Alberta, province in western Canada, the most westerly of the three Prairie provinces, which also include Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It is a region of contrast and color. As represented in the provincial coat of arms, Alberta is a land of golden wheatfields, rolling plains, tree-clad foothills, snowy mountains, and clear blue skies. The Cross of Saint George, the patron saint of England, surmounts the coat of arms and is a symbol of Alberta's traditional ties with Great Britain. Many of the early settlers in the territory were of British descent and were bound by sentiment to the mother country. The Marquess of Lorne, governor-general of Canada from 1878 until 1883, visited Calgary and Banff in 1881, and the territory was named for his wife, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
When Alberta became a province, in 1905, most of its 75,000 people lived on the prairie wheat farms and foothill ranches. With the widespread discoveries of oil and natural gas deposits, industrialization began and the small frontier towns became thriving cities.
Alberta is still a leading producer of livestock and grain, and it ranks among the top three provinces in yearly sales of farm products. Alberta produces most of Canada's crude oil and natural gas. In addition, manufacturing plays an important role in the economic life of Alberta.
Physical Geography
Alberta is the fourth largest province of Canada (after Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia). It covers an area of 661,190 sq km (255,287 sq mi), including 16,800 sq km (6500 sq mi) of inland water. It is about 1200 km (about 750 mi) long from north to south and varies in width from about 300 km (about 190 mi) at the United States border to about 645 km (about 400 mi) at its widest point.
Natural Regions
Alberta can be divided into four major natural regions: the Rocky Mountains and foothills, which form part of the larger Cordilleran Region; the Alberta Plain; the Saskatchewan Plain, which, with the Alberta Plain forms part of the larger Interior Plains region; and a small section of the Canadian Shield.
Rocky Mountains and Foothills
The Rocky Mountains form an irregular belt of rugged crags and towering peaks along the southwestern boundary of the province. Many of them are more than 3300 m (11,000 ft) high and covered with snow for most of the year. The highest peak is Mount Columbia, which rises 3747 m (12,294 ft) above sea level. The lower slopes are heavily forested. A chain of rolling foothills about 80 km (about 50 mi) wide parallels the Rockies on the east. In the north these foothills are covered with forest, but the grassy slopes of the south provide good grazing for beef cattle.
Alberta Plain
The Alberta Plain, or Third Prairie Level, lies east of the foothills and varies in elevation between 600 and 1200 m (2000 and 4000 ft) above sea level. It is part of a vast plain averaging 645 km (400 miles) in width that extends southward to Texas. Rising above the plain in many places are numerous hills, including the Cypress Hills and the Milk River Ridge in the south, and the Caribou and Birch mountains in the north. Deep valleys cut by the Peace and Athabasca rivers, the North and South Saskatchewan, and their tributaries cross the region.
The southern part of the Alberta Plain, which extends from the Alberta-Montana border to the Red Deer River, is a treeless, grass-covered, rolling prairie. In the eastern section of the plain, between the Red Deer River and the North Saskatchewan River, lies the Parklands, or Aspen Grove Belt. It is a grassy region with isolated stands of poplar, spruce, and willow trees, and deep, fertile soil. The northern section of the plain, beyond the North Saskatchewan River, is heavily forested except for large tracts of grasslands.
Saskatchewan Plain
The Alberta Plain slopes southwest to northeast and falls off rapidly into a wedge-shaped portion of the Saskatchewan Plain, also known as the Second Prairie Level, which extends into Alberta. This plain is lower in elevation than the Alberta Plain, from which it is separated by a belt of hills. In the Athabasca River valley are the oil sands that contain one of the largest oil reserves in the world.
Canadian Shield
The extreme northeastern corner, which covers less than 3 percent of Alberta's total area, is part of the Canadian Shield, or Laurentian Plateau. It is the lowest land area in the province, 150 to 300 m (500 to 1000 ft) above sea level. It is mostly forested, with stretches of swamp or bogs called muskegs.
Rivers and Lakes
All the large rivers flowing through Alberta originate in the Rocky Mountains. The forested region of northern Alberta is drained by the Peace and Athabasca rivers, which form part of the Mackenzie river system and flow northward to the Arctic Ocean. The rest of Alberta, with the exception of two small areas, is part of the huge Saskatchewan river system, which drains most of the Canadian prairies. Both the North Saskatchewan and the South Saskatchewan rivers rise in the Rocky Mountains and flow eastward across the plains. In the province of Saskatchewan they unite as the Saskatchewan River, which flows into Lake Winnipeg, which in turn drains to Hudson Bay. Tributaries of the North Saskatchewan River include the Brazeau, the Battle, the Clearwater, and the Vermilion rivers. The rivers that feed the South Saskatchewan River include the Red Deer, the Bow, the Belly, the Saint Mary, and the Oldman.
A small section of eastern Alberta, between the North Saskatchewan and Athabasca rivers, is drained by the Beaver River, a tributary of the Churchill River. A section of the Milk River, part of the Missouri-Mississippi river system, arcs across the extreme southern portion of Alberta.
