Balzac, Alberta

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Balzac is a hamlet in southern Alberta, in the Municipal District of Rocky View.

Balzac is two miles north of the city of Calgary's northern limits (north of the Calgary International Airport). As of summer 2006, the City of Calgary was in the process of negotiating with the municipality for possible annexation of lands immediately south of Balzac - specifically south of Provincial Highway 566 and west of Highway 2. Annexation discussions are ongoing. A map showing lands being proposed for annexation can be found on this webpage.

A Canadian Pacific Railway station began operating at Balzac in 1910. It was named by William Cornelius Van Horne, then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, after one of his favourite authors, Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) a noted French novelist. The post office here was opened in April 1, 1912 under the name “Beddington” and was changed on July 1, 1925.

[edit] Balzac is comprised of

• Balzac General Store (with restaurant and gas station)
• Many businessess
• Recent announcements include a horse racing facility, an equestrian college campus and a multi-million dollar regional shopping centre - scheduled to be the largest in the Calgary Region.

[edit] External links

• Municipal District of Rocky View's official website
• Rocky View's Profile (2005 Community Profile of the Year) on Alberta First
• Calgary-Edmonton Corridor in Alberta