Alberta

Alberta, the westernmost Prairie Province of Canada, is one of North America’s greatest oil-producing regions. About two-thirds of Canada’s petroleum comes from oil sands deposits and oil wells that dot Alberta’s rolling plains. About three-fourths of Canada’s natural gas is from huge deposits that lie near oil fields. Pipelines carry Alberta’s oil and natural gas throughout Canada and into the United States. Alberta’s major oil fields lie in the central and northern parts of the province.

Petroleum has helped make Alberta prosperous. Oil and natural gas production fees and leases make up the provincial government’s greatest source of income. They have paid much of the cost of Alberta’s hospitals, roads, schools, and other public works. Industries related to petroleum and natural gas production provide a large share of the personal income of Alberta’s people. Service industries, however, provide the greatest source of personal income. The province’s standard of living is among the highest in Canada.

Alberta also has other resources, including more than half of the known coal deposits of Canada. Other minerals found in the province include natural gas liquids, sand and gravel, and sulfur. Alberta’s mining production accounts for about half of the national total.

Alberta is also a leading province in agriculture. In many areas of the province, vast fields of golden wheat can be seen extending to the horizon. Among the provinces, Alberta ranks second, behind only Saskatchewan, in its production of canola and wheat. Alberta also produces more beef cattle than any other Canadian province.

The production of chemicals is the leading manufacturing activity in Alberta. Petrochemicals (chemicals made from petroleum) and fertilizer are the province’s chief chemicals.

Millions of tourists visit the province yearly. The most popular attractions are the majestic, snow-capped Canadian Rockies along the province’s western border. There lie three of Alberta’s five national parks—Banff, Jasper, and Waterton Lakes. Lake Louise, which is surrounded by the Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park, is one of the most popular scenic attractions in Canada. Many vacationers go to the province’s northern forests to hunt bears, caribou, deer, elk, and moose, or to fish in the sparkling lakes and streams. Others stay at dude ranches in Alberta’s cattle country. Tourists visit the forts, missions, and trading posts that were built during Alberta’s fur-trading days. Winter skiing in the Canadian Rockies is also an attraction. Unusually clear skies give Alberta many hours of sunshine throughout the year, earning it the nickname Sunny Alberta.

The name of the province dates from 1882. During that time, the Canadian government decided to divide the region of land lying between Manitoba and British Columbia into four territorial districts—Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabaska, and Saskatchewan. The Alberta district was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, a daughter of Queen Victoria. The princess was married to the Marquess of Lorne, the Canadian governor general. The princess’s first name was given to what is now Alberta’s most famous lake, Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

For Alberta’s relationship to the other provinces of Canada, see the World Book articles on Canada; Canada, Government of; Canada, History of.

People

Population.

The 2021 Canadian census reported that Alberta had 4,262,635 people. The figure represented an increase of about 5 percent over the 2016 census total of 4,067,175 people.

Most of Alberta’s people live in the southern part of the province. Calgary is Alberta’s largest city, followed by the province’s capital, Edmonton. For further information, see the separate articles on the cities and towns of Alberta listed in the Related articles at the end of this article.

About 85 percent of Alberta’s people live in urban areas. Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer are the only cities in Alberta with populations of more than 100,000. Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge have Alberta’s only Census Metropolitan Areas as defined by Statistics Canada. For the populations of the province’s cities, towns, and other populated places, see the Index to the political map of Alberta.

About 75 of every 100 Albertans were born in Canada. About half of the rest of Alberta’s people came to the province from countries in Asia. Alberta’s largest population groups consist of people of English, German, Irish, and Scottish descent. Other ethnic groups in the province consist of people of Dutch, French, First Nations, Polish, and Ukrainian descent. First Nations make up one of three main Indigenous (native) groups in Canada, along with the Inuit and the Métis.

Approximately 102,000 people of First Nations ancestry live in Alberta. About 40,000 of them live in areas called Indian reserves. First Nations people in Alberta include Blood, Cree, Piikani, and Siksika (North Blackfoot) people. About 76,000 Métis (people with both First Nations and European ancestry) reside in the province. About 17,000 Hutterites live in Alberta, more than in any other province. The members of this community-oriented religious group are successful farmers who lead simple lives. They live in about 200 communities, most in southwestern Alberta or northeast of Calgary. Many Hutterite families include nine or more children. The Hutterites came to Alberta from South Dakota in 1918. See Hutterites.