There are many lakes in central and northern Alberta. Lake Claire, about 1400 sq km (about 550 sq mi) in area, is the largest lake wholly within Alberta. Lake Athabasca, which covers about 8000 sq km (about 3000 sq mi), straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. Other well-known lakes are Lesser Slave Lake, Lac la Biche, and Lake Louise.
Climate
Except for the mountain areas, summers throughout the province are very warm. The winters are long and extremely cold. In July, average daily temperatures range from about 16° C (about 60° F) along the northern boundary to about 21° C (about 70° F) in the south. In the extreme southeastern section of the province, temperatures of 43° C (110° F) have been recorded. In January, average daily temperatures range from about -14° C (about 6° F) at Grande Prairie to about -9° C (about 16° F) at Calgary. Temperatures of -49° C (-57° F) have been recorded, though rarely, at Edmonton.
Almost all parts of the province are occasionally affected by warm westerly winds during the winter and early spring. This is particularly true of southern Alberta, where these warm winds are called chinooks. During the cold days of winter, when the sky is gray and overcast, Albertans often look toward the mountains for the Chinook Arch, a curved patch of blue sky that indicates that warm winds are on their way. Chinooks will sometimes blow for several days. In some years they occur frequently and exert considerable influence on average winter temperatures.
Alberta is generally a dry region. Moisture from both rain and snow ranges from less than 330 mm (13 in) per year in the southeast to about 510 mm (about 20 in) per year in a narrow belt across the south central part of the province, near Edmonton. In the southeast the yearly amount varies considerably, and severe droughts occur every few seasons. Snowfall is heavy only in the mountains. Rain is most plentiful between April and July. Although the length of the growing season is limited by damaging frosts, favorable growing conditions make it possible to harvest crops before the frosts arrive.
Soils
The best soils for farming occur in southern and central Alberta. In the prairie region in the south, the soils, which are quite fertile, range from light brown to dark brown. Central Alberta contains fertile black soils. In the Peace River area of the northwest are less fertile dark gray and gray soils. The northern forest zone has gray soils of very low fertility.
Plant Life
More than half of Alberta is forested. In the far north and west are coniferous forests containing white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, tamarack, jack pine, and white birch. South and east of the coniferous forests is a mixed-wood region, where aspen and poplar predominate but spruce and jack pine are also found. South of the mixed-wood region is the parkland belt, an area of tall grass with scattered groves of trees, mainly aspen and poplar. The grasses include bearded and slender wheatgrass and fringed bromegrass. Still farther south is a mixed-grass area, containing both tall grass and short grass, and to the southeast is a short-grass area. In both regions are found blue grama grass, spear grass, wheatgrass, and sedge. In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains there are trees, especially spruce, pine, fir, and larch.
Animal Life
Early in the l9th century, trappers ranged across the Canadian west in search of furs. The beaver, which thrives in the swamp and muskeg country of northern Alberta, was the most sought-after fur-bearing animal. The fox, muskrat, otter, squirrel, marten, fisher, and mink were also trapped, and their skins were shipped east by canoe to Hudson Bay and Montréal. Most of these animals, still relatively plentiful in northern Alberta, are now protected by law although the fur of the marten, mink, beaver, and coyote is still important. Deer, bear, wolf, elk, moose, and caribou are found on the mountain slopes and in the northern forests. Bighorn sheep live among the craggy peaks of the Rockies. Animals found on the plains include the deer, antelope, gopher, red fox, and jackrabbit. The bison, popularly called the buffalo, once roamed the plains in vast herds and was the principal source of food and clothing for the indigenous peoples of the plains. Wood Buffalo National Park, on the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary, was established in 1922 as a wildlife refuge for bison, as well as for other animals, including the rare whooping crane.
Fish are plentiful in Alberta's lakes and streams, which are stocked regularly from fish hatcheries to provide a good supply both for commercial and sport fishing. The most common species in the northern lakes are whitefish, pike, pickerel, and sturgeon. Various species of trout are found in the mountain and foothill streams. Commercial fishing, particularly for whitefish, is carried on in Lake Athabasca, Lac la Biche, Lesser Slave Lake, and Pigeon Lake. These lakes are also popular for sport fishing.
The chief game birds are grouse, pheasant, ducks, and geese. Large numbers of ducks breed on the lakes of central and northern Alberta, and they cross the province during their spring and fall migrations.
Conservation
Alberta has environmental problems, including air and water pollution from industrial facilities, especially oil and natural gas wells, refineries, and power plants. Sulfur compounds from gas wells and power plants are the main pollutants, and they are the primary cause of acid rain. (According to experts, however, Alberta's soil and bedrock should be able to neutralize much of the acidic deposition.) The federal government enforces federal regulations dealing with air and water pollution. The provincial ministry of environment oversees provincial antipollution measures, a solid waste management program, and a program for reclaiming strip-mined land and abandoned industrial sites. Waste management focuses on replacing local garbage dumps with regional facilities and recycling beverage containers, paper, and oil.
