Edmonton
The North Saskatchewan River valley has been a place of human activity for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest known inhabitants arrived in this area around 3,000 BC and perhaps as early as 12,000 BC when an ice-free corridor opened after the last glacial period ended. Timber, water, and wildlife became available to these first peoples who settled along the river. The valley provided essential resources including fish, medicine, and materials like chert or quartzite which were abundant enough to be knapped into tools such as axes, knives, and arrowheads. Several First Nations peoples called this home including the Cree, Nakota Sioux, Blackfoot, Tsuut'ina, Ojibwe, and Denesuline. Indigenous languages refer to the Edmonton area by multiple names referencing the presence of fur trading posts. In Cree the area is known as Amiskwaciy which translates to Beaver Hills House and references the location's proximity to the Beaver Hills east of Edmonton. In Blackfoot the area is known as Mohkinstsis which translates to big lodge while the Nakota Sioux and Tsuut'ina names translate to big house. By 1795 many trading posts had been established in the region. Fort Edmonton was built on the river's north bank near the mouth of the Sturgeon River close to present-day Fort Saskatchewan. It was named after Edmonton Middlesex England by William Tomison who was in charge of its construction. The fort's name came from the hometown of the Lake family at least five of whom were influential members of the Hudson's Bay Company between 1696 and 1807. Fort Augustus stood musket-shot range away from Fort Edmonton. Both forts were initially successful but declines in beaver pelt hauls and firewood stocks forced both companies to move their forts upstream. By 1813 Fort Edmonton was established in the area of what is now Rossdale beginning Edmonton's start as a permanent population centre. The fort was located on the border of territory that was disputed by the Blackfoot and Cree nations. Furthermore the fort intersected territory patrolled by the Blackfoot Confederacy to the south and the Cree Dene and Nakoda nations to the north. In 1876 Treaty 6 which includes what is now Edmonton was signed between First Nations and the Crown as part of the Numbered Treaties. The agreement included the Plains and Woods Cree Assiniboine and other band governments of First Nations at Fort Carlton Fort Pitt and Battle River.
Edmonton was incorporated as a town in 1892 with a population of 700. Matthew McCauley became the first mayor establishing the first school board in Edmonton and Board of Trade later Chamber of Commerce and a municipal police service. Due to McCauley's good relationship with the federal Liberals Edmonton maintained economic and political prominence over Strathcona a rival town on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. The city was incorporated as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350. It ultimately became Alberta's capital when the province was formed a year later on the 1st of September 1905. The coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway to southern Alberta in 1885 helped the Edmonton economy. The 1891 building of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway resulted in the emergence of a railway townsite South Edmonton/Strathcona on the river's south side across from Edmonton. The arrival of the CPR and the C&E Railway helped bring settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada Europe the U.S. and other parts of the world. The Edmonton area's fertile soil and cheap land attracted settlers further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897. Strathcona was North America's northernmost railway point but travel to the Klondike was still very difficult for the Klondikers. A majority of them took a steamship north to the Yukon from Vancouver British Columbia. In November 1905 the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in Edmonton accelerating growth. During the early 1900s Edmonton's rapid growth led to speculation in real estate. In 1912 Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona south of the North Saskatchewan River. As a result the city held land on both banks of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time. Just before the First World War the boom ended and the city's population declined from more than 72,000 in 1914 to less than 54,000 only two years later. Many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city while others fled to greener pastures in other provinces. Recruitment to the army during the war also contributed to the drop in population. Afterwards the city slowly recovered in population and economy during the 1920s and 1930s and took off again during and after the Second World War. The Edmonton City Centre Airport opened in 1929 becoming Canada's first licensed airfield. Originally named Blatchford Field in honour of former mayor Kenny Blatchford pioneering aviators such as Wilfrid R. Wop May and Max Ward used Blatchford Field as a major base for distributing mail food and medicine to Northern Canada hence Edmonton's emergence as the Gateway to the North.
Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River at an elevation of 645 meters above sea level. It is south of Alberta's geographic centre which is near the Hamlet of Fort Assiniboine. The terrain in and around Edmonton is generally flat to gently rolling with ravines and deep river valleys such as the North Saskatchewan River valley. The Canadian Rockies are west of Edmonton and about 300 kilometers to the southwest. The North Saskatchewan River originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and bisects the city. It sometimes floods Edmonton's river valley most notably in the North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915. It empties via the Saskatchewan River Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. It runs from the southwest to the northeast and is fed by numerous creeks throughout the city including Mill Creek Whitemud Creek and Blackmud Creek. These creeks have created ravines some of which are used for urban parkland. Edmonton has a humid continental climate with typically cold dry winters and warm sunny summers prone to extremes and large swings at all times of the year. Summer in Edmonton lasts from June until early September while winter lasts from November until March and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable. Edmonton's growing season on average lasts from May 9 to September 22 having an average 135, 140 frost-free days each year resulting in one of the longest growing seasons on the Canadian Prairies. At the summer solstice Edmonton receives 17 hours and three minutes of daylight with an hour and 46 minutes of civil twilight and on average receives 2,344 hours of bright sunshine per year making it one of Canada's sunniest cities. The highest temperature recorded in Edmonton was 37 degrees Celsius on the 29th of June 1937 and on the 2nd of July 2013 a record high humidex of 44 was recorded due to an unusually humid day with a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius and a record high dew point of 28 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Edmonton was -47 degrees Celsius on January 19 and 21 1886. An F4 tornado that struck Edmonton on the 31st of July 1987 killing 27 people was unusual in many respects including severity duration damage and casualties. It is commonly referred to as Black Friday due both to its aberrant characteristics and the emotional shock it generated. Then-mayor Laurence Decore cited the community's response to the tornado as evidence that Edmonton was a city of champions which later became an unofficial slogan of the city.
Edmonton hosts several large festivals each year contributing to its nickname Canada's Festival City. Downtown Edmonton's Churchill Square host numerous festivals each summer. The Works Art & Design Festival takes place from late June to early July showcasing Canadian and international art and design from well-known award-winning artists as well as emerging and student artists. The Edmonton International Street Performer's Festival takes place in mid-July and is the biggest of its kind in North America. The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival takes place in late June and along with Montreal were the first jazz festivals in Canada. Edmonton's main summer festival is K-Days formerly Klondike Days Capital Ex and originally the Edmonton Exhibition. Founded in 1879 the Edmonton Exhibition was originally an annual fair and exhibition that eventually adopted a gold rush theme becoming Klondike Days in the 1960s. Northlands the operators renamed the festival Edmonton's Capital Ex or Capital Ex in 2006. In 2012 Edmonton Northlands conducted a poll to rename the festival that resulted in changing the name to K-Days. The Edmonton International Fringe Festival held in mid-August is the largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is also held in August. It was the fourth major Canadian folk festival to be created and has the largest budget for talent of Canada festivals. Other summer festivals in and around Edmonton include the Edmonton Heritage Festival Taste of Edmonton the Edmonton Pride Festival Chaos Alberta Festival Interstellar Rodeo Big Valley Jamboree Pigeon Lake Music Festival Edmonton Rockfest Edmonton International Reggae Jamboree Festival Edmonton Blues Festival and Cariwest. The Francis Winspear Centre for Music opened in 1997 after years of planning and fundraising. Described as one of the most acoustically perfect concert halls in Canada it is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and hosts a wide variety of shows every year. It seats 1,932 patrons and houses the $3-million Davis Concert Organ the largest concert organ in Canada. Citadel Theatre named after the Salvation Army Citadel in which Joe Shoctor first started the Citadel Theatre Company in 1965 is now one of the largest theatre complexes in Canada with five halls each specializing in different kinds of productions. In 2015 the Citadel Theatre also became home to Catalyst Theatre. Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is a 2,534-seat
