CANADIAN RELOCATION
ALBERTA PROFILE

Alberta, most westerly of Canada's three Prairie Provinces, occupying the continental heartland of the western part of the country. With 6,485 square miles of freshwater, Alberta is 756 miles (1,216 kilometres) in extent from north to south and 404 miles across at the greatest width. Area: 255,285 square miles (661,190 square kilometres)

With an estimated population of 4,145,992 f October 1, 2014, it is Canada's fourth-most populous province and most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces. Alberta was established as a district of the Northwest Territories in 1882 and was enlarged to its present boundaries on becoming a province in 1905.

The provincial government has its seat in Edmonton. Following the earliest explorations of fur traders, the settlement of Alberta's plains and parklands led to the development of agriculture. Subsequent exploitation of rich oil, gas, coal, and timber resources led to further population growth, with an increase in urbanization and industrialization. With natural routes to the north, Alberta has become the major jumping-off point for exploration of the Arctic. The scenery of the mountain parks in the west (Banff and Jasper) is internationally renowned.

Alberta has a continental climate, with more sunshine than any other Canadian province. Winters are dry, sunny, and cold, though in the south the Chinook winds, which comprise warm, dry airflows of Pacific origin descending the western slopes of the Rockies, may raise temperatures by 40º F (22º C) in 10 minutes. Summers are warm and wetter (except in drought years), with occasional destructive hailstorms and tornadoes, the latter having increased in frequency in the 1990s.

Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in Canada. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta. In both Red Deer and Edmonton, world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton. There are hundreds of small companies in Alberta dedicated to providing various services to this industry—from drilling to well maintenance, pipeline maintenance to seismic exploration.

The Athabasca Oil Sands have estimated oil reserves in excess of that of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion barrels (250×109 m3). With the advancement of extraction methods, bitumen and economical synthetic crude are produced at costs nearing that of conventional crude. This technology grew and developed in Alberta. Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional methods to extract the bitumen from the Athabasca deposit. With current technology, only 315 billion barrels (50.1×109 m3) are recoverable. Entire towns, like Fort McMurray, have developed because large multinational corporations have taken on the task of oil production.

While Edmonton is considered the pipeline junction, manufacturing, chemical processing, research and refining centre of the province, Calgary is known for its senior and junior oil company head offices.

Major oil fields are found in southeast Alberta (Brooks, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge), northwest (Grande Prairie, High Level, Rainbow Lake, Zama), central (Caroline, Red Deer), and northeast (Athabasca Oil Sands)

Forests cover more than one-half of the surface of the province. Aspen, birch, white spruce, and pines are the principal commercial species and are exploited for lumber, plywood, and pulp.

The Canadian Constitution and the Alberta Act (1905) provide the constitutional framework for the province. In line with other Canadian provinces, Alberta has a lieutenant governor (functioning as representative of the British monarch), an elected legislative assembly, and an executive council.

The lieutenant governor is appointed by the federal government for a five-year term. The premier heads the executive council, which is responsible for administering laws and appropriations approved by the legislature. From 1935 to 1971 the Social Credit Party was dominant. The Progressive Conservative Party thereafter revived to lead the province, with Liberals and New Democrats forming the opposition. In May 2015 the Conservative party suffered a major loss for the first time in 43 years and the NDP formed the next government.

Education is on a 12-grade system and includes a large but separate Roman Catholic school system, tax-supported. The province outlines the school curriculum and maintains general supervision of the elementary and secondary school systems, but administration is through elected school boards.

The School Foundation Program Fund, pooled from provincial grants and local property taxes, provides funds--distributed back to the school boards--for the school systems.

Universities are located in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Athabasca, the latter specializing in distance education, a system of off-campus learning. Institutes of technology in Calgary, Edmonton, and Stony Plain provide extensive vocational training. A network of community and agricultural colleges supplement the system.

The Alberta health insurance plan and the Alberta hospitalization benefit plan provide for health services through payment of an annual premium but with subsidies for low-income families. The Alberta Blue Cross plan and private insurance plans provide for certain supplementary hospital, drug, and other services, while mental hospitals are provided under a special provincial act.

The costs of social assistance programs are borne jointly by federal, provincial, and municipal authorities.

A network of museums and historic parks interpret the natural, historic, and artistic heritage of the province. The Provincial Museum of Alberta was opened in Edmonton in 1967. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary has important collections of history and art, and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller is the world's largest fossil museum, with particularly fine displays of dinosaurs. The latter operates in association with Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks, the first World Heritage Site to be designated for its fossil resources. Other notable institutions include the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village east of Edmonton, the Crowsnest Ecomuseum, Calgary Zoo, and Edmonton's Space Sciences Centre and Art Gallery.

The performing arts are served by the Jubilee auditoriums in Edmonton and Calgary and the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts, which are used by local symphony orchestras and opera and ballet companies and by the Citadel Theatre complex in Edmonton. A lively performance scene exists in less formal settings, with major folk and jazz festivals. Smaller centres are served by provincial educational television and radio. Support for many of the arts is provided by the internationally renowned Banff Centre for Continuing Education, the Provincial Department of Culture and Multiculturalism, and a number of independent funding agencies.

Alberta has the largest area devoted to national parks of any province in Canada. The national parks and several provincial parks are heavily utilized for such recreational activities as downhill and cross-country skiing, mountaineering, camping, hiking, and bird-watching. Ethnic and Indian arts and crafts are featured at such annual events as the Banff Indian Days, the Calgary Stampede, the Edmonton Heritage Festival, and many local fairs and rodeos. Ice skating and curling are important sports during the long winters, and professional ice hockey and football are extremely popular. The 1988 Winter Olympics, held in Calgary, centred world attention on the city and the province.

Alberta's major highways include the Trans-Canada and Yellowhead east-west routes and the Mackenzie and Alaska highways to the north and northwest. Air transport has been used in development of northern resources since 1921; in the late 20th century there were elaborate air charter services as well as scheduled regional, national, and international services. Edmonton and Calgary have international airports.

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