Schools.

Missionaries established the first schools in the Alberta area during the mid-1800’s. A public school system was set up in the province in 1884. Today, Alberta has public and private schools; francophone schools, in which French is spoken; separate schools, which are either Roman Catholic or Protestant; charter schools, which operate under local control according to special contracts called charters; and schools that serve Alberta’s First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.

Elected boards of trustees administer the public, separate, and francophone school systems. Private schools are organized by private groups and offer a variety of academic, religious, special needs, or language instruction. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis schools operate under the supervision of Indigenous Services Canada, a federal agency. Public, separate, francophone, charter, and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis schools are supported by taxes. Private schools receive funding from private sources. Accredited private schools may qualify for partial provincial funding. Parents may also choose home education programs supervised by a school board or an accredited private school.

Alberta Education, which is headed by the minister of education, oversees education from early childhood through high school. Alberta law requires all children from the ages of 6 to 16 to attend school.

Libraries and museums.

Alberta has many public libraries throughout the province. The University of Alberta in Edmonton, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge have large academic libraries.

The Glenbow Museum in Calgary features exhibits on the history of Alberta and western Canada. The Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton also has exhibits on Alberta’s cultural and natural history. The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, in Drumheller, has a large collection of complete dinosaur skeletons. TELUS World of Science-Edmonton has exhibits on science, as well as a planetarium, an observatory, and an IMAX theater. Fort Edmonton Park, in Edmonton, features re-creations of Edmonton streets from different periods in the city’s history. Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village near Edmonton educate visitors about life in pioneer villages. Fort Calgary, in Calgary, has re-creations of historic buildings, including a barracks (living area) originally built in 1888. The Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston has horse-drawn vehicles from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. The Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin exhibits old-time automobiles, farm equipment, and aircraft. Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer have art galleries.

Visitor’s guide

Every year, millions of visitors come to Alberta from all over the world. Vacationers are especially attracted by the province’s world-famous national parks in the majestic Canadian Rockies. Tourists may ride horseback or enjoy boating, golfing, swimming, and whitewater rafting amid spectacular scenery. Mountain climbers face the challenge of Alberta’s jagged slopes. In winter, skiers skim down mountain slopes in such areas as Banff, Jasper, and Kananaskis.

Trails for hikers lie throughout the province. Each year, many vacationers travel to northern Alberta to fish in the province’s sparkling lakes and streams for grayling, trout, pike, and walleye. Many other tourists stay at guest ranches and farms. The Calgary Stampede is one of Alberta’s most popular annual events. This 10-day rodeo is held in Calgary each July.

Land and climate

Land regions.

Alberta has four main land regions. They are (1) the Canadian Shield, (2) the Saskatchewan Plain, (3) the Alberta Plain, and (4) the Rocky Mountains and Foothills. These regions increase in altitude toward the Canadian Rockies in the southwest.

The Canadian Shield

is a vast, horseshoe-shaped region that covers almost half of Canada and extends into the United States. This hilly section, made up of ancient granites and other rocks, covers a small part of the northeastern corner of Alberta. Most of the region lies less than 1,000 feet (300 meters) above sea level. The lowest point in Alberta, 557 feet (170 meters) above sea level, is along the Slave River. The region has forests of coniferous (cone-bearing) trees and many lakes. It is thinly populated. See Canadian Shield.

The Saskatchewan Plain

is part of the Western Interior Plains, the Canadian section of the North American Great Plains. Pine and spruce forests cover much of this gently rolling region. Alberta’s bituminous sands (sands that contain a substance from which oil can be obtained) are found along the lower Athabasca River. The Saskatchewan Plain lies less than 2,000 feet (610 meters) above sea level.

