Edmonton

Edmonton City Hall is the home of the municipal government for Edmonton.

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.[45] Due to McCauley's good relationship with the federal Liberals, Edmonton maintained economic and political prominence over Strathcona, a rival town on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River.[45] Edmonton was incorporated as a city in 1904 and became Alberta's capital in 1905.

In 1904, the City of Edmonton purchased the Edmonton District Telephone Company for $17,000 from Alex Taylor (businessman), a Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and politician. Amalgamated into a city department as City of Edmonton Telephone Department, City Telephone System (CTS), 'edmonton telephones'. In 1989, City Council voted to create Edmonton Telephones Corporation to operate as an autonomous organization under a board of directors appointed by the city. In 1995, City of Edmonton ownership of its telephone service ended when ED TEL was sold to the Telus corporation. City Bylaw 11713 created The Ed Tel Endowment Fund whereas the shares owned by Edmonton Telephones Corporation in Ed Tel Inc. were sold by the City of Edmonton to Telus on March 10, 1995 for $470,221,872 to be invested for the perpetual benefit of Edmontonians.

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, 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: East, Kinney, Sam McCoppen, Rice Sheppard and Joe Clarke.

The City used Single Transferable Vote (STV), a form of proportional representation, for elections from 1923 to 1927, in which councillors were elected at large with ranked transferable votes.

Labour representation on city council became a near-majority in 1929, and a full majority from 1932 to 1934, during the Great Depression.[46] Jan Reimer became the city's first female mayor when she was elected in 1989.[47][48]

Winters in Edmonton are typically cold and dry.

Edmonton has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) and falls into the NRC 4a Plant Hardiness Zone.[56]

Summer in Edmonton lasts from June until early September, while 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 9 to September 22;[57][58] and on average there are 135-140 frost-free days a year.[57][59] At the summer solstice, Edmonton receives 17 hours and three minutes of daylight, with an hour and 46 minutes of civil twilight,[60] and on average receives 2,299 hours of bright sunshine[61] per year, making it one of Canada's sunniest cities.[57]

The city is known for having cold winters, though its weather is milder than Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg,[62] all of which are south of Edmonton. Its average daily temperatures range from a low of −10.4 °C (13.3 °F) in January to a summer peak of 17.7 °C (63.9 °F) in July,[57] with average maximum of 23.1 °C (73.6 °F) in July and minimum of −14.8 °C (5.4 °F) in January.[63] Temperatures can exceed 30 °C (86 °F) for an average of four to five days anytime from late April to mid-September and fall below −20 °C (−4 °F) for an average of 24.6 days in the winter. The highest temperature recorded in Edmonton was 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) on June 29, 1937[64] and on July 2, 2013, a record high humidex of 44 was recorded due to an unusually humid day with a temperature of 33.9 °C (93.0 °F) and a record high dew point of 23 °C (73.4 °F).[65][66] The lowest temperature ever recorded in Edmonton was −49.4 °C (−56.9 °F) on January 19 and 21, 1886.[67]

Edmonton has a fairly dry climate. On average, it receives 455.7 mm (17.94 in) of precipitation, of which 347.8 mm (13.69 in) is rain and 111.2 mm (4.38 in) is the melt from 123.5 cm (48.6 in) of snowfall per annum.[57] Precipitation is heaviest in the late spring, summer, and early autumn, with the wettest month being July, having a mean precipitation of 93.8 mm (3.69 in),[57] and the driest months being February, March, October, and November.[57] Significant snowfall accumulation typically begins in late October and tapers off by late April. Dry spells 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.[57] Much of the precipitation that Edmonton receives in the summer comes from thunderstorms,[68] which can be frequent and occasionally severe enough to produce large hail, damaging winds, funnel clouds, and tornadoes.

The summer of 2006 was particularly warm for Edmonton, as temperatures reached 29 °C (84 °F) or higher more than 20 times from mid-May to early September. The winter of 2011–12 was particularly warm:from December 22, 2011 through March 20, 2012 there were 53 occasions when Edmonton saw temperatures at or above 0.0 °C (32.0 °F) at the City Centre Airport, and even warmer in the city proper.[69][70][71][72]

A massive cluster of thunderstorms swept through Edmonton on July 11, 2004, with large hail and over 100 mm (4 in) of rain reported within an hour in many places.[73] 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 evacuated as a precautionary measure.[74]

Tornadoes in and around Edmonton happen occasionally. Twelve tornadoes had been recorded in Edmonton between 1890 and 1989,[75] and eight since 1990.[76] An F4 tornado that struck Edmonton on July 31, 1987, killing 27, was unusual in many respects, including severity, duration, damage, and casualties.[77][78] It is commonly referred to as Black Friday due both to its aberrant characteristics and the emotional shock it generated.[79] Then-mayor Laurence Decore cited the community's response to the tornado as evidence that Edmonton was a "city of champions," which later became an unofficial slogan of the city.[1][80]

Downtown Edmonton is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region.