Economic Activities
Alberta's economy has always been based on primary resources. The first was fur. The development of agriculture and food processing began in the 1880s, and until 1930 there was a rapid expansion of wheat and cattle farming and the food-processing industry. In the 1930s, however, the worldwide depression plus provincial droughts resulted in widespread economic difficulties in Alberta. In 1947 a big oil field was discovered near Leduc; soon larger oil fields were found elsewhere. The discovery of oil was a turning point for Alberta. It led to the development of important mining, refining, and petrochemical industries that diversified the economy.
Agriculture
Alberta's major agricultural products are livestock and grain. In the early 1990s the province was second only to Saskatchewan in the production of wheat and was the leading province in the raising of beef cattle and barley. Its livestock production also includes dairy cattle, hogs, and poultry. Other important crops are sugar beets, potatoes and other vegetables, nursery products, and rye.
In 1991 there were 7250 farms in Alberta. The total farm cash receipts for 1993 were C (Canadian) $4.5 billion. Crops accounted for 35 percent of the total, and the livestock made up the remaining 65 percent.
There are three principal agricultural regions in Alberta. The first is Palliser's Triangle, a semiarid prairie region that includes most of southeastern Alberta and extends eastward into Saskatchewan. Captain John Palliser, who surveyed the area between 1857 and 1860, called it a semidesert, unfit for agriculture. Its soil, however, classified as brown and dark brown, is quite fertile when it has sufficient moisture. Several large rivers, fed by the snows of the Rockies, cross southern Alberta and provide water for one of the most extensive irrigation systems in Canada. The province has about 466,000 hectares (about 1.15 million acres) of land under irrigation. Sugar beets and other vegetables, fruit, oats, alfalfa, and barley are the principal irrigated crops. The Saint Mary Irrigation Project, near Lethbridge, is the largest in Canada and was established as a joint federal-provincial project. Livestock is raised in the southern foothills and on the grasslands of Palliser's Triangle. These two areas comprise the typical "cattle country" of Alberta, where large ranches are found.
The most fertile soils are found in the second region, a large triangle formed by Westlock, Lloydminster, and Calgary. This triangle lies, for the most part, in the Parklands, which is the major mixed-farming area of Alberta. Wheat is the chief crop, but cattle, hogs, poultry, and vegetables are also raised. The principal soils in this area are black (deep and extremely fertile) and dark brown (only slightly less fertile).
Far to the north is the third region, the Peace River valley, where wheat and other grains are grown and cattle and hogs are raised. Here, the soils are dark gray or gray (not as fertile as black soil).
Forestry
Alberta's forest resources are used for several purposes. White spruce is cut for lumber. Poplar is used to produce plywood. Lodgepole pine is used to make paper and treated poles and posts.
Mining
Petroleum and coal were known to the fur traders who first ventured into Alberta late in the 18th century. Oil seepages from exposed oil sands along the Athabasca River were observed, and apparently the indigenous peoples used the seeping petroleum to caulk their canoes. At about the same time, coal was found near the site of present-day Drumheller.
The first coal mine in Alberta was opened near Lethbridge in 1870, and the industry developed in that area to supply the Canadian Pacific Railway and the settlers. Early in the 20th century mining spread to the Crowsnest Pass and Banff areas and later to the Edmonton and Drumheller areas.
In the mountains and foothills the harder bituminous and coking coals are produced, while on the plains softer subbituminous coals are mined. The soft coals predominate. Both surface and underground mining methods are used. The principal coal-mining districts are Wabamun, west of Edmonton, and Sheerness, northeast of Calgary. The Hinton area near Jasper and Grande Cache in the northwest are the principal mining districts in the mountains and foothills. Alberta ranks as the leading province in coal production. The coal is burned in power plants or exported to Japan.
Alberta's principal mineral resources are petroleum and natural gas. Most of Canada's supply of these minerals comes from Alberta. In 1883 a railroad crew drilling for water struck natural gas near Medicine Hat. In 1914 natural gas was discovered in Turner Valley, about 65 km (about 40 mi) southwest of Calgary. Later, numerous other fields were discovered.
Very heavy crude oil was discovered at Wainwright in the east central part of the province in 1925, and in 1935 the Turner Valley field began producing oil. On February 13, 1947, an oil well "blew in" with a roar near Leduc, about 30 km (about 20 mi) south of Edmonton. Within a year and a half another rich oil field had been discovered at Redwater, about 70 km (about 40 mi) north of Edmonton. By 1950 several major fields were producing within a radius of about 120 km (about 75 mi) from Edmonton. During the 1950s and 1960s, oil deposits were discovered in other areas, such as the Peace River district and the Swan Hills, south of Lesser Slave Lake.
Pipelines transport Alberta's crude oil and natural gas to the industrial centers of eastern Canada, to British Columbia, and to the northwestern and midwestern United States. In addition, oil and gas are shipped to refining centers throughout Canada and to U.S. terminals.
Alberta's vast oil reserves include the oil-rich sands of the Athabasca River valley. This costly-to-recover resource was first exploited in the late 1960s, when an oil-sand processing plant opened near Fort McMurray. Alberta also has commercially important reserves of sulfur, silica sand, clay, and limestone.
