkland in and around Edmonton has long since been heavily altered by farming and other human activities, such as oil and natural gas exploration.
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.
It has mild summers and chilly winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from -11.7°C (10.9°F) in January to 17.5°C (63.5°F) in July.
Annually, temperatures exceed 30°C (86°F) on an average of three days [but can occur often in the months of May through early September] and fall below −20°C (−4°F) on an average of twenty-eight days.
Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is rarely uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November through March and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable.
Information from Wikipedia
Edmonton is the major economic centre for northern and central Alberta and a major centre for the oil and gas industry.
Edmonton traditionally has been a hub for Albertan petrochemical industries, earning it the nickname "Oil Capital of Canada" in the 1940s. Supply and service industries drive the energy extraction engine while research develops new technologies and supports expanded value-added processing of Alberta's massive oil, gas and oil sands reserves. These are reported to be the second largest in the world after Saudi Arabia.
Despite the apparent focus on oil and gas, Edmonton's economy is now the second most diverse in Canada.
Much of the growth in technology sectors is due to Edmonton's reputation as one of Canada’s premiere 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. Recently the National Institute for Nanotechnology was constructed on the University of Alberta campus.
The geographical location of Edmonton has made it an ideal spot for distribution and logistics. CN Rail's North American operational facility is located in the city as well as a major intermodal facility that handles all incoming freight from the port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia.
Edmonton is known for its exceptional environmental stewardship, strong life-science sector, and burgeoning high-tech industry economy.
Information from Wikipedia
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 (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.
Main campus consists of more than ninety buildings on 890,000 square metres (220 acres) of land, with buildings dating back to the university's establishment in 1908.
It is also home to Canada's second largest research library which ranks first in volumes per student with over 10 million (in 2005) and subscriptions to 13,000 full-text electronic journals and 500 electronic databases.
Other Edmonton post-secondary institutions include
Grant MacEwan College, which enrolls 40,791 students in programs offering career diplomas, university transfers and bachelor degrees, 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.
Also, since 1994, the francophone minority community has had their own school board based in Edmonton, the North-Central Francophone School Authority, which 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.
The Edmonton Society for Christian Education used to be a private school, however they became part of Edmonton Public Schools.
Both the Edmonton Public Schools and the Edmonton Catholic School District provide support and resources for those wishing to home school their children.
Information from Wikipedia.
Many events are anchored in the downtown Arts District, centred around the newly renovated Churchill Square (named in honour of Sir Winston Churchill).
Across 102nd Avenue 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.
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!). Edmonton was named cultural capital of Canada in 2007.
Museums and galleries
There are also over seventy museums in Edmonton of ranging sizes. The largest is the Royal Alberta Museum (formerly the Provincial Museum of Alberta until renamed by Queen Elizabeth II during her 2005 visit) which houses over 10 million objects in its collection. The museum showcases the culture and practices of the diverse aboriginal tribes of the region.
The Art Gallery of Alberta was the city's largest single gallery. It was Housed in an inconspicuous production of 1970s architecture, the AGA collection has over 5,000 pieces of art.
Festivals
Edmonton's main summer festival is
Capital Ex (formerly Klondike Days.)
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.
Another major summer festival is the
Edmonton Heritage Festival which is an ethnocultural festival that takes place in Hawrelak Park on the Heritage Day long weekend.
Others...
Information from Wikipedia.
Edmonton has a proud heritage of very successful sports teams including the Edmonton Grads, Edmonton Eskimos, Edmonton Cracker Cats, Edmonton Oil Kings and Edmonton Oilers. The primary professional sports facilities are the Commonwealth Stadium, TELUS Field and Rexall Place.
Numerous minor-league teams in the City include the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, the city's thirteenth baseball franchise since 1884. Local rugby players compete in the Rugby Canada Super League with the Edmonton Gold. Also, the city hosts the Edmonton Rush national lacrosse team, which plays out of Rexall Place.
Current professional and Amateur franchises
Information from Wikipedia.
Give yourself a good workout. Ride your bicycle in safety along 225 kilometres (141 miles) of designated bikeways. Sharpen your game at one of the region's more than 70
golf courses and practice facilities. Learn to ski, downhill or cross-country. Join a slo-pitch league. Bowling, billiards or badminton - it's up to you. Edmonton has more than 1,000 facilities for recreation and amateur sports of every description.
Information from edmonton.com
In 1981,
West Edmonton Mall, which was at the time the world's largest mall, opened. Still the biggest in North America, the mall is one of Alberta's most-visited tourist attractions, and contains an indoor amusement park, a large indoor waterpark, a skating rink, a New Orleans-themed bar district and a luxury hotel in addition to over eight hundred shops and services.
For a list of all shopping malls in Edmonton and their locations,
click here.
Information from Wikipedia
Edmonton is a major transportation gateway to northern Alberta and northern Canada.
There are two airports in the city, of which
Edmonton International Airport is the largest, flying passengers to destinations in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean, along with charters to Japan.
Interurban passenger rail service is operated by VIA Rail to Jasper National Park, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. Edmonton serves as a major transportation hub for CN Rail, whose North American operation centre is located at their Edmonton offices.
Public Transportation
The
Edmonton Transit System is the city's main public transit agency, operating a light rail transit (LRT) line as well as a large fleet of buses and trolley buses.
There is an extensive multi-use trail system for bicycles and pedestrians throughout the city; however, most of this is within the river valley parkland system.
Information from Wikipedia.
Home Service Providers
PHONE - INTERNET - CELL - TV
WATER - ENERGY
Edmonton's first power company established itself in 1891 and installed street lights along the city's main avenue, Jasper Avenue.
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 or Ultraviolet disinfection system at its E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant
Information from Wikipedia.
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Local Media
NEWSPAPERS
Edmonton has 2 large-circulation daily newspapers:
Edmonton also has two free weekly papers focusing on the city's independent arts and entertainment.
The Edmonton Senior is a monthly newspaper catering to a growing audience.
The University of Alberta has three regular publications: official student newspaper
The Gateway, staff newspaper Folio and alumni magazine New Trail.
TELEVISION
The cable television provider in Edmonton is Shaw Cable. Network programming from the United States is received on cable via affiliates from Spokane, Washington, which is in the Pacific Time Zone despite the fact that Edmonton is in the Mountain Time Zone.
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Hospitals
Dedicated psychiatric care is also provided at the Alberta Hospital.
Information from Wikipedia.