Edmonton
—  City  —
City of Edmonton
From top left: Downtown Edmonton, Fort Edmonton Park, Legislature Building, Law Courts, Rexall Place, High Level Bridge, Muttart Conservatory
Flag of Edmonton Flag Coat of arms of Edmonton Coat of arms Logo
Nickname(s): City of Champions, Gateway to the North, The Festival City, Deadmonton,[1][2] E-Town, River City, Oil Capital of Canada, Oil Country, Oil City
Motto: Industry, Integrity, Progress
Edmonton Location of Edmonton in Alberta
Coordinates: 53°32′N 113°30′W / 53.533°N 113.5°W / 53.533; -113.5Coordinates: 53°32′N 113°30′W / 53.533°N 113.5°W / 53.533; -113.5
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Edmonton Capital Region
Census division	11
Established	1795
Incorporated [3]  - Town	January 9, 1892
- City	October 8, 1904
Government
• Mayor	Stephen Mandel (List of former mayors)
• Governing body	Edmonton City Council
• Manager	Simon Farbrother
• MPs	List of MPs Rona Ambrose Linda Duncan Peter Goldring Laurie Hawn Michael Lake James Rajotte Tim Uppal John G. Williams
• MLAs	List of MLAs Deron Bilous Naresh Bhardwaj Laurie Blakeman David Dorward David Eggen David Hancock Fred Horne Matt Jeneroux Heather Klimchuk Thomas Lukaszuk Brian Mason Rachel Notley Cathy Olesen Sohail Quadri Peter Sandhu Janice Sarich Raj Sherman David Xiao Steve Young Gene Zwozdesky
Area (2011)[4][5]
• City	684.37 km2 (264.24 sq mi)
• Metro	9,426.73 km2 (3,639.68 sq mi)
Elevation	668 m (2,192 ft)
Population (2011)[4][5][6]
• City	812,201 (5th)
• Density	1,186.8/km2 (3,074/sq mi)
• Urban	960,015
• Metro	1,159,869 (6th)
• Metro density	123.0/km2 (319/sq mi)
• Demonym	Edmontonian
Time zone	MST (UTC−7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC−6)
Postal code span	T5A to T6Z
Area code(s)	780, 587
NTS Map	083H11
GNBC Code	IACMP
GDP per capita	C$39,675 (est. 2010)[7]
Median income (all census families)	C$69,214 (2005)
Average income per household	C$98,857 (est. 2010)
Website	City of Edmonton

Edmonton  /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, Canada. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.

The city and its census metropolitan area had populations of 812,201^[4] and 1,159,869^[5] as of the 2011 Census respectively, making it Alberta's second-largest city, Canada's fifth-largest municipality and Canada's sixth-largest metropolitan area by population. Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.^[8]

The majority of Edmonton's metropolitan population lives within the City of Edmonton rather than in the surrounding suburban municipalities. Historically, Edmonton was surrounded by few other urban municipalities (Strathcona, Beverly and Jasper Place being the largest) but these were absorbed through amalgamation or annexation. Edmonton annexed a significant amount of land up until the early 1980s, and as a result it has sustained much of the region's suburban growth within its own boundaries.

Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor and is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.^[9]

Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname "The Festival City."^[10] It is home to North America's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest mall from 1981 until 2004),^[11] and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum.^[12] In 2004, Edmonton celebrated the centennial of its incorporation as a city.^[13]

History[link]

The first inhabitants settled in the area that is now Edmonton around 3,000 BC and perhaps as early as 12,000 BC, when an ice-free corridor opened up as the last ice age ended and timber, water, and wildlife became available in the region.^[14]

In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer working for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area.^[15] His expeditions across the Canadian Prairies were mainly to seek contact with the aboriginal population for the purpose of establishing the fur trade, as competition was fierce between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank of the river, as a major trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company.^[16] The name of the new fort was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden.

The coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to southern Alberta in 1885 helped the Edmonton economy, and the 1891 building of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway resulted in the emergence of a railway townsite (South Edmonton/Strathcona) on the south side of the river, across from Edmonton. The arrival of the CPR and the Calgary & Edmonton Railway facilitated the arrival of settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Britain and continental Europe, U.S. and other parts of the world. The fertile soil and cheap land in the Edmonton area helped attract settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897. Strathcona was the northernmost railway point in North America, but travel to the Klondike was still very difficult for the "Klondikers," and a majority of them took a steamship north to the Yukon from Vancouver.^[17]

Incorporated as a town in 1892 with a population of 700 and then as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350,^[18] Edmonton became the capital of Alberta when the province was formed a year later, on September 1, 1905.^[19] In November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth.^[20]

During the early 1900s, Edmonton grew very rapidly, causing speculation in real estate. In 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River; as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time.^[21]

Just prior to World War I, the boom ended, and the city's population declined sharply from more than 72,000 in 1914 to less than 54,000 only two years later.^[22] Many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city and others fled to greener pastures in other provinces.^[23] Recruitment to the Canadian army during the war also contributed to the drop in population.^[24] Afterwards, the city slowly recovered in population and economy during the 1920s and 1930s and took off again during and after World War II.

Many Canadian bi-plane pilots who survived the war became bush pilots.^{[citation needed]} Edmonton, in its role as Gateway to the North^[25] established one of the earliest airfields in Canada.^[25] It became the first licensed airfield in Canada, Blatchford Field (now Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport), in 1929.^[26] Pioneering aviators such as Wilfrid R. "Wop" May and Max Ward used Blatchford Field as a major base for the distribution of mail, food, and medicine to Northern Canada; hence Edmonton's role as the "Gateway to the North" was strengthened. World War II saw Edmonton becoming a major base for the construction of the Alaska Highway and the Northwest Staging Route.^[27]

Geography[link]

Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River, and sits at an elevation of 668 metres (2,192 ft).^[28] Edmonton is the most northerly city in North America with a metropolitan population of over one million. It is at the same latitude as Hamburg, Germany and Manchester, England. North as it is, it is south of the geographic centre of Alberta, which is located near the Hamlet of Fort Assiniboine.^[29] 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.^[30] The Canadian Rockies are located approximately 220 km (140 mi) to the southwest.

The North Saskatchewan River originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and bisects the city. It empties via the Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay.^[31] It runs from the southwest to the northeast and is fed by numerous creeks throughout the city, such as Mill Creek, Whitemud Creek and Blackmud Creek; this creates numerous ravines, some of which are used for urban parkland.^[32] 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 woods and forests in and around Edmonton have long since been reduced by farming and other human activities, such as oil and natural gas exploration.^[33]

Parkland and environment[link]

Streambed in Hawrelak Park

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 river valley is 22 times larger than New York City's Central Park.^[34] The public river valley parks provide a unique urban escape area, with park styles ranging from fully serviced urban parks to campsitelike facilities with few amenities. This main "Ribbon of Green" is supplemented by numerous neighbourhood parks located throughout the city, to give a total of 111 km² (27,400 acres) of parkland.^[34] Within the 7,400 ha (18,000 acres), 25 km (16 mi)-long river valley park system, there are 11 lakes, 14 ravines, and 22 major parks, and most of the city has accessible bike and walking trail connections.^[35] These trails are also part of the 235 km (146 mi) Waskahegan walking trail. The City of Edmonton has named five parks in its River Valley Parks System in honour of each of "The Famous Five".^[36]

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. Jack pine, lodgepole pine, white spruce, white birch, aspen, mountain ash, Amur maple, Russian olive, green ash, basswood, various poplars and willows, flowering crabapple, Mayday tree and Manitoba maple are also abundant; bur oak, silver maple, hawthorn and Ohio buckeye are increasingly popular. Other introduced tree species include white ash, blue spruce, Norway maple, red oak, sugar maple, common horse-chestnut, McIntosh apple, and Evans cherry.^[37] Three walnut species—butternut, Manchurian walnut, and black walnut—have survived in Edmonton.^[38]