Edmonton is at the centre of Canada's sixth-largest census metropolitan area (CMA),[85] which includes Edmonton and 34 other municipalities in the surrounding area.[86] Larger urban communities include Sherwood Park (an urban service area within Strathcona County), the cities of St. Albert, Beaumont, Leduc, Spruce Grove and Fort Saskatchewan, and the towns of Stony Plain, Morinville, and Devon.[87] Major employment areas outside 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)[88] in Leduc County, the Acheson Industrial Area in Parkland County, Refinery Row in Strathcona County and Alberta's Industrial Heartland[89] within portions of Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County.[90] Alberta's Industrial Heartland also extends beyond the CMA's northeastern boundary[13] into Lamont County.[90]

The individual economic development interests and costs of service delivery in certain municipalities within the region have 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[91] or annex portions of its neighbours,[92] the city has not absorbed another municipality since the Town of Jasper Place joined Edmonton on August 17, 1964,[93] and the city has not annexed land from any of its neighbours since January 1, 1982.[94] After years of mounting pressure in the early 21st century, the Province of Alberta formed the Capital Region Board (CRB) on April 15, 2008.[95] The CRB consists of 24 member municipalities – 22 of which are within the Edmonton CMA and two of which are outside the CMA. The City of Edmonton announced in March 2013 its intent to annex 156 square kilometres of land (including the Edmonton International Airport) from Leduc County.[96]

On November 30, 2016, the City of Edmonton and Leduc County came to an agreement on Edmonton's annexation proposal. The City of Edmonton was poised to annex 29,900 acres (121 km²) of land from Leduc County and Beaumont, including the Edmonton International Airport, as a result.[97]

On January 1, 2019, the City of Edmonton officially annexed 8,260 ha (82.6 km²) from Leduc County and the City of Beaumont, increasing the city's area to 767.85 km² (296.47 sq mi), with discussions of annexing an additional 2,830 ha (28.3 km²) of Edmonton International Airport land still ongoing.[8]

Victoria Promenade in the residential neighbourhood of Oliver. The neighbourhood borders downtown Edmonton.

Edmonton is divided into 375 neighbourhoods[98] within 7 geographic sectors—a mature area sector, which includes neighbourhoods that were essentially built out before 1970,[99] and six surrounding suburban sectors.[100]

Edmonton's Downtown is within the city's mature area or inner city.[100] It and the surrounding Boyle Street, Central McDougall, Cloverdale, Garneau, McCauley, Oliver, Queen Mary Park, Riverdale, Rossdale, Strathcona and University of Alberta form Edmonton's Central Core.[99] Oliver and Garneau are the city's most populated and most densely populated neighbourhoods respectively. The mature area sector also contains the five former urban municipalities annexed by the city over its history: Beverly, Jasper Place, North Edmonton, Strathcona and West Edmonton (Calder).[17][100]

Larger residential areas within Edmonton's six suburban sectors,[100] each comprising multiple neighbourhoods,[101] include Heritage Valley, Kaskitayo, Riverbend, Terwillegar Heights and Windermere (southwest sector); The Grange, Lewis Farms and West Jasper Place (west sector); Big Lake (northwest sector); Castle Downs, Lake District and The Palisades (north sector); Casselman-Steele Heights, Clareview, Hermitage, Londonderry and Pilot Sound (northeast sector); and Ellerslie, The Meadows, Mill Woods and Southeast Edmonton (southeast sector).[102] Mill Woods is divided into a town centre community (Mill Woods Town Centre)[103] and eight surrounding communities:[104] Burnewood, Knottwood, Lakewood, Millbourne, Millhurst, Ridgewood, Southwood, and Woodvale.[105][106] Each has between two and four neighbourhoods.[101]

Houses in Crestwood, a residential neighbourhood typical of most suburban areas of Edmonton.

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).[107] Another TOD, Century Park,[108] 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.[109]

Row housing in Blatchford

The Edmonton City Centre Airport is being redeveloped into a sustainable community of 30,000 people called Blatchford, comprising a transit-oriented mixed use town centre, townhouses, low, medium and high rise apartments, neighbourhood retail and service uses, renewable energy, district heating and cooling, and a major park.[110] The first residents moved into Blatchford in November 2020.[111]

Edmonton has four major industrial districts: the Northwest Industrial District, the Northeast Industrial District, the Southeast Industrial District, and the emerging Edmonton Energy and Technology Park,[112] which is part of Alberta's Industrial Heartland.[113] The northwest, northeast and southeast districts each have smaller industrial areas and neighbourhoods within them.[101][112]

The city has established 12 business revitalization zones: 124 Street and Area, Alberta Avenue, Beverly, Downtown, Chinatown and Little Italy, Fort Road and Area, Inglewood, Kingsway, North Edge, Northwest Industrial, Old Strathcona and Stony Plain Road.[114]