The Alberta Plain,

another part of the Western Interior Plains, is the province’s largest land region. It covers about two-thirds of Alberta. Most of this region has an altitude of more than 2,000 feet (610 meters). Pine and spruce forests cover the northern part of the Alberta Plain. Grasslands with some aspen groves lie near Grande Prairie and north of the Peace River between the North Saskatchewan River and Grimshaw. The area between the North Saskatchewan River and the Red Deer River is called the Parklands. This area has groves of aspen trees within grasslands. It is Alberta’s chief farming region and one of the most productive in Canada. It has rich soils and regular rainfall. Parklands farms produce such crops as barley, canola, and wheat, as well as livestock. To the south, the Alberta Plain ranges from gently rolling to flat grassland. There, wheat and other grains grow well, and ranchers raise cattle and some sheep.

The Rocky Mountains and Foothills

extend through western North America between Northern Alaska and New Mexico in the United States. They are part of the great Cordilleran mountain chain that reaches to the southern tip of South America. In Alberta, the Canadian Rockies rise along the Great Divide, which forms the province’s southwestern border with British Columbia (see Great Divide). Mount Columbia, the highest point in Alberta, rises 12,294 feet (3,747 meters). The Twins (north peak 12,085 feet, or 3,684 meters, and south peak 11,675 feet, or 3,559 meters) tower over Jasper National Park. Thirty other mountains in the region are higher than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters).

The Canadian Rockies have some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. The snow-capped peaks consist of bare, jagged rock. Thick growths of aspens, balsam firs, pines, poplars, and spruces cover the northern foothills. They provide much lumber and pulpwood for Alberta’s forest industries. The rugged Rockies attract many mountain climbers. The Rockies also appeal to people who enjoy sport fishing in the high lakes and streams or hunting mountain goats and sheep in designated areas. Banff, Jasper, and Waterton Lakes national parks are in this beautiful region. Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park of the United States together form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. It was the first such park in the world.

Rivers and lakes.

Northern and north-central Alberta are drained by the Athabasca, Hay, and Peace rivers and their tributaries. In warm weather, barges and tugboats operate on the Athabasca River. They can travel as far as the Arctic. The North Saskatchewan River and its branches, including the Battle and Vermilion rivers, drain the Parklands in south-central Alberta. The North Saskatchewan River rises in the Columbia Icefield, which lies in Banff and Jasper national parks and in British Columbia. The Columbia Icefield measures 100 square miles (260 square kilometers) and consists of glaciers made of ice that may be hundreds of years old. Most of Alberta’s major rivers originate in the mountains. Their water comes mostly from melting snow and glaciers.

Lake Athabasca is the largest lake in Alberta. A third of this 3,064-square-mile (7,935-square-kilometer) lake lies in northeastern Alberta, and the rest is in Saskatchewan. Other large lakes in Alberta include Lake Claire in the northeast and Lesser Slave Lake in the central region. Beautiful Lake Louise in Banff National Park is Alberta’s most famous lake.

Plant and animal life.

Forests cover about half the province, mainly in the north and west. Important trees include balsam fir, balsam poplar, Douglas-fir, jack pine, lodgepole pine, quaking aspen, tamarack, and black, white, and Engelmann spruce. Flowers in Alberta bloom from early spring, when crocuses appear, to autumn, when frost withers the goldenrods and asters. The provincial flower, the prickly rose (also called the prickly wild rose), grows throughout the province. Purple fireweeds, which thrive on scorched forestlands, quickly cover the woodlands after a fire. Blueberries, chokeberries, highbush cranberries, raspberries, saskatoons, and strawberries grow over much of the countryside.

Alberta lies along three of the major North American flyways used by birds migrating between their winter and summer homes (see Bird (How birds migrate)). Many kinds of songbirds live in the river valleys. Game birds, especially ducks and geese, nest on lakes and sloughs throughout the province.

Alberta has many native mammals, including several species of ground squirrels. Snowshoe hares are found throughout Alberta. Pronghorns and mule and white-tailed deer are common in the grasslands of Alberta. Black bears, caribou, chipmunks, elk, moose, mule deer, tree squirrels, and white-tailed deer can be found in the forests. Bighorn sheep, elk, grizzly bears, mountain goats, mountain lions, and mule deer inhabit the mountains. Bears, beavers, coyotes, ermines, fishers, foxes, lynxes, martens, minks, muskrats, squirrels, wolves, and wolverines are common in the northern half of the province. Some native people in northern Alberta make a living by trapping these animals for fur.

