About the City of Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of Alberta, and is located on the North Saskatchewan River, near the geographical centre of the province. Commonly known as the “Gateway to the North,” it is strategically situated on an economic divide between the highly-productive farmlands of central Alberta and a vast, resource-rich northern hinterland.
The city had a population of 812,201 in the 2011 census, making it Alberta’s second-largest city and Canada’s fifth-largest municipality. This population represents 70 percent of the total 2011 population of 1,159,869 within the Edmonton census metropolitan area (CMA), Canada’s sixth-largest CMA by population. Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.
Edmonton’s historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities, including Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton (Calder), Beverly and Jasper Place, and a series of annexations of surrounding rural lands until 1982. Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor.Known as the “Gateway to the North”, the city is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.
Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational center. It hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname “The Festival City.” It is home to North America’s largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (the world’s largest mall from 1981 until 2004), and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum.
Edmonton’s valley location, with its abundance of water, timber and wildlife, has attracted settlement for several thousand years. The archaeological record is incomplete, but in 1976 a large campsite containing stone tools from the Middle Prehistoric period (between 3000 and 500 BC) was discovered on a high bluff overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, likely a place where bands of semi-nomadic Aboriginal hunters and gatherers met regularly.
In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer working for the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. His expeditions across the Canadian Prairies were mainly to seek contact with the aboriginal population for the purpose of establishing the fur trade, as competition was fierce between the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank of the river, as a major trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company. The name of the new fort was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden.
The coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to southern Alberta in 1885 helped the Edmonton economy, and the 1891 building of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway resulted in the emergence of a railway townsite (South Edmonton/Strathcona) on the south side of the river, across from Edmonton. The arrival of the CPR and the Calgary & Edmonton Railway facilitated the arrival of settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Britain and continental Europe, U.S. and other parts of the world. The fertile soil and cheap land in the Edmonton area helped attract 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 the northernmost railway point in North America, but travel to the Klondike was still very difficult for the “Klondikers,” and a majority of them took a steamship north to the Yukon from Vancouver.
Incorporated as a town in 1892 with a population of 700 and then as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350, Edmonton became the capital of Alberta when the province was formed a year later, on September 1, 1905. In November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth.
During the early 1900s, Edmonton grew very rapidly, causing speculation in real estate. In 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River; as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time.
Edmonton Military Relocation Realtor
Your Edmonton Military Realtor is your Local Expert chosen for Knowledge, Training and Skills in the Relocation Process. As an Approved Brookfield GRS Professional you can rest assured that you and your families needs will be the First Priority. I am an Edmonton REALTOR® committed to providing transferring members with service beyond their expectation. I am an approved supplier to the DND and RCMP BGRS program (was called RLRS or Royal LePage Relocation Services then Brookfield Global Relocation Services a few years ago). Whenever you are posted into or out of Edmonton Garrison area (Steele Barracks) contact me for Professional Advice and a Stress Free Posting.
What sets us apart from other Realtors? A combination of Experience and Knowledge coupled with years of real estate experience. When you choose a Military Relocation Realtor you are Guaranteed to have One on One experience with your personal Realtor. This is extremely important when dealing with the Stress of a House Hunting Trip. Contacting us as soon as you receive your Posting Message allows us to get in front of the Time Constraints and Put the Hard Work behind us before you even start your House Hunting Trip.
Visit our Edmonton Relocation Posting Website
This is a valuable resource for Military Personnel posted to Edmonton. Information about your entitlements and items covered by the DND through Brookfield GRS. There are many items that although you are entitled to the compensation, if you do not claim you lose the entitlement.
Whether Buying or Selling a property in Edmonton having the Local Military Relocation Expert represent you will ensure your Relocation is as Stress Free as possible. Lean more about the Edmonton Relocation Realtor