Manufacturing
In 1993 the income generated by manufacturing in Alberta was about C$20 billion. The leading products were food, refined petroleum products, chemical products, fabricated metal products, wood, primary metal, machinery, and paper products.
Alberta's oil and natural gas furnish raw materials for large industrial complexes at Edmonton, Red Deer, and Calgary, and also for smaller ones at Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. These complexes include oil and gas refineries and plants that use refinery by-products to make plastics, chemicals, and fertilizer. The oil and gas industry provides a market for firms that supply pipes, drills, and other equipment.
Plants in Edmonton, Calgary, and Lethbridge mill wheat and other grains and process beef and other meats. There are also breweries, pulp and paper mills, plywood factories, and printing plants. Plants in the Lethbridge area can and freeze local farm products.
Electricity
More than 90 percent of the total electricity produced in Alberta is generated by steam-driven power plants. These plants are fueled by coal obtained within the province. Hydroelectric power plants accounted for most of the remainder. The major hydroelectric facilities are on the Bow, Brazeau, and North Saskatchewan rivers.
Transportation
In the days of the fur trade the rivers were used to transport furs to eastern Canada. At first, long, swift canoes that could carry up to five tons of baled pelts were used. These gave way to heavier boats, and until about 1890, steamboats operated on the larger rivers. Water transportation is now limited to the lower Athabasca River and Lake Athabasca, which connect, through the Slave River and Great Slave Lake, with the Mackenzie River. During the summer, barges ply the Athabasca River below Fort McMurray. Water transportation is an economical method of transporting heavy, nonperishable goods.
Highways
In 1991 Alberta had 173,473 km (107,553 mi) of highways, roads, and streets. Much freight is moved by truck transport. Edmonton is the southern terminus of the Mackenzie Highway, which extends by way of Peace River to Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories. The city is also linked by road with Dawson Creek, British Columbia, the southern terminus of the Alaska Highway. The Trans-Canada Highway crosses Alberta, passing through Medicine Hat, Calgary, and Banff. Another east-west highway connects Edmonton to Jasper and continues through Yellowhead Pass into British Columbia. The 290-km (180-mi) Banff-Jasper highway is one of the world's most scenic highways.
Railroads
In 1883 the Canadian Pacific Railway was extended westward through Medicine Hat, Calgary, and Banff to Vancouver, British Columbia, through Kicking Horse Pass in the Rockies. By 1915, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, now incorporated into the Canadian National Railways, reached from Montréal to Vancouver, passing through Wainwright, Edmonton, Jasper, and across the Rockies through Yellowhead Pass. A third route, passing through the Rockies via Crowsnest Pass, was built by the Canadian Pacific.
The Northern Alberta Railway, owned by the Canadian National, has two main lines. One main line extends northwest from Edmonton through Peace River to Dawson Creek, with spurs to Hinton and to the Great Slave Lake. The other main line extends northeast from Edmonton to Fort McMurray.
Airways
Edmonton's International Airport and Calgary International Airport are the largest of Alberta's more than 25 airports. Several airlines offer both national and international service.
Pipelines
Natural gas pipelines connect Alberta's Peace River district with Vancouver, and with U.S. centers as far southwest as Los Angeles and as far southeast as Chicago. Pipelines also connect southeastern Alberta with eastern Canada. In addition, crude oil is moved by pipeline to the west coast and as far east as Montréal. A network of pipelines links the oil and gas fields with distribution centers in Alberta.
The People of Alberta
Population Patterns
According to the 1991 national census, Alberta ranked fourth among the provinces (after Ontario, Québec, and British Columbia), with a population of 2,545,553. This figure represented an increase of 7.6 percent over the 1986 figure of 2,375,278. The average population density was 4 persons per sq km (10 per sq mi). About 80 percent of Alberta's residents live in urban communities. Edmonton and Calgary account for more than half of the total population.
The plurality of Alberta's population is of British ancestry. The remainder is mainly of German, Ukrainian, French, Scandinavian, and Dutch background. In 1991 there were about 47,400 North American Indians in Alberta and about 20,485 métis (people of mixed North American Indian and European ancestry).
Indigenous peoples now living on reserves in southern and central Alberta include the Cree, the Siksika (including the Blood and the Piegan), the Tsuu T’ina Nation, and the Stony (or Assiniboine). In addition, there are indigenous peoples living in Northern Alberta including the Chipewyan, the Beaver, and the Slave.
In 1876 and 1877 the indigenous peoples signed treaties with the Canadian government and were settled on reserves. Most Alberta indigenous peoples still live on the reserves, where some of them have become successful farmers. Others have prospered by leasing the rights to drill for oil and gas on their lands. A number of indigenous peoples have left the reserves for a variety of occupations.
In the decades following the 1880s, immigrants arriving in Alberta tended to form separate communities along ethnic lines. About 1890 a number of German families settled near Edmonton, and French and Belgian immigrants settled near Morinville. Scandinavians settled around Camrose, and many Ukrainians made their homes northeast of Edmonton. During the 20th century, however, these separate ethnic groups became assimilated to some degree.