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 from early morning well into the evening.^[39] Golf courses and the park system become a winter recreation area during this season, and cross-country skiing and skating are 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.^[40]

Neighbourhoods[link]

Oliver, Edmonton

Edmonton has numerous distinct neighbourhoods.^[41] Downtown Edmonton consists of the Commercial Core, the Arts District, Rice Howard Way, McKay Avenue, Jasper-West, the Warehouse District and the Government Precinct (also known as Grandin). The Commercial Core and Rice Howard Way double as Edmonton's Central Business District and the Arts District is home to most of Edmonton's main cultural buildings like the Art Gallery of Alberta. The Warehouse District is home to some old brick warehouses (most have been converted to lofts and condominiums) from when the area was the City's main industrial area and at the same time is one of the most up and coming districts in the City with lots of new construction underway or planned. McKay Avenue is home to many residential towers and some of the Downtown hotels and is fairly quiet, compared to the Government District which is home to the lively Alberta Legislature and many government offices.^[42]

Radiating from the core are many older urban neighbourhoods. Oliver, immediately west of Downtown Edmonton, is often mistakenly considered as part of the Downtown due to its high density condos and apartments. Between the old character homes of Westmount and mid and high rises of Oliver is 124 Street which is home to many art galleries and restaurants. Further west of Westmount is Glenora, where the Royal Alberta Museum is located and lots of beautiful old Scottish-inspired mansions. To the east of Downtown is Boyle Street which is one of the lower income neighbourhoods of the city and has many walk up apartments and old brick buildings. Northeast of Downtown is McCauley, which is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the city and home to Edmonton's Little Italy and part of Edmonton's Chinatown. Also northeast of Downtown is Alberta Avenue and Parkdale, which are formerly run-down neighbourhoods that are undergoing revitalization with young families and artists moving in. Immediately across the river from Downtown Edmonton is Strathcona, which is full of character and home to the vibrant Whyte Avenue. Straddled between the main campus of University of Alberta and Strathcona is Garneau, which has many independent cafes and French-Canadian inspired homes. To the southeast of Downtown are neighbourhoods such as Cloverdale and Bonnie Doon, which are relatively quiet. Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre is located within Bonnie Doon and the Muttart Conservatory is located within Cloverdale.^[42]

McCauley

Edmonton then gives way to matured suburbs that first began to appear in the 1940s through to around 1970. Neighbourhoods such as Strathearn, Rundle Heights, Jasper Park, and Empire Park have many 1950s and 1960s style walk up apartments and townhouse complexes alongside single family homes and mom and pop businesses. These neighbourhoods tend to not be thought of as much as suburbs as the post-1970 suburbs.

Post-1970 suburbs are much less matured and tend to not have back alleys for houses and instead opt for front-car garages so that cars are more convenient. One of the most well-known suburbs from the 1970s and 1980s is Mill Woods, a collection of neighbourhoods in southeast Edmonton. It is often incorrectly referred to as "Millwoods," due to a typographical mistake on street signs dating back to the neighbourhood's inception. Other areas where new suburbs popped up in the 1970s and 1980s into the early 1990s are Belmont and Kirkness in the area generally considered "Clareview" in Northeast Edmonton; areas around Blue Quill and Lendrum Place in the southwest; and areas around Belmead and Callingwood in the west.

Most of the newer suburban growth in the City of Edmonton has occurred in Southwest Edmonton around Terwillegar. More recently, many new suburban neighbourhoods have begun to pop up outside of Edmonton's ring road, Anthony Henday Drive, such as Summerside, Ellerslie, Windermere, The Hamptons, and Rutherford. Many of these are home to small recreational lakes and newer suburban strip malls. Still, there are many new neighbourhoods going up within the ring road, such as The Meadows, east of Mill Woods and Carlton and Cumberland in Northwest Edmonton east of St. Albert Trail.

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).^[43] Another TOD, called Century Park,^[44] is being constructed at the site of what was once Heritage Mall, at the southern end of the LRT line. Century Park will eventually house up to 5,000 residents.^[45] The Edmonton City Centre airport is planned to be developed into a TOD.