According to the 2016 census, 55.8% of Edmonton's population were of European ethnicities, the most frequent of which included the English (16.8%), Scottish (13.8%), German (13.6%), Irish (12.5%), Ukrainian (10.8%), French (9.4%), and Polish (5.1%) origins.[149] Other ethnic groups and origins included, among others:[149]

• Canadian (17.4%);
• East and Southeast Asian (15.9%) (7.4% Chinese, 6.2% Filipino, and 1.5% Vietnamese);
• South Asian (9.5%) (7.4% Indian);
• Aboriginal (6.4% (4% First Nations and 2.7% Métis);
• African (6.1%);
• Latin, Central and South American (2.3%);
• West Central Asian and Middle Eastern (4% (1.5% Lebanese)); and
• Caribbean (1.4%).

The 2016 census also reported that 37.1% of Edmonton's population identified themselves as visible minorities.[150] The most frequent visible minorities included South Asian (9.5%), Chinese (6.3%), Black (5.9%), Filipino (5.9%), and Arab (2.6%).[150]

Edmonton is home to members of a number of world religions. According to the 2011 Canadian Household Survey, 59.1 percent of metropolitan Edmonton residents identify as Christian. Significant religious minorities include Muslims (4.1 percent), Sikhs (1.8 percent), Buddhists (1.5 percent), Hindus (1.4 percent), Jewish people (0.3 percent), and practitioners of traditional Aboriginal spirituality (0.2 percent). Those belonging to smaller religions account for 0.5 percent, while 31.1 percent profess no religious affiliation.[151]

Within Christianity, major denominations include the Roman Catholic Church (44.4 percent of self-identified Christians) and the United Church (10.5 percent).[151] Edmonton is home to four major cathedrals, with St. Joseph's Basilica seating the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, All Saints' Cathedral seating the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, St. Josaphat Cathedral seating the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and St. John Cathedral seating the Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Western Canada. Additionally, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are served by the Edmonton Alberta Temple.

In the 1930s, the local Muslim community began organizing to build a mosque. A local Muslim woman, Hilwie Hamdon, met with the mayor to acquire the land, and campaigned to raise $5,000 for the building. In 1938, Abdullah Yusuf Ali was present at the opening of the new Al-Rashid Mosque, which became the first mosque established in Canada and the third in North America.[152] In the 1980s, Muslim students at the University of Alberta found it difficult to rent prayer rooms large enough to accommodate the local population, and opened the Muslim Community of Edmonton as a mosque and outreach centre in 1992.[153] From these beginnings, Muslims now form the city's largest religious minority, with 46,125 members (2011)[151] representing over 62 ethnic backgrounds[154] at over 20 Edmonton-area mosques (2019).[155]

Edmonton's Jewish community is represented by the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, operating the historic Edmonton Jewish Cemetery, purchased in 1907. The city contains six synagogues.[156][157] The oldest, Beth Israel, was established in 1912 and served as home of Canada's first Jewish day school. Other Abrahamic religions active in Edmonton include the Baháʼí Faith, operating a Baháʼí Centre in Norwood, and Druze, with its Canadian Druze Centre located in the Northwest Industrial District.[158][159]

St. Joseph's Basilica is the only basilica in Western Canada. In 2011, 26.2 percent of residents of Edmonton identified as Catholic.

Edmonton also hosts a Maronite Catholic church, on 76 Avenue/98 Street, with services in English on Saturdays and Arabic on Sundays. The Hindu Community in Edmonton is served by the Hindu Society of Alberta[160] (North Indian Temple) and the Maha Ganapathy Society of Alberta (South Indian Temple).[161] The Sikh community in Edmonton is served by four gurdwaras. Edmonton is also home to two of Alberta's five Unitarian Universalist congregations – the Unitarian Church of Edmonton[162] and the Westwood Unitarian Congregation;[163] the other three are located in Calgary, Lethbridge, and Red Deer.[164]

West Edmonton Mall is the largest shopping mall in the Americas.

Edmonton is home to several shopping malls and the largest mall in North America, West Edmonton Mall, which is also considered to be the 10th largest mall in the world.[178][179] Other mentionable malls include Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre, Edmonton City Centre (a combination of the former Edmonton Centre and Eaton Centre malls), Southgate Centre, Kingsway Mall, Northgate Centre, Riverview Crossing, Londonderry Mall, and Mill Woods Town Centre.[180]

Edmonton also has many big box shopping centres and power centres. Some of the major ones include South Edmonton Common (one of North America's largest open air retail developments),[181] Mayfield Common, Westpoint, Skyview Power Centre, Terra Losa Centre, Oliver Square, Southpark Centre, The Meadows, Christy's Corner, Currents of Windermere, and Manning Village.[182]