Principal Cities
The two largest cities of Alberta are Calgary and Edmonton. Edmonton, with a population of 616,741 in 1991, is the provincial capital and one of the province's two leading industrial centers. It also ranks as one of the principal commercial and transportation centers in western Canada. Calgary, with a population of 710,677, is the chief commercial, industrial, and transportation center of southern Alberta and the headquarters of many oil companies.
Lethbridge, with a population of 60,974 in 1991, is the third largest city of the province. It is an industrial city and the trade center for an agricultural area southeast of Calgary. Other cities include Red Deer, situated in an oil and gas producing area between Calgary and Edmonton but with industries based on local farm products; Medicine Hat, situated on the main line of the Canadian Pacific and site of the largest industrial complex of southeastern Alberta; Saint Albert, a suburb of Edmonton; Fort McMurray, a railhead on the Athabasca River in the northeast; and Grande Prairie, the site of an oil refinery in northwestern Alberta.
Religion
Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries were among the first Europeans to come to Alberta. Today, the Roman Catholic church and the United Church of Canada, which includes Methodists, Congregationalists, and most Presbyterians, have the largest congregations in Alberta. Other major Christian denominations are the Anglican Church of Canada (Episcopal), and the Lutheran, Baptist, Eastern Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic, Mormon, and Mennonite (including Hutterite) churches. A mosque in Edmonton serves Muslims. Jews support synagogues in Calgary and Edmonton.
Mormons
Early settlers in southern Alberta included a group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as Mormons, from Utah. Late in the l9th century, they established settlements south of Lethbridge. They proved to be excellent farmers and were the first to use irrigation in Alberta. The Mormon communities include Cardston, Raymond, Magrath, and Stirling.
Hutterites
A distinctive religious group, members of the Hutterian Brethren, or Hutterites, came to Alberta from North Dakota in 1918. Most of the Hutterites are of German extraction. The Hutterite movement was founded by Jakob Hutter, an Anabaptist who advocated communal ownership of all property.
There are now more than 9900 Hutterites living in about 100 colonies in the southern part of the province. Each colony numbers about 70 people. They live in large buildings, somewhat like army barracks, and share communal kitchens and dining rooms. All property is owned in common. They operate their own schools, where instruction is centered on the Bible and its teachings, and many of them still speak German in church, school, and home. They are excellent farmers and have substantially increased their landholdings since they came to the province.
Education and Cultural Life
Education
The first schools in Alberta were established by missionaries. As settlers moved into the territory, they were given the right to form school districts, to build schools, and to hire teachers. In 1905, when Alberta became a province, the newly formed department of education undertook general supervision of the existing 560 school districts. As more settlers arrived, more school districts were formed. Later the department organized consolidated school districts. These larger units caused the one-room rural school to disappear from Alberta. Most rural students now attend large, centralized schools.
In Alberta, school attendance is compulsory for all children from the ages of 6 to 16. Most students attend the free public schools, but provision is made for the organization of separate, or parochial, schools, most of which are Roman Catholic. Many of the larger secondary schools are organized as composite high schools, which offer academic, commercial, and industrial arts courses in one institution. In some schools, French is used as the language of instruction for part of the school day.
Higher Education
Alberta has four universities: the University of Alberta at Edmonton, established in 1906; the University of Calgary, which was formerly a branch of the Edmonton campus but became a university in its own right in 1966; the University of Lethbridge, created in 1967; and Athabasca University, created in 1972, a nonresidential institution in Edmonton. A number of church-operated colleges are affiliated with the Edmonton and Calgary campuses. The larger cities have community colleges. Edmonton and Calgary each have a technical college.
In Banff National Park, near Banff, is the Banff School of Fine Arts and Centre for Continuing Education. This institution, associated with the University of Alberta, offers summer courses in painting, drama, music, and ballet. During the rest of the year short courses and conferences are held there.
Libraries
Both Calgary and Edmonton maintain large central public libraries, with a number of branch libraries and mobile libraries that provide service to outlying areas. All the smaller cities have public libraries, and there are also regional libraries in Lacombe and Spruce Grove. There are large libraries in the Legislative Building in Edmonton and at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. Community colleges at Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lac la Biche, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer have created innovative libraries.
Museums
The Provincial Museum and Archives, containing a variety of interesting human and natural history exhibits, is located on the former estate of the lieutenant-governor, in Edmonton. In addition, the city of Edmonton maintains the Historical Exhibits Building, where artifacts and documents of Edmonton's past are displayed. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary, the Galt Museum in Lethbridge, the Luxton Indian Museum in Banff, and many small town museums display artifacts from indigenous peoples and pioneers. The Royal Tyrrel Museum in Drumheller exhibits dinosaur bones and other fossils.
The Calgary Allied Arts Centre, administered by the Calgary Allied Arts Council, houses an art gallery, handicraft rooms, a small concert auditorium, and a drama theater. Similar councils have been set up in Edmonton, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat. There is an art gallery in Edmonton, and art exhibitions are held in the art gallery at the University of Alberta.