venue which had over a year of heavy renovations as part of the province's 2005 centennial celebrations. Both it and its southern twin in Calgary were constructed in 1955 for the province's golden jubilee and have hosted many concerts musicals and ballets.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada the City of Edmonton had a population of 1,010,899 living in 396,404 of its 428,857 total private dwellings a change of 8.3% from its 2016 population of 933,088. With a land area of 1,124 square kilometers it had a population density of 899 people per square kilometer in 2021. At the census metropolitan area CMA level in the 2021 census the Edmonton CMA had a population of 1,418,118 living in 548,624 of its 589,554 total private dwellings a change of 10.5% from its 2016 population of 1,283,782. The population of the City of Edmonton according to its 2019 municipal census is 972,223 a change of 8.1% from its 2016 municipal census population of 899,447. In the 2021 Census immigrants individuals born outside Canada comprise 324,315 persons or 32.5% of the total population of Edmonton. Of the total immigrant population the top countries of origin were Philippines 54,850 persons or 16.9% India 50,435 persons or 15.6% China 21,110 persons or 6.5% Vietnam 10,280 persons or 3.2% United Kingdom 9,990 persons or 3.1% Pakistan 8,895 persons or 2.7% Hong Kong 6,985 persons or 2.2% Poland 6,470 persons or 2.0% United States of America 6,295 persons or 1.9% and Somalia 5,765 persons or 1.8%. According to the 2021 census 51.4% of Edmonton's population were of European ethnicities the most frequent of which included English Scottish German Irish Ukrainian French and Polish. Other ethnic groups and origins included among others East and Southeast Asian Filipino Chinese and Vietnamese South Asian Indian Indigenous First Nations and Métis Black Latin American and West Asian and Arab Lebanese. In 2021 44.6 percent of metropolitan Edmonton residents identify as Christian. Significant religious minorities include Muslims 8.3 percent Sikhs 4.1 percent Buddhists 1.5 percent Hindus 3.4 percent Jewish people 0.4 percent and practitioners of traditional Aboriginal spirituality 0.2 percent. Those belonging to smaller religions account for 1.1 percent while 36.4 percent profess no religious affiliation. Within Christianity major denominations include the Roman Catholic Church 44.4 percent of self-identified Christians and the United Church 10.5 percent. In the 1930s the local Muslim community began organizing to build a mosque. A local Muslim woman Hilwie Hamdon met with the mayor to acquire the land and campaigned to raise $5,000 for the building. In
1938 Abdullah Yusuf Ali was present at the opening of the new Al-Rashid Mosque which became the first mosque established in Canada and the third in North America.
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Common questions
When was Edmonton established as a permanent population centre?
Edmonton began as a permanent population centre in 1813 when Fort Edmonton was established in the area of what is now Rossdale. The fort was located on the border of territory that was disputed by the Blackfoot and Cree nations.
What date did Edmonton become the capital of Alberta?
Edmonton became Alberta's capital on the 1st of September 1905 when the province was formed. This occurred one year after the city was incorporated as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350.
Which weather record holds the highest temperature ever recorded in Edmonton?
The highest temperature recorded in Edmonton was 37 degrees Celsius on the 29th of June 1937. A record high humidex of 44 was also recorded on the 2nd of July 2013 due to an unusually humid day.
Who were the first peoples to inhabit the Edmonton area before European settlement?
Several First Nations peoples including the Cree Nakota Sioux Blackfoot Tsuut'ina Ojibwe and Denesuline called the North Saskatchewan River valley home for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence shows these earliest known inhabitants arrived around 3,000 BC or perhaps as early as 12,000 BC.
When was the Al-Rashid Mosque opened and what significance does it hold?
The Al-Rashid Mosque opened in 1938 and became the first mosque established in Canada and the third in North America. Abdullah Yusuf Ali was present at the opening after local Muslim community members campaigned to raise $5,000 for the building.