Metropolitan area[link]

Edmonton is at the centre of Canada's sixth largest census metropolitan area (CMA) that includes Edmonton and 34 other municipalities in the surrounding area. Larger communities include the Urban Service Area of Sherwood Park (part of Strathcona County), the cities of St. Albert, Leduc, Spruce Grove and Fort Saskatchewan, and the towns of Stony Plain, Beaumont, Morinville, and Devon. Major employment areas outside of Edmonton but within the CMA include the Nisku Industrial Business Park and the Edmonton International Airport (including a planned inland port logistics support facility in support of the Port Alberta initiative)^[46] in Leduc County, the Acheson Industrial Area in Parkland County, Refinery Row in Strathcona County and Alberta's Industrial Heartland within portions of Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County. Alberta's Industrial Heartland also extends beyond the CMA's northeastern boundary into a portion of Lamont County.

The individual economic development interests and costs of service delivery in certain municipalities within the region has led to intermunicipal competition, strained intermunicipal relationships and overall fragmentation of the region. Although several attempts have been made by the City of Edmonton to absorb surrounding municipalities^[47] or annex portions of its neighbours,^[48] the city has not absorbed another municipality since the Town of Jasper Place joined Edmonton on August 17, 1964^[49] and the city has not annexed land from any of its neighbours since January 1, 1982.^[50] After years of mounting pressure in the early 21st century, the Province of Alberta formed the Capital Region Board (CRB) on April 15, 2008.^[51] The CRB consists of 24 member municipalities – 22 of which are within the Edmonton CMA and two of which are outside the CMA.

Climate[link]

Edmonton has a relatively dry humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfb, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 3a)^[52][53][54] with extreme seasonal temperatures—although the city has milder winters than either Regina or Winnipeg, both located at a latitude farther south. It has warm summers and cold 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.^[55] Annually, temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) on an average of four to five days (but can occur often, anytime from late April to mid September) and fall below −20 °C (−4 °F) on an average of 28 days. The highest temperature recorded within the City of Edmonton was 38.3 °C (100.9 °F), on August 5, 1998.^[56] Some areas, however, such as the City of St. Albert and Sherwood Park, recorded temperatures of 37.7 °C (99.9 °F) on July 22, 2006. The coldest temperature ever recorded at City Centre Airport was −40.6 °C (−41.1 °F) on January 26, 1972^[57] - this was the only time since recordings began at the airport in 1953 that a temperature below −40 °C (−40 °F) has been recorded there. The coldest overall temperature ever recorded in Edmonton was −49.4 °C (−56.9 °F), on January 19 and 21, 1886.^[58]

The year 2006 was a particularly warm one for Edmonton, as temperatures reached 29 °C (84 °F) or higher more than twenty times during the year, from as early as Mid-May and again in early September. Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is seldom uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November to March, and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable. Edmonton's growing season is from May 7 to September 23;^[59] Edmonton averages 140 frost free days a year.^[60] At the summer solstice, Edmonton receives seventeen hours and six minutes of daylight, with twilight extending throughout the entire night during summer.^[61] Edmonton receives 2,299 hours of sunshine per year and is one of Canada's sunniest cities.^[55]

The Edmonton Tornado

Edmonton has a fairly dry climate. On average, Edmonton receives 476.9 millimetres (18.78 in) of precipitation, of which 365.7 millimetres (14.40 in) is rain and 111.2 millimetres (4.38 in) is the melt from 123.5 centimetres (48.6 in) of snowfall per annum.^[55] Precipitation is heaviest in the late spring, summer, and early autumn. The wettest month is July, while the driest months are February, March, October, and November.^[55] In July, the mean precipitation is 91.7 mm (3.61 in).^[55] Droughts are not uncommon and may occur at any time of the year. Extremes do occur, such as the 114 mm (4.49 in) of rainfall that fell on July 31, 1953.^[55] Summer thunderstorms can be frequent and occasionally 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. Dangerous weather events are rare in Edmonton, and the F4 tornado that struck Edmonton on July 31, 1987, killing 27, was unique in many respects, including severity, duration, damage, and casualties. It is commonly referred to as Black Friday due both to its aberrant characteristics and the emotional shock it generated.^[62]

