ALBERTA

westernmost of three Prairie Provinces, southern Canada. Alberta extends 756 miles (1,216 km) from north to south and 404 miles (650 km) from east to west and covers an area of 255,287 square miles (661,190 square km). It is bounded on the east by Saskatchewan, on the west by British Columbia, on the north by the Northwest Territories, and on the south by the United States. The provincial capital is Edmonton. The area now known as Alberta has been inhabited by Indian groups for at least 10,000 years. In the 1750s European fur traders arrived. In the last quarter of the 18th century, two rival trading companies, the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company, began building trading posts along the Athabasca, North Saskatchewan, and Peace rivers. The companies merged in 1821. From this time until 1870, when the region was transferred to the Dominion of Canada, the Hudson's Bay Company ruled the area. European settlement increased after 1870, and the Indian population was decimated by European diseases and alcoholism. The abuses of whiskey traders brought the North West Mounted Police into the area, and in 1874 Fort Macleod was established. In the late 19th century there was a vigorous and successful effort to increase the population. A railroad was built to Calgary, and cheap or free land was provided to newcomers. As a result, Alberta's population grew from 73,000 in 1901 to 374,000 in 1911. Many of the immigrants were employed in wheat farming. Alberta was made a district of the Northwest Territories in 1882 and a province of Canada in 1905. The Liberal Party formed the first provincial government. Despite the discovery of oil at the town of Turner Valley in 1914, the growth of both the population and the economy slowed during World War I. After the war there was a slump in wheat prices that contributed to agrarian political agitation. In 1921 the United Farmers Party of Alberta attained a majority in the government. Alberta experienced the Great Depression in the 1930s, and in 1935 the Social Credit Party was elected on a platform of monetary reform. It remained in power, growing steadily more orthodox, until its defeat by the Progressive Conservative Party in 1971. Alberta's southwestern boundary is formed by the Canadian Rockies, with Mount Columbia (12,294 feet ) constituting the highest of many spectacular peaks. The remainder of the province is made up of undulating plateau that ranges from more than 3,000 feet (1,000 m) to less than 1,000 feet (300 m). Northern Alberta is drained for the most part by the Athabasca, Peace, and Hay rivers, which flow by way of the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean; the North and South Saskatchewan rivers and their tributaries dominate the south and direct their waters to Hudson Bay via the Saskatchewan and Nelson rivers. Alberta has a continental climate, with cold, dry winters and warm, wet summers and more sunshine than any other Canadian province. In the south, Chinook winds originating in the Rockies sometimes raise temperatures dramatically within minutes. Annual precipitation averages 18 inches (466 mm), approximately half of it falling between June and August. The economy began to recover after World War II. Since the discovery of oil at Leduc in 1947 and the ensuing discovery of other major oil and gas deposits, there has been rapid economic expansion in Alberta. Rich natural resources include fossil fuels, timber, hydroelectric power, scenery and wildlife that stimulate tourism, and territory suitable for growing wheat and raising cattle. The ecological damage caused by these developments, however, weighed against the economic gains, has caused wide controversy. The British North America Act (1867) and the Alberta Act (1905) provided the constitutional framework for the province. Alberta's parliamentary government consists of a unicameral legislative assembly elected by universal adult (age 18 and older) suffrage to a five-year term. The leader of the majority party becomes premier and chooses members from the assembly to form the executive council. The Canadian governor-general appoints the lieutenant governor, who serves as the monarch's representative, for a five-year term. Alberta's supreme court, whose members are appointed by the governor-general, is the highest court in the province and has both trial and appellate divisions. Primary and secondary education is free in the public schools, and the provincial government subsidizes private religious schools. Schools for Indians are provided by the federal government. The Alberta Institutes of Technology are located in Calgary, Edmonton, and Stony Plain, and there are universities in Calgary, Lethbridge, Edmonton, and Athabasca. Provincial subsidies are available to all university students. The Banff School of Fine Arts is internationally known. Alberta's ethnic and cultural character is one of the most varied of the Canadian provinces. The British Isles group is the largest, while other major groups include German, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, French, and Dutch. Native Indians, Polish, Austrian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, and Vietnamese inhabitants are also present. This rich cultural legacy is preserved by an impressive array of museums, art galleries, and libraries. Pop. (1991) 2,545,553. most westerly of Canada's three Prairie Provinces, occupying the continental heartland of the western part of the country. It has an area of 255,285 square miles (661,190 square kilometres), of which 6,485 square miles are freshwater. It is 756 miles (1,216 kilometres) in extent from north to south and 404 miles across at the greatest width. To the east the 110th meridian forms the boundary with its prairie neighbour, Saskatchewan. The western boundary with British Columbia is formed by the 120th meridian and the crest of the Rocky Mountains. Northward, beyond the 60th parallel boundary, lie the Northwest Territories, while the 49th parallel in the south forms the international boundary with the U.S. state of Montana. Alberta was established as a district of the Northwest Territories in 1882 and was enlarged to its present boundaries on becoming a province in 1905. The provincial government has its seat in Edmonton. Following the earliest explorations of fur traders, the settlement of Alberta's plains and parklands led to the development of agriculture. Subsequent exploitation of rich oil, gas, coal, and timber resources led to further population growth, with an increase in urbanization and industrialization. The province remains sparsely populated, however, and relative isolation from the more populous eastern regions of the country has slowed the development of industries needing mass markets. With natural routes to the north, Alberta has become the major jumping-off point for exploration of the Arctic. The scenery of the mountain parks in the west is internationally renowned. Additional reading Robert Kroetsch, Alberta (1968), is a general description of the province, with a look at its history and economics. Detailed historical maps and charts are provided in Atlas of Alberta (1969), an official centennial project of the government of Alberta and the University of Alberta; it is supplemented by Ted Byfield (ed.), The Atlas of Alberta (1984). W.G. Hardy (ed.), Alberta: A Natural History (1967, reprinted 1979); David A.E. Spalding (ed.), A Nature Guide to Alberta (1980); and Joy Finlay and Cam Finlay, Parks in Alberta (1987), are comprehensive surveys. Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Tribes of Alberta, rev. ed. (1986), studies the aboriginal inhabitants of the province; and Howard Palmer and Tamara Palmer (eds.), Peoples of Alberta: Portraits of Cultural Diversity (1985), examines the significance of various ethnic groups in Alberta's settlement. A historical survey of Alberta's agriculture is provided in Grant MacEwan, Power for Prairie Plows (1971). A look at the cultural life is offered in Sandra Shaul (ed.), Painting in Alberta: An Historical Survey (1980); and David Leighton and Peggy Leighton, Artists, Builders, and Dreamers: 50 Years at the Banff School (1982). The history of the province is chronicled in Gail Helgason, The First Albertans: An Archaeological Search (1987); James G. MacGregor, A History of Alberta, rev. ed. (1981), a standard general history; Douglas R. Owram (ed.), The Formation of Alberta: A Documentary History (1979), which collects documents on development before 1905; and Alvin Finkel, The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta (1989), which focuses on the period from the 1930s to the '70s. David A.E. Spalding Robert Bruce Davidson