Portal:Alberta/Selected article/6
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alberta (IPA: /ælˈbɝtə/) is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.
Alberta is located in Western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, Northwest Territories to the north, and by the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of two provinces (the other being New Brunswick) to border only a single U.S. state. It is also one of two provinces that are land-locked (the other being Saskatchewan).
The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Calgary is a major distribution and transportation hub as well as being one of Canada's major commerce centres. Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas have now both exceeded 1 million people, Calgary being slightly more populous than Edmonton.[1] Other municipalities in the province include Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Camrose, Lloydminster, Wetaskiwin, Banff, and Jasper.
Since December 14, 2006, the Premier of the province is Hon. Ed Stelmach, Progressive Conservative.
Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Lake Louise, the village of Caroline, and Mount Alberta were also named in honour of Princess Louise.