In contrast to suburban centres, Edmonton has many urban retail locations. The largest of them all, Old Strathcona, includes many independent stores between 99 Street and 109 Street, on Whyte Avenue and in the surrounding area.[183] Old Strathcona also houses the city's largest indoor farmer's market with over 130 vendors selling local and regional produce, meat, crafts, and clothing year-round.[184] In and around Downtown Edmonton, there are a few shopping districts, including the Edmonton City Centre mall, Jasper Avenue, and 104 Street. Near Oliver, 124 Street is home to a significant number of retail stores. Edmonton is the Canadian testing ground for many American retailers, such as Bath & Body Works and Calvin Klein.[185]

Francis Winspear Centre for Music is a performing arts centre in downtown Edmonton. The centre is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

The Francis Winspear Centre for Music[186] opened in 1997 after years of planning and fundraising.[187] Described as one of the most acoustically perfect concert halls in Canada, it is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and hosts a wide variety of shows every year. It seats 1,932 patrons and houses the $3-million Davis Concert Organ, the largest concert organ in Canada.[188] Across 102 Avenue is the Citadel Theatre, 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.[189] In 2015 the Citadel Theatre also became home to Catalyst Theatre. On the University of Alberta grounds is the 2,534-seat Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, which had over a year of heavy renovations as part of the province's 2005 centennial celebrations. Both it and its southern twin in Calgary were constructed in 1955 for the province's golden jubilee and have hosted many concerts, musicals, and ballets. On the front of the building is a quote from Suetonius' Life of Augustus: "He found a city built of brick – left it built of marble."

The Old Strathcona neighbourhood is home to the Theatre District, which holds the ATB Financial Arts Barns (headquarters of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival), The Walterdale Playhouse, and the Varscona Theatre (base of operations for several theatre companies, including Teatro la Quindicina, Shadow Theatre, Die-Nasty, Plane Jane Theatre, and Grindstone Theatre!). Edmonton was named cultural capital of Canada in 2007.[190][191] The Ukrainian Dnipro Ensemble of Edmonton, along with other Ukrainian choirs such as the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton, helps preserve the Ukrainian musical culture within the parameters of the Canadian multicultural identity in Edmonton.[192]

Edmonton hosts several large festivals each year, contributing to its nickname, "Canada's Festival City".[1] Downtown Edmonton's Churchill Square host numerous festivals each summer. The Works Art & Design Festival, which takes place from late June to early July, showcases Canadian and international art and design from well-known award-winning artists as well as emerging and student artists. The Edmonton International Street Performer's Festival takes place in mid-July and is the biggest of its kind in North America.[193] The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival takes place in late June and, along with Montreal, were the first jazz festivals in Canada.[194]

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Edmonton plays host to several large festivals each year.

Edmonton's main summer festival is K-Days, formerly Klondike Days, Capital Ex and originally the Edmonton Exhibition.[195] Founded in 1879, the Edmonton Exhibition was originally an annual fair and exhibition that eventually adopted a gold rush theme, becoming Klondike Days in the 1960s.[195] Northlands, the operators, renamed the festival "Edmonton's Capital Ex" or "Capital Ex" in 2006.[195] In 2012 Edmonton Northlands conducted a poll to rename the festival that resulted in changing the name to "K-Days".[195] The Canadian Finals Rodeo was held in Edmonton from 1974 to 2017, but moved to Red Deer in 2018 due to the closure of the Coliseum.[196]

The Edmonton International Fringe Festival, held in mid-August, is the largest fringe theatre festival in North America.[197] Also in August Edmonton hosts the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, the fourth major folk festival in Canada.[198] Other summer festivals in and around Edmonton include the Edmonton Heritage Festival, Taste of Edmonton, Chaos Alberta Festival, Interstellar Rodeo, Big Valley Jambore, Pigeon Lake Music Festival, Edmonton Rockfest, Edmonton International Reggae Jamboree Festival, Edmonton Blues Festival and Cariwest.[199] Edmonton also hosts a number of winter festivals, one of the oldest being the Silver Skate Festival.[200] Others are Flying Canoe Volant,[200] Ice on Whyte and the Ice Magic Festival.[201]

In the city's early days, music was performed in churches and community halls. Edmonton has a history of opera and classical music performance; both have been supported by a variety of clubs and associations. Edmonton's first major radio station, CKUA, began broadcasting music in 1927.[202] The city is a centre for music instruction; the University of Alberta began its music department in 1945, and MacEwan University opened a jazz and musical theatre program in 1980. Festivals of jazz, folk, and classical music are popular entertainment events in the city.[203]

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has existed under various incarnations since 1913. In 1952 the Edmonton Philharmonic and the Edmonton Pops orchestras amalgamated to form the 60-member modern version. The Orchestra performs at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music.[204]

The city also has a vibrant popular music scene, across genres including hip-hop, reggae, R&B, rock, pop, metal, punk, country and electronic. Notable past and present local musicians include Robert Goulet,[205] Tommy Banks, Stu Davis, Tim Feehan, Cadence Weapon, Kreesha Turner, The Smalls, SNFU, Social Code, Stereos, Ten Second Epic, Tupelo Honey, Mac DeMarco, Shout Out Out Out Out, Psyche, Purity Ring, The Wet Secrets, Nuela Charles, Celeigh Cardinal, and Ruth B.[206]

Opened in 1915, the Princess Theatre is the oldest cinema in the city.