Important species of fish in the lakes and rivers of Alberta include grayling, pickerel, pike, trout, and whitefish. Several species of reptiles inhabit the southern parts of the province. But these animals are less common in the cooler northern areas.

Climate.

Alberta has long, cold winters and short, warm summers. Temperatures in both summer and winter are generally much lower in the north than in the south. January temperatures in the province average 12 °F (–11 °C), and July temperatures average 61 °F (16 °C). Precipitation (rain, melted snow, and other forms of moisture) averages 18 inches (46 centimeters) yearly. Annual snowfall averages about 50 inches (127 centimeters).

Economy

As in much of Canada, the Alberta region’s early economy was based chiefly on the fur trade. Agriculture became important during the early 1900’s. Petroleum and natural gas became important sources of income during the late 1940’s. Today, Alberta has a diversified economy built on agriculture and resource-based industries. Service industries, taken together, account for about half of Alberta’s gross domestic product (GDP)—the total value of all goods and services produced in the province in a year.

Natural resources.

Alberta’s fertile soil helps produce plentiful crops. Its vast mineral deposits supply important industries. The provincial government owns most of the mineral and forest resources, and enforces strict regulations to protect them and the land.

Soil.

The brown soil of Alberta’s south-central and southeastern prairies, which gets little rain, requires irrigation. The rich, dark-brown or black soil of the prairies farther north receives more rain and produces much of Alberta’s grain. The Parklands have the richest topsoil, much of it 1 foot (30 centimeters) thick. The uplands and northern forests have gray soil.

Minerals.

Alberta may have billions of barrels of oil in underground pools. After an oil well has been drilled, provincial laws require the oil companies to remove the drilling rig and restore the land to its former state.

In the Athabasca River Valley, oil sands, also called bituminous sands or tar sands, are so soaked with oil that a person gets oily handling them. First Nations people and fur traders once used these sands to make their canoes watertight. Extracting oil from the oil sands is complicated and costly. However, improved exploration methods and extraction technology since the 1990’s have made oil production there more promising. The oil sands deposits are among the world’s largest known reserves. Alberta also has tens of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas underground, most of it near oil fields.

Most of Canada’s known coal reserves lie in Alberta. Coal beds extend from the foothills of the Rockies through much of the central and southern plains. Most of Alberta’s deposits consist of soft forms of coal called bituminous coal and subbituminous coal.

Sand and gravel are found throughout the province. Fine limestone occurs on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and clay and shale are plentiful in the Medicine Hat area. Thick salt beds are found in the northeast and near Edmonton.

Service industries,

taken together, account for about half of Alberta’s gross domestic product. Alberta’s service industries are concentrated in the Calgary and Edmonton metropolitan areas. Edmonton, the provincial capital, is the center of government activities. Hotels, restaurants, and other service industries benefit from the millions of tourists who visit the province each year. Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains and the cities of Calgary and Edmonton rank among Alberta’s leading tourist destinations.

Many of the service industries center around Alberta’s natural resources. Finance, insurance, and real estate benefit greatly from income brought in by Alberta’s petroleum and gas industries. For example, each year the provincial government collects billions of dollars in royalties from petroleum companies, which it invests in the province’s financial institutions. Alberta’s wholesale trade is based mainly on the distribution of food and mined products. The province exports large amounts of petroleum and natural gas to the United States.

Mining.

Petroleum and natural gas account for the vast majority of Alberta’s mining income. Alberta produces more natural gas and more oil than any other province. Alberta’s major oil fields are at Judy Creek, Pembina, Rainbow Lake, Redwater, and Swan Hills.

Alberta has two large plants that produce petroleum from oil sands. These plants lie near Fort McMurray in the Athabasca River Valley. Smaller plants operate at Cold Lake and Peace River. Since the 1990’s, the Fort McMurray area has grown rapidly, as major oil companies have moved in and attracted workers from Canada and around the world.

