Edmonton
Edmonton is The City of Champions
Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta, and is located on the Saskatchewan River in the Edmonton Capital Region. The area around Edmonton has been inhabited since 3,000 BC and possibly as early as 12,000 BC. In the late 1700s Fort Edmonton was built to enable the Hudson’s Bay Company to establish the fur trade with the aboriginal population. The establishment of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 resulted in a vast number of settlers and entrepreneurs arriving in Edmonton, transforming the small settlement into a bustling city in just a few short decades. Today Edmonton has grown in to the second largest city in Alberta with a robust and varied range of entertainment, dining, and recreation.
Located on the South side of the river is the Arts District centered around Churchill Square (named in honor of Sir Winston Churchill). Named the cultural capital of Canada in 2007, Edmonton provides a wide variety of entertainment including the performing arts, festivals, museums and galleries, extravagant night life, and many different professional sport organizations.
One of the most popular yearly festivals is K-Days, which dates back all the way to 1879. Visitors to the festival will hear live music by famous artists, have the opportunity to pan for gold in Klondike Park, eat a wide variety of foods, and enjoy various amusement park rides for ten full days. Several museums are also located within the Arts District including the Royal Alberta Museum, the largest, which houses over 10 million objects in its various collections showcasing the culture, practices, and survival methods of the local aboriginal tribes of the region.
Local sports is also a large part of life in Edmonton. The city hosts professional sports teams from the Canadian Football League, National Hockey League, National Lacrosse League, International Basketball League, North American Soccer League, Canadian Junior Football League, as well as local university-level sports teams and local amateur teams.
Due to its strategic location within Canada, Edmonton has become one of the best locations for distribution and logistics. Companies such as CN Rail’s North American operate facilities enabling the handling and distribution of incoming freight to all areas of Canada. Edmonton has traditionally been a center for the petrochemical industries, earning the city the nickname “The Oil Capital of Canada”. Reported to be the second largest in the world, the oil, gas, and oil sands reserves located around Edmonton have spawned a plethora of industries associated with research, development of new technologies, distribution, and retrieval of the natural resources.
Edmonton’s technology sectors are viewed as Canada’s premier research and education centers. Educational institutions such as the University of Alberta and government initiatives established by the Alberta Research Council and Edmonton Research Park are continually advancing technology used within industries and in the everyday life of Edmonton’s citizens.
A study conducted in 2007 by FDi magazine named Edmonton as having the “best economical potential” of any North American city. Edmonton’s economical potential, infrastructure, resources, standard of living, and location make it one of the most attractive locations to thriving business and a strong work force.
