Edmonton

Edmonton, Alberta

Edmonton, city, capital of Alberta, Canada. It lies along the North Saskatchewan River in the centre of the province, 185 miles (300 km) north of Calgary. Transportation has been the cornerstone of the settlement and development of Edmonton. The North Saskatchewan River was a major conduit for the historic fur trade, which established trading posts near what is now Edmonton. The advent in the early 1900s of railways and later of roads, oil and gas pipelines, and an international airport transformed the city into a transportation centre known as the “Gateway to the North.” It is the service and supply centre for the oil industry as well as the petrochemical centre for western Canada. Area 264 square miles (684 square km); metro. area, 3,640 square miles (9,427 square km). Pop. (2011) 812,201; metro. area, 1,159,869; (2021) 1,010,899; metro. area, 1,418,118.