Pipelines carry natural gas and petroleum throughout Alberta and to the east, south, and west. Gathering lines transport the fuels within Alberta and feed them into cross-country lines. The Interprovincial Pipeline starts in Redwater, near Edmonton, and carries Alberta oil east to Montreal. The Trans Mountain Pipeline system carries oil southwest from the Edmonton area to Burnaby, British Columbia. Alberta pipelines feed natural gas into the Trans-Canada Pipeline, which extends from the Alberta-Saskatchewan border to Montreal. All these pipelines have branches into the United States. In addition, a network of pipelines carries natural gas from Alberta to California.

Coal, sand and gravel, and sulfur are also important mined products. Mining operations in southern Alberta produces much of Canada’s yearly coal output. Most of the coal is obtainable by surface mining. Much of Alberta’s sand and gravel production occurs in the south-central part of the province. Most of Alberta’s sulfur comes from processing natural gas. Sulfur is used in the manufacture of paper and fertilizer.

Manufacturing.

Much of Alberta’s manufacturing is dedicated to processing its agricultural, forest, and mined products. Meat packing is the leading type of food processing in Alberta. The Calgary area is a major center of Canada’s meat-packing industry. Other important products include baked goods, dairy products, snack foods, and soft drinks. Sawmills, which are mainly in the northern part of the province, produce lumber and other wood products.

Alberta’s main chemical products are petrochemicals and fertilizers. Petrochemicals are produced from petroleum and include such compounds as ethylene and methanol. Edmonton, Fort McMurray, and Scotford have oil refineries. Oil and gas industry equipment accounts for a large part of Alberta’s machinery production. Fabricated metal production is also important to the province.

Agriculture.

Farmland covers about a third of the land area. Beef cattle are the leading farm product in Alberta. The heaviest concentration of cattle ranches lies in a wide belt that begins north of Calgary and extends to the U.S. border. Alberta has more beef cattle than any other province. Farmers in Alberta also raise large numbers of dairy cattle, hogs, and chickens.

Canola and wheat are the leading crops in Alberta. Canola, which is used to make cooking oil, is grown throughout the province. Wheat is also grown throughout much of the province, but especially in the south. Only Saskatchewan produces more canola and wheat.

Forestry.

Alberta has vast timber resources. Forests cover about 60 percent of Alberta’s land area. Forests grow primarily in the northern and western parts of Alberta. Softwoods, such as spruce and pine, are the most valuable species. Aspen hardwoods are also important. The provincial government regulates timber harvesting.

Electric power and utilities.

Coal and natural gas are the chief fuels for power plants in the province. Renewable power sources also produce small amounts of Alberta’s electric power. These sources include water, wind, and organic waste products.

Transportation.

Alberta has a fine highway system. The Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway, two branches of the Trans-Canada Highway system, cross Alberta from east to west. The North/South Trade Corridor provides an important connection between northern Alberta and markets in the southern part of the province.

Major airports at Calgary and Edmonton offer both domestic and international service. Alberta also has other regional airports with scheduled service. Many small airports handle cargo traffic for northern Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon. Calgary is the headquarters for WestJet, one of Canada’s largest airlines.

Alberta has an excellent system of railroads. Two transcontinental rail lines, the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, cross the province from east to west. Together with several short line railroads, they connect Alberta’s exporters of grain, coal, and forest and petroleum products with western ports. The head office of the Canadian Pacific is in Calgary.

Water transportation declined after the province’s fur-trading days but increased after the discovery of petroleum in Alaska and the Northwest Territories. In warm weather, barges carry freight on the Athabasca River and the Slave River, which link northern regions of Alberta with the northern part of the Northwest Territories. In winter, airplanes equipped with landing skis and other special equipment are used to haul freight on frozen lakes and rivers.

Communication.

The first newspaper in the Alberta region was the Edmonton Bulletin, published from 1880 to 1951. Today, the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal are the largest daily newspapers. The Calgary Sun and the Edmonton Sun also have large circulations.