There are several key areas of nightlife in Edmonton. The most popular is the Whyte Avenue (82 Avenue) strip, between 109 Street and 99 Street; it has the highest number of heritage buildings in Edmonton,[207] and bars, clubs, and restaurants throughout, but mostly west of Gateway Boulevard (103 Street). Once the heart of the town of Strathcona (annexed by Edmonton on February 1, 1912), it fell into disrepair during the middle of the 20th century.[208] Beginning in the 1970s, a coordinated effort to revive the area through a business revitalization zone produced an area rich with restored historical buildings and pleasant streetscapes.[114] Its proximity to the University of Alberta has led to a high number of restaurants, pubs, trendy clubs, and retail and specialty shops. This area also has two independent movie theatres, the Garneau and Princess, as well as several live theatre, music, and comedy venues.[209]

Downtown Edmonton has undergone a continual process of renewal and growth since the mid-1990s. Many buildings were demolished during the oil boom, starting in the 1960s and continuing into the 1980s, to make way for office towers. There have always been numerous pub-type establishments, hotel lounges, and restaurants. The past decade has seen a strong resurgence in more mainstream venues. Edmonton also has a high demand for pub crawl tours in the city. Various clubs are found along Edmonton's main street, Jasper Avenue. The Edmonton City Centre mall also houses a Landmark Cinemas movie theatre with nine screens. The nonprofit Metro Cinema[210] shows a variety of alternative or otherwise unreleased films every week.

West Edmonton Mall holds several after-hour establishments in addition to its many stores and attractions. Bourbon Street has numerous eating establishments; clubs and casinos can also be found within the complex. Scotiabank Theatre (formerly known as Silver City), at the west end of the mall, is a theatre with 12 screens and an IMAX.[20]

Edmonton's river valley constitutes the longest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America, and Edmonton has the highest amount of parkland per capita of any Canadian city; the river valley is 22 times larger than New York City's Central Park.[211] The river valley is home to various parks ranging from fully serviced urban parks to campsite-like facilities with few amenities. This main "Ribbon of Green" is supplemented by tributary creeks and ravines, particularly the Whitemud Creek, Blackmud Creek, and Mill Creek Ravine. There are also numerous neighbourhood parks located throughout the city, to give a total of 111 km² (27,400 acres) of parkland.[211] 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.[212] 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".[213]

A trail in the North Saskatchewan River valley parks system

Edmonton's streets and parklands also contain 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.[214] Three walnut species – butternut, Manchurian walnut, and black walnut – have survived in Edmonton.[215]

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.[216] 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.[217]

Entry to Larch Sanctuary

The Edmonton & Area Land Trust (EALT) is a charity focused on conserving natural areas in Edmonton and surrounding municipalities. Its first project in Edmonton was conserving Larch Sanctuary,[218] via a 59-acre (0.24 km²) conservation easement with the city, straddling Whitemud Creek south of 23rd Avenue, and containing the only oxbow lake in the city. EALT works with many organizations in Edmonton, and is working to conserve the 233 acres (0.94 km²) of forest and farmland[219] in a loop of the river in northeast Edmonton.

A variety of volunteer opportunities exist for citizens to participate in the stewardship of Edmonton's parkland and river valley. Volunteer programs include River Valley Clean-up, Root for Trees, and Partner in Parks.[220] River Valley Clean-up engages volunteers to pick up hundreds of bags of litter each year.

Interior entrance lobby to the new Royal Alberta Museum

There are many museums in Edmonton of various sizes.[221] The largest is the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM), which was formerly known as the Provincial Museum of Alberta until it was renamed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 2005 Alberta centennial visit. The RAM houses over 10 million objects in its collection and showcases the culture and practices of the diverse aboriginal tribes of the region. In 2018, the building relocated from its location in Glenora to a new building in downtown on 103A Avenue and 97 Street. The museum held a grand opening event and gave out 40,000 free tickets for its first few days of operation.[222]

The Telus World of Science is located in the Woodcroft neighbourhood northwest of the city centre. It opened in 1984 and has since been expanded several times. It contains five permanent galleries, one additional gallery for temporary exhibits, an IMAX theatre, a planetarium, an observatory, and an amateur radio station. The Edmonton Valley Zoo is in the river valley to the southwest of the city centre.[223]

The Alberta Aviation Museum, located in a hangar at the City Centre Airport, was built for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Its collection includes both civilian and military aircraft, the largest of which are a Boeing 737 and two CF-101 Voodoos. It also has one of only 3 BOMARC missiles in Canada.

