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Metropolitan area in Alberta, Canada
Photo: Matthew Boonstra, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Edmonton Capital Region is the metropolitan area of Edmonton, Alberta. The population of this area is 1.3 million (2016), making it sixth largest metro area in Canada. Edmonton's suburbs are small cities that usually rely on Edmonton for jobs, health care, higher education, and more "upscale" entertainment. However, the region is also where city-dwellers head on the weekends and holidays for outdoor life. In fact, the eastern edge of the Capital Region was recognized as the Beaverhills UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2016 for its natural landscapes.
Home to shopping (even outside of the famous West Edmonton Mall), an established theatre scene, excellent nightlife, beautiful parks, high end & extraordinary festivals, and a beautiful array of food selection.
Heavy industry at "refinery row" and a large expanse of suburban residential neighbourhoods.
St. Albert is an affluent city of commuters to Edmonton with scenic trails and parks. It is home to the oldest building in Alberta, the Father Lacombe Chapel (a Catholic mission from the late 19th century), the Musée Héritage Museum and the Arden Theatre. Bounded by Lois Hole Park on the West and River Lot 56 Natural Area and Canadian Forces Base Edmonton on the East.
Home of the Edmonton International Airport and numerous oil and gas businesses. This is essentially the transportation hub of the region. Beaumont is a still partly-French-speaking enclave (for now) that is suddenly booming in population as transportation links to Edmonton are built. Devon is scenically perched on the edge of a gorge above the North Saskatchewan River, near the site of the major oil discovery in 1947 that changed the face of Alberta forever.
French-Canadian, Métis, and First Nations enclaves north of St. Albert.
An industrial town centred on Dow Chemical and other petrochemical plants. It's on the North Saskatchewan River, and has opportunities for canoeing and hiking. Home to the Fort Heritage Precinct, an outdoor museum centred on a reconstruction of the North West Mounted Police ("Mountie") post from the 1870s.
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve sine 2016. Centred on Elk Island National Park, home to the Canada's most famous herds of bison (buffalo). Includes numerous other parks and protected areas with lots of hiking. Also home to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, an open-air museum detailing the traditional lives of the influential Ukrainian immigrants to Alberta.
Recreational lakes to the West of Edmonton.
Western suburbs of Edmonton and a First Nation with a resort-casino. Spruce Grove has a grain elevator museum and great drive-in. Stony Plain has a multicultural museum.
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