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Alberta Energy Company Ltd. Business Information, Profile, and History
#3900, 421-7 Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2P 4K9
Canada
History of Alberta Energy Company Ltd.
Alberta Energy Company Ltd. is the largest Canadian-based producer of North American gas and the largest North American independent gas storage operator. The company's total assets exceeded $50 million as of December 31, 2000. Alberta Energy Company's primary activities involve oil and natural gas exploration, development and production, and the ownership and operation of petroleum pipeline systems. The company's activities are focused on three "growth platforms:" the Western Canada Growth Platform, the United States Rocky Mountains Growth Platform, and the Ecuador Growth Platform. In December 1995, Alberta Energy Company Ltd. paid $1.1 billion to acquire Conwest Exploration Company Ltd., one of the most prominent oil and gas exploration firms in North America. The transaction immediately propelled Alberta Energy to the top of the oil and gas industry, increasing its market capitalization to $2.2 billion. The merger was a boon to Alberta Energy, and increased its exploration land by 56 percent, natural gas reserves by 49 percent, conventional oil reserves by 84 percent, gas production by 55 percent, and conventional oil production by 96 percent. In 1995, Alberta Energy sold its non-oil and gas assets. During the following five years, Alberta Energy doubled production of oil and natural gas liquids and expanded midstream business. The company's late 1990's and early twenty-first century ventures led it to become the largest foreign oil producer in Ecuador and a significant gas producer in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States.
Early History
At the height of the OPEC oil embargo during the early 1970s, the government of the province of Alberta, Canada, decided to initiate a capital investment program to lessen the dependence on foreign oil. The government organized a group of managers and executives from the oil and gas exploration industry and proposed to form a new company that would be operated on a for-profit basis by non-government personnel. The concept of forming a new oil and gas exploration firm was attractive to a number of the businessmen approached by the Alberta provincial government, and they agreed to organize and manage the company, despite some reservations expressed regarding the volatility of the industry at that time.
Initially, Alberta Energy focused on gas exploration and production as well as conventional oil exploration and production. Operating almost exclusively in the province of Alberta, the company purchased extensive tracts of land in the Berland River area of west-central Alberta and the region around East Peace River Arch, both with potentially high reserves of oil and gas. During the mid- and late-1970s, management decided to diversify its activities to provide a more stable cash flow for company operations, and the company entered the lumber industry to produce fiberboard for the commercial market.
In the early 1980s, however, with the fear of another oil embargo receding into the past, the deregulation of the natural gas industry in Canada, and the highly protectionist attitude of the United States in the area of forest products, the company's revenues began to plummet. Yet, the talent and dogged persistence of the company's management team guided it through these trying years. Management successfully renegotiated Alberta Energy Company's gas contracts, established more sensitive market pricing, and confirmed long-term purchasing agreements. As the price for a barrel of crude oil fell, it was offset by the concurrent lower price for petroleum land purchase, and company management began to acquire ever-larger tracts of land in Alberta for exploration and development. In addition, the provincial government of Alberta declared a royalty holiday for new oil production, thereby boosting the profits of new oil discovered by the company during this time. Finally, management implemented a restructuring program that reduced the company's operating expenses by consolidating the responsibilities of staff members, requiring longer work hours of its employees, and initiating a cost-cutting strategy for all oil and gas exploration.
Growth and Expansion in the Late 1980s
The restructuring strategy implemented by Alberta Energy Company's management team was successful beyond its expectations. From 1982 to 1986, the average daily western Canadian gas production at the company increased from 193 to 252 million cubic feet. The average daily western Canadian conventional oil production from 1982 to 1986 increased from 346 to 4,613 barrels. The company's oil and natural gas landholdings during the period shot up from 2.8 million to 3.2 million acres. By 1986, the company held interest in 2,960 producing gas wells and 265 producing oil wells, almost all of them located in Alberta. Also during this time, the company acquired the following: Chieftain Development Company, Ltd., a firm involved in the international gas and oil exploration industry; Pan-Alberta Gas Ltd., one of Canada's leading natural gas marketers; and Blue Ridge Lumber Ltd., a softwood lumber plant that Alberta Energy management turned into a leading medium density fiberboard manufacturing operation.