A massive cluster of thunderstorms occurred on July 11, 2004, with large hail and over 100 mm (3.94 in) of rain reported within the space of an hour in many places.^[63] This "1-in-200 year event" flooded major intersections and underpasses and damaged both residential and commercial properties. The storm caused extensive damage to West Edmonton Mall; a small glass section of the roof collapsed under the weight of the rainwater, causing water to drain onto the mall's indoor ice rink. As a result, the mall was forced to undergo an evacuation as a precautionary measure.^[64]

Panorama of Edmonton's skyline taken from 105 Street near Kinsmen Field House.

Demographics[link]

Edmonton City Hall

Sacred Heart Church, on "Church Street" (96 Street) in Edmonton's inner city area.

In the 2011 Census, the City of Edmonton had a population of 812,201 living in 324,756 of its 348,672 total dwellings, an 11.2% change from its 2006 population of 730,372. With a land area of 684.37 km² (264.24 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,186.786/km² (3,073.763/sq mi) in 2011.^[4]

According to the 2006 census, there were 730,372 residents within the city of Edmonton proper, compared to 3,290,350 for all of Alberta. The total population of the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) was 1,034,945.^[87][88] In 2009, a municipal census showed the city had a population of 782,439.^[89] while Statistics Canada estimated its metropolitan population at 1,155,383 in 2009,^[90][91]

In the five years between 2001 and 2006, the population of the city of Edmonton proper grew by 9.6%, compared with an increase of 10.4% for the Edmonton CMA and 10.6% for Alberta as a whole. The population density of the city of Edmonton proper averaged 1,067.2 people per square kilometre (2,764/sq mi), compared with an average of 5.1 people per square kilometre (13.2/sq mi) for Alberta altogether.^[87]

In mid-2006, 11.9% of Edmonton's population were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.7% in Canada.^[87] The median age was 35.3 years of age, compared to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada. Also, according to the 2006 census, 50.5% of the population within the city of Edmonton proper were female, while 49.5% were male. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.6% of the resident population of Edmonton. This compares with 6.2% in Alberta, and almost 5.3% for Canada overall.^[87]

In 2006, people of European ethnicities formed the largest cluster of ethnic groups in Edmonton, mostly of English, Scottish, German, Irish, Ukrainian, and French origin.^[92] According to the 2006 census, the city of Edmonton was 71.8% White and 5.3% Aboriginal, while visible minorities accounted for 22.9% of the population.^[87]

Religion[link]

According to the 2001 census, 31.2% of Edmonton residents are Protestant and 29.4% are Catholic. 5.5% belong to other Christian denominations, 2.9% are Muslim, 0.6% are Jewish, 5.1% are adherents of other religions, and 24.4% profess no religion.^[93] One of Alberta's three Bahá'í Centres is located in Edmonton. The first mosque established in Canada-the Al-Rashid Mosque, founded by Abdullah Yusuf Ali—is situated in Edmonton.^[94] Edmonton also hosts a Maronite Catholic church, on 76 Avenue/98 Street, with services in English on Saturdays and Arabic on Sundays. The Lebanese community also has a Druze Community Centre on the north side of the city. The Edmonton Alberta Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated on December 11, 1999. The Hindu Community in Edmonton is served by the Hindu Society of Alberta^[95] (North Indian Temple) and the Maha Ganapathy Society of Alberta (South Indian Temple).^[96] The Sikh community in Edmonton is served by four gurdwaras. The Jewish Community in Edmonton is served by Jewish Federation of Edmonton.^[97] The region is served by five synagogues.^[98] Edmonton is also home to two of Alberta's four Unitarian Universalist congregations—the Unitarian Church of Edmonton^[99] and the Westwood Unitarian Congregation;^[100] the other two are located in Calgary and Lethbridge.^[101]

Politics[link]

Matthew McCauley, first mayor of Edmonton

Provincial Legislature of Alberta

In 1892 Edmonton was incorporated as a town. The first mayor was Matthew McCauley, who established the first school board in Edmonton and Board of Trade (later Chamber of Commerce) and a municipal police service.^[102] Due to mayor McCauley's good relationship with the federal Liberals this helped Edmonton to maintain political prominence over Strathcona, a rival settlement on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River.^[102] Edmonton was incorporated as a city in 1904 and became the capital of Alberta in 1905.

