Edmonton Capital Region

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The Edmonton Capital Region (ECR), also known as Greater Edmonton or the Alberta Capital Region, comprises Alberta's provincial capital of Edmonton and surrounding communities in Sturgeon County(north), Parkland County (west), Specialized Municipality of Strathcona County (east) and Leduc County (south). A small portion of Lamont County also lies within the ECR just to the northeast. Up to 35 independent municipalities make up Edmonton's CMA outside the City of Edmonton itself. The largest of these are St. Albert, Sherwood Park (part of the Municipality of Strathcona County), Spruce Grove, Leduc, and Fort Saskatchewan. Towns include Stony Plain, Beaumont, Morinville, Devon, Redwater, Legal, Gibbons, Calmar, Bruderheim, Lamont and Bon Accord. Major industrial areas include Nisku in Leduc County and the recently established Alberta Industrial Heartland, northeast of Fort Saskatchewan.

Elk Island National Park lies within the eastern part of the Edmonton Capital Region. It is a remaining patch of natural parkland, which is now largely destroyed in this region by extensive agricultural and other human activities. Herds of wood bison and elk can be seen roaming in the national park. Also beaver, moose and other animals make their home in Elk Island National Park.

The ECR's boundaries are the same as that of Edmonton CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) as outlined by Statistics Canada. The total area of the CMA is 9,418 km² - the largest CMA by area in Canada. The population of the ECR and Edmonton CMA is 1,034,945 as per the 2006 census by Statistics Canada. The population of the ECR is expected to reach 1.25 million by 2020 and 1.5 million by 2033.

The ECR is also a part of the Statistics Canada Division No. 11 in Alberta. but unlike the census division, it is important to note that the ECR itself does not include Wetaskiwin County and the MD of Brazeau as does Division No. 11.

In the past until the late 1960s, Edmonton has annexed a few surrounding communities which are now neighbourhoods, including Beverly, Jasper Place, and most famously, Strathcona (annexed by Edmonton in 1912), whose downtown is now the Old Strathcona historical district centered on Whyte (82) Avenue. Edmonton has attempted in the past to annex Sherwood Park and St. Albert, but without success to date.

The ECR is fragmented in terms of regional cooperation and partnership, and that has played a role in the history of Edmonton and the surrounding region. The City of Edmonton is pushing for greater cooperation among the surrounding municipalities within the Capital Region.

The Edmonton Capital Region is considered a major gateway to northern Alberta and the Canadian North, particularly for many companies, including airlines and oil/natural gas exploration. Located at 53°34′N 113°31′W, it is the northernmost metropolitan area in Canada and is also located near the geographical centre of Alberta. The ECR is at the northern end of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, one of four major economic regions which comprise 50% of Canada's total population.

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[edit] Communities

Municipalities Population Year
Cities
Edmonton 730,372 2006
Fort Saskatchewan 14,957 2006
Leduc 16,967 2006
Spruce Grove 19,496 2006
St. Albert 57,719 2006
Towns
Beaumont 8,961 2006
Bon Accord 1,534 2006
Bruderheim 1,215 2006
Calmar 1,959 2006
Devon 6,256 2006
Gibbons 2,642 2006
Lamont 1,664 2006
Legal 1,192 2006
Morinville 6,775 2006
Redwater 2,192 2006
Stony Plain 12,363 2006
Villages
New Sarepta 410 2006
Thorsby 945 2006
Wabamun 601 2006
Warburg 621 2006
Rural Districts
Leduc County 12,730 2006
Parkland County 29,265 2006
Sturgeon County 18,621 2006
Specialized Municipalities
Strathcona County[1] 82,511 2006
First Nations Reserves
Enoch Cree Nation #1440 1,418 2006

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Divided into Sherwood Park (2005 population: 55,063) as an Urban Service Area and the rest of Strathcona County outside Sherwood Park as a Rural Service Area (2005 population: 25,169).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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