Government

Lieutenant governor

of Alberta represents the British monarch, Canada’s official head of state, in the province. The lieutenant governor is appointed by Canada’s governor general in council—the governor general of Canada acting with the advice and consent of the Cabinet—for a period of at least five years.

Premier

of Alberta is the actual head of the provincial government. Alberta, like Canada itself, has a parliamentary form of government. The premier of the province is an elected member of the legislature, called the Legislative Assembly. The person who serves as Alberta’s premier is usually the leader of the party holding the most seats in the Legislative Assembly.

The Executive Council includes ministers who are chosen by the premier from among members of the premier’s party in the Legislative Assembly. Each minister directs one or more departments of the provincial government. The premier and the Executive Council resign if they lose the support of a majority of the Legislative Assembly.

Legislative Assembly

of Alberta is a one-house legislature that makes provincial laws. It has 87 members, each of whom is elected from a separate electoral district called a constituency. The members’ terms may last up to four years. However, the lieutenant governor, on the advice of the premier, may call for a general election before the end of the four-year period. If this is done, all members of the Assembly must run again for office.

Courts.

The highest court in Alberta is the Court of Appeal. It hears only appeals in civil and criminal cases. The Court of Appeal has the chief justice of Alberta and 13 full-time justices of appeal. The Court of King’s Bench hears all cases involving murder, treason, and other major crimes. This court has a chief justice, two associate chief justices, and 65 other full-time justices. Judges of Alberta’s Court of Appeal and the Court of King’s Bench are appointed by the governor general in council. Judges may serve until the age of 75.

Provincial court judges hear criminal, civil, family, traffic, and youth cases and are appointed by the lieutenant governor in council—that is, acting with the advice of the Executive Council. The Alberta Court of Justice consists of a chief judge, a deputy chief judge, 9 assistant chief judges, and over 100 judges.

Local government.

Alberta has about 350 rural, urban, and specialized municipalities. Rural municipalities cover a large majority of Alberta’s area. Specialized municipalities are municipalities with a unique structure designed to meet local needs. An elected council governs each of Alberta’s municipalities. Every council must have a chief elected officer (CEO) and a deputy CEO. The CEO is appointed in some municipalities and elected in others. The deputy CEO is appointed from among the elected councilors.

Other units of local government in Alberta include improvement districts and special areas. Improvement districts exist in areas that lack enough people and tax income to support an independent local government. Alberta Municipal Affairs and local advisory councils administer the improvement districts. The special areas consist of a region in southeastern Alberta that was badly affected by drought in the early 1900’s. When many farmers left their farms, the provincial government acquired the land. It then created the Special Areas Board to govern the region. The board has many of the same responsibilities that governing councils have in Alberta’s municipalities. An elected advisory council assists the Special Areas Board.

Revenue.

Taxation accounts for about two-fifths of the provincial government’s general revenue (income). Much of the general revenue comes from the government’s charges for rights to petroleum deposits. In the past, some of this money was invested in a special fund. Investments made with the fund’s money continue to provide revenue. Like other provinces, Alberta receives financial aid from the federal government. Alberta is the only province with no sales tax.

Politics.

Since Alberta became a province in 1905, four provincial parties have controlled much of its political life—the Liberal Party, the United Farmers of Alberta, the Social Credit Party, and the Progressive Conservative (PC) party. The United Farmers of Alberta won control of the government in the 1920’s, when agriculture dominated the economy and prices for farm products were low. Voters frustrated by the economic effects of the Great Depression elected the Social Credit Party in 1935. Today, political parties in Alberta include the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the United Conservative Party (UCP).

History

Early inhabitants.

When Europeans first arrived in the Alberta region, the Blackfoot (also called Blackfeet) Nation lived in the southern prairies and foothills. It consisted of the Blood, Piegan, and Siksika (North Blackfoot) peoples. The Sarcee, their allies, also lived in the south. The Cree lived in the northern forests. Other First Nations of the Alberta region included the Beaver, the Gros Ventre, and the Stonies, a branch of the Assiniboine.

The fur trade.