Fort Edmonton Park is Canada's largest living museum by area.

The Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre[224] is home to the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum. The museum is dedicated to preserving the military heritage and the sacrifices made by the people of Edmonton and Alberta in general. The museum features two galleries and several smaller exhibits. The collection includes historic firearms, uniforms, souvenirs, memorabilia, military accoutrements, as well as a large photographic and archival collection spanning the pre-World War One period to the present. The museum features an exhibit on the role of the 49th Battalion, CEF in Canada's Hundred Days Offensive.

The Telephone Historical Centre is a telephone museum also located in the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre. In addition to a collection of artifacts tracing the history of the telephone, the museum has its own theatre featuring a brief film led by the robot Xeldon.[225] As of April, 2019, the museum is permanently closed.[226]

The Alberta Railway Museum[227] is located in the rural northeast portion of the city. It contains a variety of locomotives and railroad cars from different periods, and includes a working steam locomotive. Since most of its exhibits are outdoors, it is only open between Victoria Day and Labour Day.

The Art Gallery of Alberta is Edmonton's largest art gallery.

Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum, is located in the river valley southwest of the city centre. Edmonton's heritage is displayed through historical buildings (many of which are originals moved to the park), costumed historical interpreters, and authentic artifacts. In total, it covers the region's history from approximately 1795 to 1929 (represented by Fort Edmonton), followed chronologically by 1885, 1905, and 1920 streets, and a recreation of a 1920s midway. A steam train, streetcars, automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles may be seen in operation (and utilized by the public) around the park. The John Walter Museum and Historical Area (c. 1875 to 1901) is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.[228] The University of Alberta operates its own internal Museums and Collections service.[229]

The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is the city's largest single gallery. Formerly housed in an iconic 1970s Brutalist building designed by Don Bittorf,[230] the AGA collection had over 5,000 pieces of art. The former AGA building was demolished in July 2007 to make way for construction of a new facility designed by Randall Stout. It was estimated to cost over $88-million and the amount that Edmonton City Council donated towards its construction was met with some controversy. The AGA officially opened on January 31, 2010.[231] Commercial art galleries can be found throughout the city, especially along the 124 Street/Jasper Avenue corridor, known as the "gallery walk".[232]

Edmonton is home to four artist-run centres all located in the downtown core Harcourt House, Latitude 53, Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective and Society of Northern Alberta Print-Artists (SNAP). The University of Alberta and MacEwan University also have galleries: the Fine Arts Building Gallery[233] and the Mitchell Art Gallery,[234] respectively. The University of Alberta Museums and Collections also has 17 million objects, 29 registered museum collections and occasional exhibitions.[235]

The Edmonton City Council consists of a mayor and twelve councillors serving four-year terms. Each councillor is elected in a ward (electoral district); the mayor is elected at-large. The elections are non-partisan. Council has the responsibility of approving the city's budget, and develops laws and policies intended to promote the health and safety of Edmonton residents. The Council passes all legislation related to the city's police, firefighting, parks, libraries, and electricity, water supply, solid waste, and drainage utilities.

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 following election in October 2010.[246] The most recent election was held in October 2017, and elected members to a four-year term.

Edmonton is home to the Alberta Legislature Building, the meeting place for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

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 Metropolitan 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.[247] In the current 30th Alberta Legislature nearly all of Edmonton's districts are represented by members from the Opposition Alberta New Democratic Party. One of the MLAs, Rachel Notley, is also the Leader of the Opposition.

Edmonton is represented by nine Members of Parliament (MP), with one being elected to represent each of its federal electoral districts.[248] In the current 43rd Canadian Parliament, eight MPs are members of the Conservative Party of Canada, while the remaining MP is part of the New Democratic Party.[249] After the 2019 federal election, Edmonton lacked elected representation in the federal government for the first time since 1980.[250] Compared to the rest of Alberta, Edmonton tends to vote for more left of centre leaning parties. However, due to vote splitting the Conservative Party dominates Edmonton, with Edmonton-Strathcona the only electoral district not to have voted Conservative in the 2019 federal election.

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services Headquarters, Administration Offices, & Number 1 Station

Edmonton Fire Rescue, established in 1892, is a full-time professional firefighting department which provides a variety of services in Edmonton and the surrounding region.[251][252] Some of the service's major tasks include fire suppression, assistance in medical emergencies, watercraft rescues on the North Saskatchewan River, and emergencies which involve hazardous materials.[252] Edmonton Fire Rescue is one of nine Canadian fire departments which are accredited by the Centre for Public Safety Excellence.[253]

The city's police force, the Edmonton Police Service, was founded in 1892, and had approximately 1,400 officers in 2012.[254]

Canadian Forces Base Edmonton is home to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG), the Regular Force army brigade group of 3rd Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. Units in 1 CMBG include Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, two of the three battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and various headquarters, service, and support elements. Although not part of 1 CMBG, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and 1 Field Ambulance are located with the brigade group. All of these units are located at Lancaster Park, immediately north of the city. From 1943, as CFB Namao (now CFB Edmonton/Edmonton Garrison), it was a major air force base.[255] In 1996, all fixed-wing aviation units were transferred to CFB Cold Lake.

