Nicknames for Edmonton include The Big E, City of Champions for the capital’s heroic response to the 1987 Edmonton tornado, and Canada’s Festival City.
Research website numbeo ranks Edmonton in the top 36% compared to the 250 cities evaluated on its overall quality of life index at June 2020. Edmonton scored well on index factors such as property price to health care (best 9%), income ratio (lowest 18%), pollution (cleanest 20%) and traffic commute time (fastest 25%). On the negative side, Edmonton rates relatively poorly for climate (bottom 3%).
Edmonton is vulnerable to damages from summer thunderstorms, tornadoes and large hail.
Guinness World Records documents Edmonton as being home to the world’s biggest shopping and entertainment centre, the West Edmonton Mall. In addition, the mall is the site of the largest parking lot on the planet with a maximum capacity of 20,000 vehicles plus 10,000 more on an adjoining overflow lot.
Another of Edmonton’s world records pertains the Mindbender in Edmonton’s Galaxyland Amusement Park which stands 145 feet (44 meters), the world’s highest indoor roller coaster.
Edmonton serves as headquarters for 15 of Canada’s 250 largest corporations by revenue. Examples of these large businesses include PCL Construction Holdings Ltd, vehicle dealership AutoCanada Inc, utility Capital Power Corp and the Canadian Western Bank.
From an international trade perspective, the province of Alberta shipped roughly C$116 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include crude petroleum oil (63.1% of Alberta’s global total), natural gas (5%), ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers (1.9%), wheat (1.5%), miscellaneous petroleum oils (1.4%), fresh or chilled boneless beef cuts (also 1.4%), liquified propane (1.2%), and Colza oilseed and rapeseed (1%) according to trade metrics website World’s Top Exports.
Edmonton’s unemployment rate was 15.7% at June 2020, the highest jobless percentage among Canada’s provincial capital cities.
Capital Facts for Edmonton, Canada: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Commonwealth Stadium, Federal Building, Fort Edmonton Park, Rogers Park, St. Joseph’s Basilica and West Edmonton Mall
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Edmonton, Canada.
- Michael J. Fox, actor & Parkinson’s disease cure champion (born Jun. 9, 1961)
- KD Lang, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter (born Nov. 2, 1961)
- Mark Messier, professional NHL hockey player (born Jan. 18, 1961)
- Ruth B, pop singer (born Jul. 2, 1995)
- Rae Dawn Chong, actress (born Feb. 28, 1961)
- Stephanie Labbé, soccer/football goalkeeper (born Oct. 10, 1986)
- Jarome Iginla, professional NHL hockey player (born Jul. 1, 1977)
- Graham Smith, Olympic swimming silver medalist (born May 9, 1958)
- Marilyn Denis, TV show host (born Jul. 1, 1958)
- Debbie Sonnenberg, Olympic softball pitcher (born Jan. 4, 1971)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches of published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for an Edmonton resident: Edmontonian
Population: 1,461,182 (Edmonton) at September 16, 2020
Density: 4,929 people per square mile (1,903 per square kilometer)
Population: 4,428,247 (Alberta) at June 2020
Density: 18 people per square mile (7 per square kilometer)
Financial
Real GDP: C$334.2 billion in 2019 (Alberta)
Real GDP per person: $76,458
Note: The above GDP metrics are in chained 2012 Canadian dollars
Official currency used in Edmonton: Canadian dollars
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Fortune, Global 500 2016.
Guinness World Records, Largest car park.
Guinness World Records, Tallest indoor rollercoaster.
National Post, The FP500.
Numbeo, Quality of Life Index by City.
Official Government Website, City of Edmonton official website.
Statistics Canada, Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database.
Statistics Canada, Labour force characteristics, unadjusted, by census metropolitan area.
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Alberta.
Wikipedia, Edmonton.
Wikipedia, Edmonton Capital Area.
World Population Review, Edmonton Population.
World’s Top Exports, Alberta’s Top Exports.
Edmontonians celebrate Canada Day as a national holiday each July 1.
Edmonton’s land area occupies 296.47 square miles (767.85 square kilometers). The provincial capital city’s population was 1.5 million dwellers at September 16, 2020.
At the province level, Alberta covers a land area equal to 247,137 square miles (640,081 square kilometers) home to a population of 4.4 million inhabitants as of June 2020.
Edmonton’s population density is more concentrated, averaging 4,929 residents per square mile (1,903 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Alberta’s overall land boundaries, population density drops to an average 18 inhabitants per square mile (7 per square kilometer).