In 1670, King Charles II of England granted fur-trading rights in the Alberta region to an English company called the Hudson’s Bay Company. The region was part of a vast territory called Rupert’s Land. The first European known to visit the Alberta region was Anthony Henday, an English fur trader and explorer. In 1754, the Hudson’s Bay Company sent Henday to promote trade with the Blackfoot people. He stayed with the Blackfoot that winter and returned to York Factory, on Hudson Bay, in 1755. See Henday, Anthony; Hudson’s Bay Company.

In 1778, Peter Pond, of the United States, built a fur-trading post near Lake Athabasca. During the 1780’s, the North West Company, formed by fur traders in Montreal, began to compete with the Hudson’s Bay Company. The firms competed in the Alberta region until they combined in 1821. See North West Company.

In 1788, Roderick Mackenzie, a fur trader, established Fort Chipewyan. His cousin Alexander Mackenzie traveled from this post to the Arctic Ocean in 1789 and to the Pacific Ocean in 1793 (see Mackenzie, Sir Alexander). Between 1789 and 1812, the geographer David Thompson made surveys in the Alberta region that provided the first good map of the Canadian Northwest.

Missionary activity.

During the mid-1800’s, most of the settlers in the Alberta region were traders and Métis. Missionaries converted many First Nations people. They also introduced schools and attempted to persuade First Nations people and Métis to settle permanently and begin farming.

Robert T. Rundle, a Methodist, was the first missionary in the region. He arrived in 1840 and stayed until 1848. Two other Methodist leaders, George McDougall and his son John McDougall, arrived in the Alberta region in 1863. A priest named Jean Thibault established Alberta’s first Roman Catholic mission in 1843 in Lac Ste. Anne. In 1852, Albert Lacombe, another Catholic priest, began working among the First Nations and Métis. Lacombe founded the town of St. Albert in 1861.

Early settlement.

In 1870, the Hudson’s Bay Company gave up Rupert’s Land to the British government, which then transferred it to the newly formed Dominion of Canada. The dominion paid the company $1 ¹/₂ million and permitted it to keep large areas of the plains. Later in 1870, Canada established the North-West Territories, which included the Alberta region and the rest of the former Rupert’s Land.

At this time, traders from Montana were carrying on an illegal liquor trade with First Nations people in the North-West Territories. To stop this trade and to prepare the way for peaceful settlement of the region, the Canadian government organized the North-West Mounted Police, also called the Mounties (see Royal Canadian Mounted Police (History)). The Mounties established their first post in the Alberta region in 1874 at Fort Macleod. They soon stopped the illegal trade and won the confidence and respect of the Indigenous people. Within a few years, local First Nations and the Canadian government signed three treaties. Treaty No. 6, signed in 1876, and Treaty No. 7, signed in 1877, gave the Canadian government the central and southern parts of Alberta in return for reserve lands, annual payments, and promises of future assistance for the First Nations. Treaty No. 8, signed in 1899, gave the northern half of Alberta to Canada on similar terms.

By 1883, about 500 settlers, most of them cattle ranchers, were living in the Alberta region. That year, the Canadian Pacific Railway linked Calgary with cities in eastern Canada. The North West Rebellion of 1885, an uprising of First Nations people and Métis led by Louis Riel, caused great alarm in the Alberta region. However, the only violence in the area was the killing of nine white people by First Nations people at Frog Lake. See North West Rebellion.

A new province.

Opportunities for settlement in the Alberta region drew thousands of farmers from eastern Canada, the United States, and Europe. In 1905, the Canadian government established the province of Alberta. Alexander C. Rutherford, a Liberal politician, became the first premier. Alberta’s first major oil discovery was made in 1914, in Turner Valley.

After World War I (1914-1918), many farmers lost their land because of drought and low prices on farm products. The United Farmers of Alberta, a new political party, won control of the provincial government from the Liberal Party in 1921. The new party received support from the farmers, who felt it could best protect their interests. Prosperity returned soon. The provincial government improved and expanded education, highways, and public health programs.