The Canadian Parachute Centre was located in the city until 1996, when it was moved to CFB Trenton, Ontario, and renamed the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre.[256] The move of 1 CMBG and component units from Calgary occurred in 1996 in what was described as a cost-saving measure.[257] The brigade had existed in Calgary since the 1950s, and Lord Strathcona's Horse had traditionally been a Calgary garrison unit dating back to before World War I.

Edmonton also has a large army reserve element from 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG), including The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry); 41 Combat Engineer Regiment; HQ Battery, 20th Field Artillery Regiment; and B Squadron of The South Alberta Light Horse, one of Alberta's oldest army reserve units. Despite being far from Canada's coasts, Edmonton is also the home of HMCS Nonsuch,[258] a naval reserve division. There are numerous cadet corps[259] of the different elements (naval, army and air force) within Edmonton as well.

Edmonton is a major air transportation gateway to northern Alberta and northern Canada.[32] The Edmonton International Airport (EIA) is the main airport serving the city.

The EIA provides passenger service to destinations in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The EIA is located within Leduc County, adjacent to the City of Leduc and the Nisku Industrial Business Park. With direct air distances from Edmonton to places such as London in United Kingdom being shorter than to other main airports in western North America,[262] Edmonton Airports is working to establish a major container shipping hub called Port Alberta.[263]

Edmonton serves as a major transportation hub for Canadian National Railway, whose North American operations management centre is located at their Edmonton offices. It is also tied into the Canadian Pacific Railway network, which provides service from Calgary to the south and extends northeast of Edmonton to serve Alberta's Industrial Heartland.

Inter-city rail passenger rail service is provided by Via Rail's premier train, the Canadian, as it travels between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Toronto, Ontario. Passenger trains stop at the Edmonton railway station three days a week in both directions. The train connects Edmonton to multiple stops in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.[264] The train connects Edmonton to multiple stops in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.

Service on the entire Canadian route was temporarily suspended on 31 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[265] Service on the Canadian from Vancouver as far east as Winnipeg, including to Edmonton, resumed on 11 December 2020, with one round trip per week.[265][266]

An ETS bus at the Stadium Station transit centre

The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) is the city's public transit agency, operating the Edmonton Light Rail Transit (LRT) network as well as a fleet of buses.[267] In 2017, ETS served approximately 86,997,466 people; the bus system saw 62,377,183 riders, while the LRT network served 24,620,283 passengers.[268]

From the 1990s to early 2009, Edmonton was one of two cities in Canada still operating trolley buses, along with Vancouver. On June 18, 2008, City Council decided to abandon the Edmonton trolley bus system[269] and the last trolley bus ran on May 2, 2009.[270][271]

Scheduled LRT service began on April 23, 1978, with eight extensions of the network completed since.[272] The original Edmonton line is considered to be the first "modern" light rail line (i.e., built from scratch, rather than being an upgrade of an old system) in North America to be constructed in a city with a population of under one million people.[273] It introduced the use of German-designed rolling stock that subsequently became the standard light rail vehicle of the United States.[274] The Edmonton "proof-of-payment" fare collection system adopted in 1980 – modelled after European ticket systems – became the North American transit industry's preferred approach for subsequent light rail projects.[275] The four-year South LRT extension was opened in full on April 24, 2010, which sees trains travelling to Century Park[276] (located at 23 Avenue and 111 Street), making stops at South Campus and Southgate Centre along the way.[276] A line to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in north-central Edmonton using the same high floor technology of the existing system opened September 6, 2015. Edmonton currently constructing the southeast leg of the Valley Line, which starts in Mill Woods and ends in the downtown core.[277] The southeast portion is expected to open in 2021, after experiencing significant delays.[278] Construction on the second and final phase of the Valley Line, which will extend the line west to Lewis Farms, is expected to commence in 2021.[279] Unlike the Capital and Metro lines, trains on the Valley Line will utilize low-floor technology.[277]

Anthony Henday Drive in Edmonton. The freeway is the main ring road for the city.

A largely gridded system forms most of Edmonton's street and road network.[280] The address system is mostly numbered, with streets running south to north and avenues running east to west. In built-up areas built since the 1950s, local streets and major roadways generally do not conform to the grid system. Major roadways include Kingsway, Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16), Whitemud Drive and Anthony Henday Drive.

