provincial overview

Alberta is one of three Prairie Provinces in Canada, situated in the west between British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Currently with a population of 3.6 million, Alberta is the fourth most populous province in Canada. Alberta was proclaimed as a province on September 1, 1905 along with Saskatchewan and gets its namesake from Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria.

Edmonton is the capital of Alberta, located centrally; Edmonton is an ideal location for accessing oil sands fields and crude oil. Both Edmonton and Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, serve as a growing economic hub for all of Canada. The primary drivers include oil and gas, agriculture, tourism, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, environmental technologies as well as software development. In 2012, GDP totaled $331 billion, with the Energy sector alone contributing $66 billion to total GDP.

Alberta is a beautiful province with many national parks and iconic sceneries of which the Rocky Mountains are the most recognizable landmark of Alberta. The Rockies stretch 4,830km from Eastern British Columbia down to New Mexico in the United States. The rest of Alberta is filled with a mix of boreal forests, parklands, plains and badlands toward the south of the province.

The Badlands are dry with very little vegetation. Streams and rain have eroded the soft rocks leaving behind bluffs, gullies and multicolored layers of stones. The Red Deer River, which buts through the badlands, has exposed a valley full of fossils of plants, animals and dinosaurs.

Alberta is also home to five UNESCO sites: Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Waterton Glacier International Peace Park and Wood Buffalo National Park, the largest national park in Canada. The Wood Buffalo Park is home to the world’s largest population of free roaming buffalo and is the last natural nesting site for the whooping crane.

regional overview

Land-Use Framework:

The Land-Use Framework and plans are a new approach to managing provincial lands and natural resources. Alberta is looking to achieve long-term sustainability of economic, environmental and social goals. This new approach divides the province into seven regions of focus. Regional plans are created and implemented in consultation and cooperation with communities, municipalities and nations in the region. Each regional plan will also have a comprehensive MER program lead and coordinated by aemera.org. Data and information gather by the MER program will contribute to continuous improvement to land-use plans and decision-making.

The desired outcomes of the Land-Use Framework are as follows:

1. Healthy economy supported by land and natural resources.

2. Healthy ecosystem and environment.

3. People-friendly communities with ample recreational and cultural opportunities.