THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND DO BUSINESS

Capital of Alberta - Edmonton

Population of Alberta - 3 375 800 (Statistics Canada 2006). Over 10% of Canada’s population resides in Alberta.

Area of Alberta - 661 185 sq km (255 303 sq mi); Alberta is the fourth largest province in Canada.

Coordinates - between 49 and 60 degrees north latitude and between 110 and 120 degrees west longitude.

Width & Length - north to south - 1223 km (764 mi); east to west - 660 km (412 mi).

Alberta receives 2 330 hours of sunshine annually, the highest in Canada.

Highest mountain in Alberta - Mt. Columbia 3 747 m (12 294 ft); and the second highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

Lowest point in Alberta - where the Salt River enters the Northwest Territories in northeast Alberta 183 m (600 ft).

Alberta has two international airports: one in Edmonton and one in Calgary.

Alberta has more than 280 golf courses; seven of Canada’s signature courses are located here.

Alberta has five of Canada’s 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as designated by the United Nations.

There are at least 66 regional ski hills in the province as well as 6 major Canadian Rockies ski resorts.

Location

The province of Alberta is located in western Canada between the provinces of British Columbia (B.C.) to the west and Saskatchewan to the east. At our northern border is the Northwest Territories. The state of Montana marks our southern border.

Considered one of Canada’s three “Prairie Provinces”—along with Manitoba and Saskatchewan—Alberta differs in that it shares the Canadian Rockies with British Columbia. Our natural border is the imaginary line of the Continental Divide that separates Alberta from B.C.

Geography

Alberta is the fourth largest province in Canada. It is similar in size to Texas, three times the size of Great Britain or equal to the combined areas of France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Land accounts for 97% of the area with the remainder made up of numerous lakes, rivers and streams.

The province has a diversity of natural terrain—parklands, grasslands, primordial badlands, vast tracts of wildlands, boreal forests and plains, ancient glaciers, thousands of lakes and rivers, and the oldest mountain ranges of the “backbone” that runs the length of North and South America.

Its variety of natural areas and ecosystems supports hundreds of species of wildlife, many of which are endangered or protected. Coupled with the intriguing history of Aboriginal cultures and prehistoric dinosaur remains, it is easy to see why the United Nations crowned Alberta with five of Canada’s 13 designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Climate

The province is characterized by low humidity and considerable contrasts between areas and seasons. Average temperatures range from 15C to 23C (60F to 73F) in July and -8C to -25C (18F to -13F) in January. Alberta receives more days of sunshine than any other province in Canada.

 

Resources/Industry

Alberta's major industries are energy, business and commercial services, transportation and utilities, finance and real estate, retail and wholesale trade, and manufacturing. Over the past decade, the economy has experienced rapid growth in such industries as petrochemicals, forest products, food processing, machinery, electronics and telecommunications, tourism, and business services. Tourism generates over $4 billion in revenues each year. Emerging economic base: telecommunications and wireless equipment, biotechnology, software development, electronics and microelectronics;

• Unemployment rate: 6.0% (2007);

• Highest Employment Rate in Canada: 71.6% (2007).

• Highest labour force productivity rate in Canada, $218.4 million measured as GDP in 2007;

• Lowest personal income tax and cost of living;

• Most highly educated workforce in Canada;

• Lowest provincial corporate tax and cost of doing business;

• Only Canadian province without Provincial Sales Tax;

• No Machinery and Equipment Tax;

• Among lowest Workers Compensation Board rates;

• Lowest private sector unionization rate in Canada at 12.8%;  

With an average growth rate of 4.38% per year over the past five years, Alberta has the fastest growing economy in Canada. In 2007, the projected growth rate for the province is 4.4%. Alberta’s budget surplus of $8.5 billion in 2007 follows a stream of yearly surpluses since the 1995/96 fiscal year.

In the first quarter of 2007, the Value of Alberta's international merchandise exports grew by 3.8% from the same quarter last year to $21.8 billion. Alberta's total international exports were $81.3 billion. Products sent to the U.S. by pipeline accounted for $55.8 billion or 68% of Alberta's total export.
 

 What Albertans are proud of

·         Canada's largest mountainous national park - Jasper National Park

·         Canada's first/oldest national park - Banff National Park

·         World's largest shopping and entertainment complex - West Edmonton Mall

·         World's first international "Peace Park" - Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

·         World's second largest and Canada's largest national park - Wood Buffalo National Park

·         Largest ski area in Canada - Lake Louise

·         World's largest Ukrainian Easter Egg (Pysanka) - Vegreville

·         Second largest glacier fed lake in the world - Maligne Lake (Jasper National Park)

·         One of the world's most photographed lakes - Moraine Lake (Banff National Park)

·         North America's largest outdoor music festival - Big Valley Jamboree (Camrose)

·         World's largest Tyrannosaurus Rex - Drumheller

·         One of the most scenic highways in the world - Icefields Parkway

·         Canada's largest public display of live reptiles - Reptile World (Drumheller)

·         World's largest herd of free roaming bison - Wood Buffalo National Park

·         North America's largest, oldest and best preserved buffalo jump site - Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

·         World's largest oil sands development - Suncor/Syncrude Oil Sand Plant (Fort McMurray)

·         Only city in Canada found within two provinces - Lloydminster, "Canada's Border City"

·         Largest museum in Western Canada - Glenbow Museum (Calgary)

·         Bird capital of Canada - McLennan

·         North America's largest theatre festival - Fringe Festival (Edmonton)

·         Second largest zoo in Canada - Calgary Zoo (Calgary)

·         One of the richest dinosaur fossil discoveries in the world - Dinosaur Provincial Park

·         Home of Iceland's greatest poet - Stephansson House (Markerville)

·         World's largest cable suspended roof "reverse hyperbolic paraboloid" - Pengrowth Saddledome (Calgary)

·         North America's first covered speed skating oval - Olympic Oval (Calgary)

·         The richest show jumping contest in the world - The Masters at Spruce Meadows (Calgary)

·         One of North America's largest collections of antique and classic cars, trucks and planes - Reynolds-Alberta Museum (Wetaskiwin)

·         Greatest outdoor show on earth - the Calgary Stampede (Calgary)

·         World's first Indoor bungy jump - West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton)

·         World's tallest teepee - Medicine Hat

·         North America's largest collection of horse drawn vehicles - Remington Carriage Museum