The major roads connecting to other communities elsewhere in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan are the Yellowhead Highway to the west and east and Highway 2 (Queen Elizabeth II Highway) to the south.[281][282]

Edmonton maintains over 160 kilometres (99 mi) of multi-use trails; however, most of this is within the river valley parkland system.[283][284]

Edmonton's first power company established itself in 1891 and installed streetlights 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 (ultraviolet disinfection) system at its E. L. Smith Water Treatment Plant.[285]

The Edmonton Composting Facility was the largest co-composting facility in North America by volume and capacity.

The Edmonton Composting Facility, the largest of its type in the world, is also the largest stainless steel building in North America.[286] Among the innovative uses for the city's waste includes a Christmas tree recycling program. The trees are collected each January and put through a woodchipper; this material is used as an addition to the composting process. In addition, the wood chips absorb much of the odour produced by the compost by providing a biofilter element to trap odour causing gaseous results of the process.[287] The composting facility was permanently shut down in 2019 after an inspection found that the structural integrity of its roof was compromised.[288] Edmonton is currently operating a pilot project for Source Separated Organics waste collection, with approximately 8,000 households in thirteen different neighbourhoods participating.[289] The program will be rolled out to the entire city in 2021.[290]

Together, the Waste Management Centre and Wastewater Treatment plant are known as the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence. Research partners include the University of Alberta, the Alberta Research Council, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Olds College.[291]

There are four main hospitals serving Edmonton: University of Alberta Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Misericordia Community Hospital, and Grey Nuns Community Hospital.[292] Other area hospitals include Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert, Leduc Community Hospital in Leduc, Westview Health Centre in Stony Plain, and Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital in Fort Saskatchewan. Dedicated psychiatric care is provided at the Alberta Hospital. The Northeast Community Health Centre offers a 24-hour emergency room with no inpatient ward services. The University of Alberta Hospital is the centre of a larger complex of hospitals and clinics located adjacent to the university campus which comprises the Stollery Children's Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, Cross Cancer Institute, Zeidler Gastrointestinal Health Centre, Ledcor Clinical Training Centre, and Edmonton Clinic. Several health research institutes, including the Heritage Medical Research Centre, Medical Sciences Building, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, and Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, are also located at this site. A similar set-up is also evident at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, which is connected to the Lois Hole Hospital for Women and Orthopaedic Surgery Centre. All hospitals are under the administration of Alberta Health Services, the single provincial health authority that plans and delivers health services to Albertans, on behalf of the Ministry of Health. The Misericordia and Grey Nuns are run separately by Covenant Health.[293]

Edmonton has three publicly funded school boards (districts) that provide kindergarten and grades 1–12. The vast majority of students attend schools in the two large English-language boards: Edmonton Public Schools, and the separate Edmonton Catholic School District.[294] Also, since 1994, the Francophone minority community has had their own school board based in Edmonton, the Greater North Central Francophone Education Region No. 2, which includes surrounding communities. The city also has a number of public charter schools that are independent of any board. All three school boards and public charter schools are funded through provincial grants and property taxes.

Some private schools exist as well, including Edmonton Academy,[295] Progressive Academy[296] and Tempo School.[297]

Edmonton Public Schools is known for pioneering the concept of site-based decision making (decentralization) in Canada, which gives principals the authority, the financial resources and the flexibility to make decisions based on the individual needs of their schools.[298] This initiative has led to Edmonton Public offering a school of choice model in which students have more options as to what school they want to attend to suit their interests, and has led to the creation of alternative programs such as Vimy Ridge Academy, Old Scona Academic and Victoria School of the Arts.[299][300][301] The Edmonton Society for Christian Education[302] and Millwoods Christian School (not part of the former) used to be private schools; however, have both also become part of Edmonton Public Schools as alternative programs.[303][304]

Both the Edmonton Public Schools and the Edmonton Catholic School District provide support and resources for those wishing to homeschool their children.[305]

The University of Alberta overlooks the North Saskatchewan River and downtown Edmonton.

Those post-secondary institutions based in Edmonton that are publicly funded include Concordia University of Edmonton, MacEwan University, King's University, NorQuest College, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and the University of Alberta (U of A).[306] The publicly funded Athabasca University also has a campus in Edmonton.[307][308]

The U of A is a board-governed institution[309] that has an annual revenue of over one billion dollars.[310] In 2011/12, the university had over 38,000 students enrolled within nearly 400 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, as well as over 15,000 students enrolled in its faculty of extension.[311] The U of A is also home to the second-largest research library system in Canada.[312]

In 2010/11, MacEwan University had a total student population of over 43,000 students, including nearly 14,000 full-time students, enrolled in programs offering bachelor's degrees, university transfers, diplomas and certificates.[313] NAIT has an approximate total of 61,200 students enrolled in more than 200 programs[314] while NorQuest College has approximately 8,500 students enrolled in various full-time, part-time and continuing education programs.[315]

Other post-secondary institutions within Edmonton include Newman Theological College, Taylor University College and Seminary[316] and Yellowhead Tribal College, a First Nations college[317] and Campbell College, a vocational school.