Unions and radical organizations such as the Industrial Workers of the World struggled for progressive social change through the early years, with the first reformer, James East, being elected in 1912, followed by the first official Labour alderman, James Kinney, the following year. Many thousands of workers participated in the Edmonton general strike of 1919 and a strong block of Labour representatives were on council after the next election: James Kinney, James East, Sam McCoppen, Joe Clarke and Rice Sheppard.

Labour representation on city council would become a majority in 1929, and, during the Great Depression, from 1932 to 1934.^[103] Jan Reimer became the city's first female mayor, when she was elected in 1989.^[104]

Municipal representation[link]

Edmonton is represented by a mayor and 12 councillors - one for each of the 12 wards. On July 22, 2009 City Council adopted an electoral system that divides Edmonton into 12 wards, instead of the previous two for each of six wards. This system came into effect with the most recent municipal election in October 2010.^[105]

Provincial representation[link]

Edmonton is the capital of the province of Alberta and holds all main provincial areas of government such as the Provincial Legislature of Alberta. The Edmonton region is represented by 20 MLAs one for each provincial electoral district. Many of these boundaries have been changed, adjusted and renamed while the city has grown.^[106]

Economy[link]

Edmonton is the major economic centre for northern and central Alberta and a major centre for the oil and gas industry. In its autumn 2007 Metropolitan Outlook, the Conference Board of Canada forecast that Edmonton's GDP for 2007 will be $44.1-billion (2007 dollars), a 3.6% increase over 2006.^[107] 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.^[108]

Jasper Avenue, a hub of major offices and the financial centers.

Edmonton traditionally has been a hub for Albertan petrochemical industries, earning it the nickname "Oil Capital of Canada" in the 1940s.^[109] 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.^[110]

Despite the apparent focus on oil and gas, Edmonton's economy is one of the most diverse in Canada.^[111] Major industrial sectors include a strong technology sector anchored by major employers such as IBM, Telus, Intuit Canada, Canadian Western Bank, BioWare, Matrikon, General Electric, and Stantec Inc.^[112] The associated biotech sector, with companies such as Afexa Life Sciences Inc. (formerly CV Technologies).

The National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT)

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. Recently, the National Institute for Nanotechnology was constructed on the University of Alberta campus.^[113]

During the 1970s and 1980s, Edmonton started to become a major financial centre, with both regional offices of Canada's major banks and locally based institutions opening.^[114] However, the turmoil of the late-1980s economy radically changed the situation. Locally based operations such as Principal Trust and Canadian Commercial Bank^[115] would fail, and some regional offices were moved to other cities. The 1990s saw a solidification of the economy, and Edmonton is now home to Canadian Western Bank, the only publicly traded Schedule I chartered bank headquarters west of Toronto.^[116] Other major financial centres include ATB Financial, Servus Credit Union (formerly Capital City Savings), TD Canada Trust and Manulife Financial.^[117]

Edmonton has been the birthplace of several companies that have grown to international stature, such as PCL Construction, Stantec Inc.^[118][119] and more recently, Capital Power Corporation. The local retail market has also seen the creation of many successful store concepts, such as The Brick, Katz Group, AutoCanada, Boston Pizza, Pizza 73, Liquor Stores GP (which includes Liquor Depot, Liquor Barn, OK Liquor, and Grapes & Grains), Planet Organic, Empire Design, Running Room, Booster Juice, Earl's, Fountain Tire and XS Cargo.^[120]

Edmonton's geographical location 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.^[121]