Communications
The first newspaper in Alberta was the Edmonton Bulletin, established in 1880. It was followed shortly by the Macleod Gazette. There are nine daily newspapers.
The province is served by 55 radio stations and 12 originating television stations, mostly independent broadcasters. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) stations broadcast from Edmonton and Calgary. Cable television is widespread.
Arts
Calgary and Edmonton support symphony orchestras and theater groups. Banff is the site of an annual spring festival in the performing arts. Edmonton hosts a summer folk festival and an international jazz festival.
Recreation and Places to Visit
National Parks
Alberta has five national parks: Banff National Park, in the Rocky Mountains, is the oldest national park in Canada. It was established in 1885. The resort town of Banff, in the park, is noted for its mineral hot springs. A highway from Lake Louise leads northward through 290 km (180 mi) of spectacular mountain scenery to Jasper National Park.
Jasper National Park is the fifth largest national park in Canada. The resort town of Jasper, in the park, lies on the Canadian National Railways.
Waterton Lakes National Park, in the southwestern corner of Alberta, adjoins Glacier National Park in Montana. Together they form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
Elk Island National Park, east of Edmonton, is mainly a wildlife preserve for buffalo, elk, deer, and moose.
Wood Buffalo National Park straddles the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary. The largest national park in Canada, it is a wildlife refuge for wood buffalo, plains buffalo, and other animals. It is the summer nesting ground of the whooping crane, one of the world's rarest birds.
Provincial Parks
Alberta has developed an extensive system of provincial parks. They include Cypress Hills Provincial Park, south of Medicine Hat, where forested hills and plateaus rise more than 460 m (1500 ft) above the prairie; Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, on the Milk River in the extreme south, where ancient picture writing found on sandstone cliffs is still undeciphered; Dinosaur Provincial Park, where the fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures may be seen in the Badlands region of Red Deer Valley; Vermilion Provincial Park, a swimming and boating resort in the east; and more than 100 other areas.
Other Places to Visit
In Edmonton are the Legislative Building, the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Storyland Valley Children's Zoo, Polar Park, the Edmonton Space Science Centre, and a reconstruction of Fort Edmonton. The Edmonton area is also home to the world's largest shopping center, the West Edmonton Mall, which covers more than 45 hectares (120 acres).
In Calgary are the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, which is a duplicate of the one in Edmonton, Calgary Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Prehistoric Park, Heritage Park, the Calgary Tower, and the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery.
Provincial forestry roads connect Coleman in the south with Nordegg and Hinton in the foothills west of Red Deer. These roads afford spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains. Near Lethbridge, there is a historical site called Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, a cliff that indigenous peoples used to kill bison as early as 3000 BC. The indigenous peoples chased the buffalo off the 10-m (33-ft) cliff while others waited at the bottom to kill them.
Annual Events
Alberta's most famous annual event is the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, held every July in Calgary. This rodeo includes the spectacular Chuckwagon Races. Also held in July are Edmonton's Klondike Days, a restaging of the historic gold rush of 1898, and Buffalo Days Powwow which features three days of dancing, drumming, and special displays in July. Calgary holds an Oktoberfest in the fall. Wetaskiwin hosts international snowmobile championship races in February. In Banff there is the Festival of Fine Arts from June to September.
Sports
Alberta is home to four major sports teams. The two National Hockey League teams are the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers, and the two Canadian Football League teams are the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos.
Government
Alberta is represented in the Canadian Parliament by 26 elected representatives in the House of Commons and by 6 senators, chosen by the federal government, in the Senate.
Executive
The lieutenant-governor, appointed by the federal government to represent it, is the nominal head of the provincial government, with largely ceremonial duties. All legislation must bear the signature of the lieutenant-governor to become law, but the signature is seldom refused.
Executive power resides in the premier and the cabinet. The premier is the leader of the party that can command a majority in the assembly. The cabinet is appointed by the premier from elected members of that body. Most cabinet ministers head a government department. The premier and cabinet hold office only so long as they retain the confidence of a majority of the assembly, as expressed in its votes.
Legislative
The legislative assembly is Alberta's lawmaking body. Its 83 members are elected to office for five years, but a new election must be called if the government resigns or if the premier so advises the lieutenant-governor. Legislative sessions are usually held twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. Special sessions may be called by the lieutenant-governor.
Judicial
Alberta has two higher courts—the court of appeal and the court of queen's bench—for each of which the federal government selects a chief justice and a panel of justices. The 17 justices, including the chief justice, of the court of appeal hear all appeals from the lower courts. The court of queen's bench tries criminal and civil cases, and its judges, numbering about 60, have jurisdiction over wills, estates, and bankruptcy claims. There are also provincial, family, and youth courts, with about 100 judges appointed by the provincial government. They hear minor criminal and civil cases, including family and juvenile litigation, traffic cases, and small claims.
Local Government
All incorporated municipalities of Alberta have the same general form of local government—a chief elected official, usually a mayor or reeve, and a council. Council members are elected for three-year terms. A population of at least 10,000 is needed for incorporation as a city. A population of 1000 is needed for incorporation as a town. Villages must include at least 300 separate and occupied dwellings to qualify for incorporation. Sparsely settled rural areas are administered as municipalities or "improvement districts" by the provincial government.
