Edmonton Capital Region

The Edmonton Capital Region (ECR), also commonly referred to as the Alberta Capital Region, Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred around Edmonton – Alberta's provincial capital.

The ECR's commonly known boundaries are coincident with those of the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as delineated by Statistics Canada. However, there are a couple variants to the ECR's boundary for different administrative purposes (i.e., the Capital Region Board, the Province of Alberta's regional traffic model, etc.).

The ECR 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 , 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 collectively comprise 50% of Canada's total population.

Edmonton CMA

The Edmonton CMA includes the following 35 municipalities:

• five cities (Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, St. Albert, and Spruce Grove);
• one specialized municipality (Strathcona County, which includes the Sherwood Park urban service area);
• three municipal districts (Leduc County, Parkland County, and Sturgeon County);
• 10 towns (Beaumont, Bon Accord, Bruderheim, Calmar, Devon, Gibbons, Legal, Morinville, Redwater, and Stony Plain);
• four villages (Spring Lake, Thorsby, Wabamun, and Warburg);
• eight summer villages (Betula Beach, Golden Days, Itaska Beach, Kapasiwin, Lakeview, Point Alison, Seba Beach, and Sundance Beach); and
• four Indian reserves for three First Nations (Alexander 134 of the Alexander First Nation, Stony Plain 135 of the Enoch Cree Nation, and Wabamun 133A and 133B of the Paul First Nation).

Contrary to popular local belief, the Edmonton CMA does not include the westernmost portion of Lamont County or Elk Island National Park. It is the province's traffic model for the region that includes the westernmost portion of Lamont County, while Elk Island National Park is immediately adjacent to the Edmonton CMA's eastern boundary.

The total area of the Edmonton CMA is 9,418 square kilometres (3,636 sq mi), which makes it the largest CMA in Canada in terms of area. The population of the Edmonton CMA is 1,034,945 per the 2006 census by Statistics Canada.^[1] The population of the ECR is expected to reach 1.25 million by 2020 and 1.5 million by 2033.

The Edmonton CMA makes up the majority of the Statistics Canada Division No. 11 in Alberta.

Capital Region Board

A fragmentation in regional cooperation and partnership has long played a divisive role within the ECR. Particularly, Edmonton was frustrated that its surrounding municipalities were receiving an increased tax base for major industrial development while not contributing to Edmonton's burden to maintain and build new infrastructure within Edmonton used by the residents and businesses of the surrounding municipalities.

After pulling out of the Alberta Capital Region Alliance (ACRA), Edmonton lobbied the provincial government to establish some form of regional government that would be more effective in fostering regional cooperation between it and its surrounding municipalities. As a result, Premier Ed Stelmach announced in December 2007 that a governing board would be established for Edmonton's Capital Region.^[2] Four months later, the Capital Region Board (CRB) was formed with the passing of the Capital Region Board Regulation by Order in Council 127/2008 under the authority of the Municipal Government Act.^[3]

Member municipalities

The CRB was originally established with 25 participating or member municipalities – 23 of which were within the Edmonton CMA and two of which were outside the CMA (Lamont County and the Town of Lamont). The number of member municipalities was reduced to 24 when the Village of New Sarepta dissolved to hamlet status under the jurisdiction of Leduc County on September 1, 2010.^[4]

Of the 34 municipalities within the Edmonton CMA, the Village of Spring Lake, the eight summer villages and the three First Nations are not members of the CRB. Also, despite Bruderheim and Lamont being urban municipalities within Lamont County that are members of the CRB, the remaining urban municipalities within Lamont County - the Town of Mundare and the villages of Andrew and Chipman – are not members of the CRB.

More specifically, the CRB includes:

• five cities (Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, St. Albert, and Spruce Grove);
• one specialized municipality (Strathcona County, which includes the Sherwood Park urban service area);
• four municipal districts (Lamont County, Leduc County, Parkland County, and Sturgeon County);
• 11 towns (Beaumont, Bon Accord, Bruderheim, Calmar, Devon, Gibbons, Lamont, Legal, Morinville, Redwater, and Stony Plain); and
• three villages (Thorsby, Wabamun, and Warburg).

List of municipalities

The following is a list of municipalities in the Edmonton Capital Region, all of which are also within the Edmonton CMA. Those municipalities that are within the region and are members of the CRB are indicated accordingly. CRB members that are proximate to, yet located outside of, the Edmonton Capital Region, such as the Town of Lamont and Lamont County, are not listed as they are located within the neighbouring region of Central Alberta.

• ^ The Village of New Sarepta dissolved to hamlet status under the jurisdiction of Leduc County on September 1, 2010.^[4]
• ^ Strathcona County's 2009 population of 87,998 includes 61,660 in the Sherwood Park urban service area and 26,338 in the rural service area.^[7]
• ^ The combined Wabamun 133A and 133B population of 1,108 includes 1,088 in Wabamun 133A and 20 in Wabamun 133B.^[6]

Major industrial areas

Major industrial areas within the ECR include the northwest, southeast and Clover Bar industrial areas in Edmonton, Nisku Industrial Business Park in Leduc County, Acheson Industrial Area in Parkland County, Refinery Row in Strathcona County, and Alberta's Industrial Heartland spanning portions of Sturgeon County, Strathcona County, Lamont County and Fort Saskatchewan.

At the moment, two more major industrial areas are in the final stages of establishment. The establishment of the Horse Hills industrial area in northeast Edmonton is in the final planning stages, while the Edmonton Regional Airport Authority is currently planning its Port Alberta development at the Edmonton International Airport within Leduc County.

See also

• Edmonton
• Calgary-Edmonton Corridor
• Calgary Region
• Census Metropolitan Area

References

External links

• Capital Region Board
• Edmonton.com - Portal to Greater Edmonton
• EEDC - Edmonton Economic Development Corporation
• Edmonton's International Region