In 1986, the company established a separate operating division for its burgeoning pipeline operation. Earlier, the company had commissioned the building of the Alberta Sands Oil Pipeline, a 270-mile pipeline that delivered oil from a plant located at Fort McMurray to the Edmonton area, where it was distributed to local refineries. Another pipeline, the Cold Lake Heavy Oil Pipeline, provided a transportation network for heavy oil blends from the Primrose/Cold Lake area to Edmonton. The final system to be incorporated into the company's pipeline operating division was the Alberta ethane-gathering network, which collected ethane from natural gas processing plants within Alberta and transported it to storage caverns located near Fort Saskatchewan.
By 1989, Alberta Energy Company owned more than six million acres of exploratory and development landholdings in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Beaufort, and ranked as one of the top 10 companies in total reserves and in oil and gas production levels in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. One of the major areas of exploration during this time was the Waskahigan/Karr/Gold Creek in west-central Alberta. The company held 330,000 acres of land in the area, which included four exploratory wells and 10 development wells. Alberta Energy Company reported 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 3.6 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids in its landholdings. Within a year, management projected that production levels would surpass 18 million cubic feet of gas and 600 barrels of natural gas liquids. Although prices for gas declined by four percent, sales of synthetic and conventional oil increased by more than 20 percent and production was at record levels.
During the same year, Alberta Energy Company, through its 50 percent share in the Pacific Coast Energy Corporation, successfully negotiated with both the Canadian government and the British Columbia provincial government to begin construction of the Vancouver Island Natural Gas Pipeline. With a price tag of more than $280 million, the pipeline would deliver natural gas to Vancouver Island and southwestern British Columbia. Alberta Energy also had an interest in the Iroquois Gas Transmission System, which stretched from Iroquois, Ontario to Long Island, New York. In addition to these new developments, the company completed a major renovation and expansion of its Cold Lake Heavy Oil Pipeline, which operated from northeastern Alberta to Edmonton. One of the innovative aspects of this renovation program included state-of-the-art variable speed pump technology. The company's operation of all the pipeline systems under its control was one of the safest in Canada, and for the third straight year there had been no lost-time mishap.
In the two other sectors of the company's activities, development occurred rapidly. The Blue Ridge Lumber operation reported record shipments of both lumber and medium density fiberboard in 1989, with a high volume of chips sales adding to the firm's profitability. Under Alberta Energy management, Blue Ridge Lumber Ltd. was committed to extensive and continuous reforestation programs, resulting in nearly 8,000 acres of the company's landholdings being seeded for regeneration. The company's petrochemicals divisions, having experienced a short period of depressed prices for nitrogen fertilizer at the beginning of the year, began to see prices rise as the year went on. In its first full year of operating within the continental United States, Alberta Energy Company had established ammonium nitrate subsidiaries in Borger, Texas, in Beatrice, Nebraska, in Early, Iowa, and in Leal, North Dakota.
Development During the 1990s
In the early 1990s, a severe and widespread economic downturn spread throughout Canada, yet Alberta Energy Company weathered these conditions with remarkable success. In 1992, natural gas sales, measured in cubic feet per day, increased by ten percent, and oil and natural gas liquid sales increased by 12 percent. Because of the company's astute management, especially in the areas of oil and gas production and lumber operations, net earnings rose an impressive 206 percent. Much of this increase was due to strict cost controls, which resulted in a nominal increase of only one percent in operating expenses for 1992. For example, the company's funding and development costs were drastically reduced during the early 1990s. From 1988 to 1990, exploration and development costs amounted to $15.20 per barrel; by 1992, exploration and development costs amounted to $6.40 per barrel.
In 1992, the sources of Alberta Energy Company's operating income were a combination of natural gas, conventional oil, lumber, and pipeline revenues. Surprisingly, during this time, the largest generator of revenue was the company's strong pipeline operation. In 1992, Alberta Energy Company wholly owned and operated approximately 820 miles of crude oil pipelines and had a one-third interest in a highly successful 550-mile methane gathering system in the province of Alberta. In addition, the company still owned a one-half interest in a natural gas pipeline to Vancouver Island. To expand its activities in this area and continue to reduce operating costs, the company began negotiating with a potential Japanese partner to commercialize its "transoil" technology, an innovative technique that uses water to pipeline heavy oil, rather than the traditional oil-based diluent.
1995 was one of the best years for Alberta Energy Company. The company's exploration and development program, the largest to date in more than ten years, resulted in 235 new wells, including 44 that were explorational and 191 that were developmental, with an astounding success rate of 84 percent. Conventional oil production during 1995 increased by 36 percent primarily as a result of new drilling success at the company's Suffield and Ogsten sites. Total liquids production increased by a total of 15 percent, more than 42,000 barrels per day. Although the company maintained and expanded its pipeline network throughout Alberta, as well as other smaller investments, management decided to sell the forest products and lumber operation and its associated fiberboard manufacturing facilities. This allowed Alberta Energy Company to lessen its debt and to garner its financial resources for long-range opportunities.