Politics
Alberta was governed for its first 16 years by the Liberal Party. However, as farming people, when the vast majority of Albertans saw their earnings decline in the years after World War I ended in 1918, they turned to an independent farmers group, the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), for leadership. The UFA became a political party, and it governed the province for 14 years, from 1921 until 1935. In the 1930s, during a period of severe economic depression, a new movement, Social Credit, won popular favor. Social Credit proposed to redistribute personal income with government help and to curb the power of banks. It defeated the UFA in 1935 and remained in power for 36 years, gradually becoming more conservative. In 1971 it was succeeded by a government of Progressive Conservatives.
History
Anthony Henday, a fur trader and member of the Hudson's Bay Company, was probably the first white person to reach what is now Alberta. When he explored the foothills of the Rockies in 1754, he encountered many different indigenous peoples. The Cree and Chipewyan lived in the woodlands north and west of the plains and depended on forest animals for food and clothing. The Blackfoot, Assiniboine, and Plains Cree lived on the grass-covered prairies and survived by hunting buffalo.
Fur Trade
Traders from the Hudson's Bay Company encouraged these North American Indians to trade with the company and conducted a profitable business in furs. In the 1780s Scottish and French fur traders from Montréal, assisted by American adventurers, journeyed to the Canadian northwest to seek their fortunes. With them they brought firearms, axes, knives, iron pots and kettles, blankets, and cloth to exchange for furs. These independent traders harassed the Hudson's Bay Company by intercepting trappers bound for the company's posts. In 1783 organized competition to the company began when a group of Montréal merchants formed the North West Company and established trading posts in the west.
The intense rivalry that sprang up between the two companies hastened exploration of the territory. The explorer Alexander Mackenzie followed the Mackenzie River northward to the Arctic Ocean in 1789. Four years later he set out from Alberta on his famous voyage to the Pacific Ocean, which he reached by way of the Peace, Finlay, and Bela Coola rivers. David Thompson explored and mapped much of Alberta between the Bow River and the Peace River, and later crossed the Rocky Mountains and followed the Columbia River to its mouth.
The rivalry between the two fur-trading companies ended in 1821, when they merged under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company. For the next 50 years the company was the only authority in the Canadian west, which was then called Rupert's Land.
First Settlers
After 1821 settlers began to arrive in the territory. Among the first were fur traders who chose to make their homes there. They were followed, in the 1840s, by missionaries, who worked to avert conflict between indigenous peoples and the settlers. The Methodists were first represented by Robert Rundle, who spent eight years in central Alberta, ministering to traders and métis. Early in the 1860s, George McDougall and his son John, both Methodist ministers, established missions among the indigenous peoples of the woodlands and foothills, just west of Calgary. John McDougall was instrumental in bringing some of the first cattle into the foothills. During this period three Roman Catholic missions were established near Fort Edmonton, two of them at Lac Sainte Anne and one at Saint Albert. Albert Lacombe, the priest who founded the Saint Albert mission in 1853, spent more than 60 years in central and southern Alberta and was one of the first to encourage farming among the settlers. The first Anglican missionary, William Newton, went to Alberta in 1875. He was followed in the next decade by both Presbyterian and Baptist missionaries.
Settlement
In 1867, when Canada became a dominion of Great Britain, the dream of a united British North America stretching from coast to coast came close to realization. Two years later the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to sell its rights in the northwest to the federal government. Manitoba joined the Dominion of Canada as a province in 1870, and British Columbia joined in 1871, but areas between the provinces remained virtually without government.
Independent whiskey traders from Montana took advantage of this situation to set up trading posts, where they exchanged whiskey for furs. This trade led to lawlessness and disorder. It came to a halt after the organization of the North West Mounted Police (now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in 1873 and the subsequent founding of posts at Fort Macleod, Calgary, and Fort Saskatchewan, 29 km (18 mi) east of Edmonton. Government was restored to the region by the establishment, in 1875, of the Northwest Territories Council, with headquarters at Battleford, Saskatchewan. For administrative purposes, the Northwest Territories south of latitude 60° north were organized in 1882 into the four districts of Assiniboia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Athabasca, with the council seat in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The disappearance of the whiskey trade attracted more settlers to Alberta. The new settlements and the accompanying increase in the slaughter of buffalo, however, posed a serious threat to the livelihood of the indigenous peoples who lived on the plains. In 1877 the Canadian government and the indigenous peoples south of the Red Deer River signed a treaty whereby the indigenous peoples forfeited their general rights to the land and agreed to live on reservations in return for certain gifts and annuities. In 1876 and 1899 similar treaties were concluded with the indigenous peoples of the North Saskatchewan River valley and with those north of the Athabasca River.
In 1885 an uprising of métis and indigenous peoples broke out in the district of Saskatchewan. The rebellion was short-lived, and Alberta was not seriously affected, since the powerful Blackfoot nation under Chief Crowfoot refused to join the rebels.