Low farm prices during the Great Depression of the 1930’s led to another new party taking power in Alberta. The Social Credit Party, led by William Aberhart, was elected in 1935. It had promised to solve the problems of the Depression. The new government did pass laws to control banking and credit, but the federal government declared these laws unconstitutional.

The mid-1900’s.

Alberta prospered during World War II (1939-1945). Farmers raised grain and livestock to help meet the food needs of the Allies. Mining and manufacturing increased with the production of war goods.

In 1947, petroleum and natural gas were discovered at Leduc, near Edmonton. The discoveries led to widespread industrialization that changed Alberta’s economy. The province owned most of the mineral rights in the land and received income from leases, rentals, and royalties (shares of the profits). Alberta used the money to expand its hospitals, roads, schools, and other public works. In 1957, the province paid its citizens a dividend from its oil income. Every adult who had lived in Alberta for at least five years received $20. In 1958, the provincial government paid a dividend of $17.50.

In 1954, for the first time, the combined value of Alberta’s mining and manufacturing became greater than that of agriculture. As industrialization increased, thousands of workers came to Alberta from other provinces, Europe, and the United States. Alberta’s population increased greatly in the late 1950’s and became mostly urban instead of rural. In 1945, less than a fourth of the people lived in Calgary or Edmonton. By 1966, about half the people lived in those two cities.

In 1958, James Gladstone of Alberta became the first First Nations member of the Canadian Senate. Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker had recommended his appointment.

The coal industry had begun to decline in the 1950’s. Railroads switched from coal to diesel fuel as diesel locomotives replaced steam engines. Also, natural gas and fuel oil replaced coal in many heating systems. In 1962, coal production in Alberta dropped to a record low. But in 1967, Japan became a new market for coal, and coal production started to increase.

In 1967, Alberta’s first plant to remove oil from the bituminous sands of the Athabasca River Valley was completed. The Alberta “resources railway” went into operation in 1969. This 235-mile (378-kilometer) line extends from Grande Prairie to Brûlé. It opened undeveloped land in northern Alberta so that industry could reach mineral deposits and timber. The Alberta portions of the Trans-Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Highway also were completed during the 1960’s.

The late 1900’s.

In 1971, the Progressive Conservative party won a general election. Its victory ended 36 years of Social Credit Party government.

In the 1970’s and early 1980’s, Alberta experienced great industrial expansion. The province’s vast oil deposits attracted many new industries, and thousands of people from other parts of Canada came to Alberta to find jobs. A second plant to remove oil from Alberta’s bituminous sands opened in 1978.

Calgary and Edmonton grew rapidly due to the expansion of retail trade, tourism, and other service industries. The 1988 Winter Olympic Games were held in Calgary. Calgary also became the headquarters of the national Reform Party of Canada, founded in 1987. The Reform Party, which called for more attention to the western provinces, was dissolved in 2000.

The early 2000’s.

In 2006, Stephen Harper, a former leader of the Reform Party and a Conservative member of Parliament from Calgary, became prime minister of Canada. Progressive Conservative Alison Redford served as the first woman premier of Alberta from 2011 to 2014.

Heavy rainfall caused historic flooding in southern Alberta in June 2013. More than 25 communities, including Calgary, declared a local state of emergency. Several people died, and tens of thousands were displaced from their homes.

In 2015, the New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Rachel Notley, won a general election in Alberta for the first time. The NDP’s victory followed more than 40 years of Progressive Conservative government in the province.

In May 2016, raging wildfires in northeastern Alberta forced the evacuation of nearly 90,000 people from the Fort McMurray area. Thousands of homes were destroyed. Oil sands production in the area also shut down temporarily, dealing a setback to Canada’s petroleum industry.

In 2017, the Progressive Conservatives and the Wild Rose Party, another conservative party, combined to form the United Conservative Party (UCP). The UCP, led by Jason Kenney, won Alberta’s next general election, held in 2019. Danielle Smith became the leader of the UCP and the premier of Alberta after Kenney resigned in 2022. Also in 2022, the Legislative Assembly passed a controversial sovereignty act providing a framework for Alberta to disregard federal laws it considered unconstitutional or harmful to the province. Smith led the UCP to victory in a general election in 2023.