A major transaction in the company's history, however, involved the acquisition of Conwest Exploration Company Limited for $1.1 billion. One of the most prominent and successful oil and gas exploration companies in North America, Conwest was primarily operating in the West Peace River Arch region of Alberta province. The merger, a friendly transaction, created the second largest publicly traded oil and gas exploration company on the Canadian stock exchanges. More important, the merger dramatically increased Alberta Energy Company's exploration land, natural gas reserves, conventional oil reserves, gas production, and conventional oil production. With the acquisition of Conwest, the company's stock price shot up 22 percent during 1995.
Given the volatility of the oil and gas exploration industry, Alberta Energy Company's purchase of Conwest and its assets provided the long-term stability that management sought. Having sold all of its non-oil and gas business, the company was ready, and possessed the resources, to focus exclusively on oil and gas exploration, processing, pipelines and gas storage.
Into the New Millennium
The company's expansion following the mid-nineties focused primarily on the development of gas and oil in Western Canada, the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, and Ecuador.
The Western Canada exploration and development involved expansion of oil and gas reserves in northeast British Columbia and the western Alberta foothills, thermal recovery of oil at Foster Creek in northeast Alberta, and oil sands development through the Syncrude Joint Venture near Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta.
In the United States, the company focused on the Jonah gas field in Wyoming, and the Mamm Creek gas field in Colorado. In June 2000, Alberta Energy Company Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of Alberta Energy Company, established the U.S. Rockies Growth Platform through the acquisition of all shares of McMurry Oil Company and other private interests. In February 2001, Alberta Energy Company Oil & Gas (USA) acquired all shares of Ballard Petroleum. Ballard's principal properties were in the Mamm Creek field in the Piceance Basin of Colorado.
Alberta Energy Company was also involved in oil exploration and development in the Oriente Basin, a rainforest area in the northeastern corner of Ecuador bordering Colombia. The Ecuador Growth Platform was established in May 1999 with the acquisition of all outstanding common shares of Pacalta Resources Ltd. Alberta Energy Company positioned its Ecuadorian ventures to act as a catalyst for its vision of building a "Global Super-Independent." In February 2001, Alberta Energy Company became part of an agreement with the Government of Ecuador to construct a new 450,000-barrel-per-day export pipeline.
The company also explored new resource pools in 2000, including locations in the Arctic, off Australia's northwest coast, along Africa's west coast, and in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan. In 2001, the company scheduled appraisal and exploration wells in these and other locations. In addition, the company had interests in the development of a 1.3 million acre natural gas site in the Alaska Foothills and Mackenzie Delta and on Alaska's North Slope. The company planned to double production by the year 2004 based upon existing assets.
Pipelines continued to be a significant sector of Alberta Energy Company's business. In the year 2000, The company owned or co-owned several pipelines within Alberta as well as the U.S. Rocky Mountains, the U.S. Midwest, and South America. Alberta Energy Company owned and operated natural gas storage facilities in Alberta, California, and Oklahoma. By the turn of the century, Alberta Energy Company was the largest independent gas storage operator in North America. During the year 2000, Alberta Energy Company acquired a remaining 30 percent interest in Alberta Energy Company Pipelines, L.P., and acquired a 50 percent interest in the Express Pipeline System not already owned. The company also formed the Cold Lake Pipeline Limited Partnership and negotiated long-term commitment contracts with four major producers.
During 2000, Alberta Energy Company oil reserves increased by 27 percent, its reserve life index increased to 17 years, and fourth-quarter profits increased sevenfold. The company set records in annual earnings and cash flow during the quarter, and reported a net income of $306 million with 141 million common shares outstanding held by 40,000 shareholders. Eighty percent of the company's shares were held by major institutional investors.