In the 1870s settlers began to bring large herds of cattle and sheep to the southern foothills, and for the next generation the ranchers were successful in raising cattle. In the 1880s homesteaders began to trickle into the territory. By 1883 the Canadian Pacific Railway had reached Calgary on its way across the mountains to the west coast. Two years later, Canada's first transcontinental trains were passing through Alberta. Toward the end of the 19th century Canadian Pacific branch lines were built between Calgary and Fort Edmonton, through the fertile Parklands, and between Calgary and Fort Macleod. These and other lines made much of central and southern Alberta accessible to settlers. By 1901, Alberta had a population of about 73,000.
Province of Alberta
In 1905 the four southwestern districts of the Northwest Territories, below latitude 60° north, were reorganized into two provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Alberta held its first elections that same year, and in 1906 the legislature convened in Edmonton, which had been chosen as the provincial capital. Alexander Cameron Rutherford, a member of the Liberal Party, served as premier. The Liberals remained in office until 1921.
Under the Liberals
Between 1905 and 1922, two major railroads, later united as the Canadian National Railways, were built across the province and were fed by numerous branch lines. Settlers poured into the province. By 1911, the total population had climbed to 374,295, a gain of more than 300,000 in ten years. Although World War I checked Alberta's further population growth by shutting off the flow of European immigrants, the farmers enjoyed prosperity because of the high wartime price of wheat. By 1921 the Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) were one of the world's main wheat-growing areas.
Under the United Farmers
After the war the price of wheat fell sharply. The farmers in Alberta formed a radical political party, the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), which won the provincial election of 1921. Under UFA administration the province generally prospered until the 1930s, when the effects of the world economic depression, together with a series of prolonged droughts, were felt in Alberta. Farm prices again fell rapidly, and the UFA government was unable to cope with the resulting financial difficulties.
Under Social Credit
The depression generated interest in new ideas, such as a redistribution of income. In the early 1930s Scottish economist Clifford Douglas proposed the use of government grants, which he called "social credit," during a visit to Canada. He convinced William Aberhart, a Calgary school principal and lay teacher. Aberhart became the leader of the new Social Credit Party, which generally adopted Douglas's doctrines and also proposed to curb the power of banks. Eventually Aberhart promised each Albertan a monthly social dividend of $25.
In 1935 the party was swept into office. Aberhart became premier. The federal government prevented the party from testing its monetary ideas. The party did, however, improve local government, education, health care, highways, and the control of credit. After Aberhart died in 1943, he was succeeded by Ernest C. Manning. Manning governed conservatively, on the basis of the precedents established by Aberhart. When Manning retired in 1968, he was succeeded by Harry E. Strom.
Alberta was changing, however, as a result of the growth of an oil industry after World War II ended in 1945. In 1971 the Progressive Conservatives, led by Peter Lougheed, were swept into office, and in 1982, with only three of its members left in the provincial legislature, the Social Credit Party abandoned the political scene.
Oil, Gas, and Postwar Prosperity
In 1947 a large oil field was found at Leduc, south of Edmonton. Even larger oil and also natural gas finds followed at Redwater and Pembina. Transportation was improved, pipelines were built to the United States and across Canada, and support industries were developed. Edmonton became an industrial and refining center, as well as a supply center for the north. Calgary became a business and financial center as well as a supplier for the farms of the south. Agriculture and food processing remained important, but Alberta became increasingly industrial and urban, needing new housing, better transportation, and more social services. The provincial government became increasingly dependent on revenues from oil and gas leases and royalties on production to pay for social services.
During the 1970s additional large deposits of natural gas were found, a major new oil field was found at West Pembina, and the first significant extractions of oil began from the Athabasca tar sands. As a result of the sharp rises in world oil prices in 1973 and 1974, and again in 1979 and 1980, a major dispute arose between the provincial and federal governments over the price to be charged for Alberta's oil. While oil consumers wanted cheap oil, oil producers and the provinces that depended on oil royalties for revenue wanted high-price oil. In 1981 an agreement was reached whereby prices would be allowed to rise gradually to 75 percent of the world level and the federal share of royalties would be increased. In the mid-1980s Alberta's economy fell into a depression when world prices for oil and wheat both plummeted. However, in 1988 Calgary got an economic boost when it hosted the Winter Olympics.
The Progressive Conservative government that had come to power in 1971 under Peter Lougheed devoted its efforts to fiscal reform, environmental protection, and the improvement of social services for the elderly and people with disabilities. Lougheed retired as premier in 1985 and was succeeded by Donald Getty.
At the start of the 1990s, the oil and gas industry remained the foundation of Alberta's economy. Oil exploration was somewhat depressed, however, because of unstable crude oil prices. The natural gas industry was enjoying a boom in sales. In politics, Getty and the Conservatives held their majority in 1989 but their portion of the popular vote had declined. Getty worked to reform the federal Senate to give the western provinces more equal representation and to have the senators popularly elected. In September 1992 Getty announced his retirement as premier and party leader, and Ralph Klein succeeded him. Klein and the Progressive Conservatives won a majority in the legislative assembly in 1993.