Principal Subsidiaries: Alberta Energy Company Oil and Gas Partnership; Alberta Energy Company Oil Sands, L.P.; Alberta Energy Company Oil Sands Limited Partnership; Alberta Energy Company Overseas Resources Ltd.; Alberta Energy Company Global Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd.; Alberta Energy International Ltd.; Alberta Energy Company Argentina S.A.; City Investing Company Limited; City Oriente Limited; Alberta Energy Company Pipelines, L.P.; Alberta Oil Sands Pipeline Ltd.; Alberta Energy Company West Ltd.; Alberta Energy Company Liquidity Management Hungary Limited Liability Company; Alenco Inc.; Alberta Energy Company Express Holdings Inc.; Express Pipeline Partnership; Platte Pipe Line Company; Alberta Energy Company Oil and Gas (USA) Inc.; McMurry Oil Company; Fort Collins Consolidated Royalties, Inc.; Green River Pipeline Limited Liability Company; Jonah Gas Gathering Company; Wild Goose Storage Inc.; Express Pipeline Limited Partnership; Marquest Limited Partnership.
Related information about Alberta
pop (2000e) 2 851 000; area
661 190 km族/255 285 sq mi. Province in W
Canada, bordered S by the USA; mainly a rolling plain, with edge of
Rocky Mts in W; rivers, lakes, and forests in N, with much open
prairie; treeless prairie in S; drained (N) by Peace, Slave, and
Athabasca Rivers, and (S) by North Saskatchewan, Red Deer, and Bow
Rivers (S); largest lakes, Athabasca, Claire, Lesser Slave; several
national parks; capital, Edmonton; other chief cities, Calgary,
Lethbridge, Medicine Hat; oil, natural gas, grain, cattle, timber
products, coal, food processing, chemicals, fabricated metals,
tourism; originally part of Rupert's Land, granted to Hudson's Bay
Company, 1670; sovereignty acquired by the Dominion, 1869; status
as province, 1905; governed by a lieutenant-governor and an elected
83-member Legislative Assembly.
:For other uses, see Alberta
(disambiguation).
Alberta is one of Canada's provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.
Alberta is located in western Canada. It is bounded by the provinces of
British
Columbia on the west and Saskatchewan on the east, Northwest
Territories on the north, and by the U.S. State of Montana on the south. Alberta is
one of two provinces (the other being New Brunswick) to border a
single U.S. state.
The capital city of
Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the
province. Other major but much smaller municipalities include
Red Deer,
Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray,
Grande
Prairie, Camrose, Lloydminster, Wetaskiwin, Banff, and Jasper. See also: List of
communities in Alberta.
The Premier
of the province is Hon. See also List of Alberta
Premiers.
Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), the fourth
daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was also the wife of the
Marquess of Lorne, who was the Governor General
of Canada from 1878-1883.
Geography
-
Main article: Geography of Alberta
Alberta is in western Canada, and covers an area of 661,190 km²
(255,287 mi²). To the south, it borders the US state of Montana at a latitude of 49°N,
or the 49th
Parallel. To the west, its border with British Columbia
follows the line of peaks of the Rocky Mountains range along the Continental Divide,
which runs northwesterly until it reaches 120° W, at which point
the border follows this meridian to 60°N.
With the exception of the southeastern section, the province is
well watered. Alberta contains dozens of rivers and lakes ideal for
swimming, water skiing, fishing and a full range of
other water sports.
Lake
Claire (1436 km²) lies just west of Lake Athabasca in
Wood
Buffalo National Park. Lesser Slave Lake (1168 km²) is northwest of
Edmonton.
Because Alberta extends for 1200 km from north to south,
and about 600 km wide at its greatest east-west extent, it is
natural that the climate should vary considerably between the 49th
and 60th parallels. Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in
the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north. After southern
Ontario, Central Alberta
is the most likely region in Canada to experience tornadoes. The region surrounding the Calgary-Edmonton
Corridor is notable for having the highest frequency of
hail in Canada, due to the
role of orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains which
enhances the updraft/downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of
hail.
Overall, Alberta has cold winters, with a temperature average of
about −10°C (14°F) in the south to −24°C (−12°F) in the north.
Alberta experiences a good amount of sunshine for its northern
location;
the east-central part of the province is one of the sunniest places
in Canada with an average of over 2,500 hours a year.
Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, is located almost in the geographic centre of
the province, and most of Alberta's oil is refined here. Southern Alberta,
where Calgary is
located, is known for its ranching. Much of the unforested part of Alberta is
given over either to grain
or to dairy
farming, with ranching predominant in the south.
In southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River traverses the flat prairie and
farmland, are the Albertan badlands with deep gorges and striking landforms. Dinosaur Provincial
Park, near Drumheller, Alberta, showcases the badlands terrain,
desert flora, and remnants
from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape.
Alberta is one of only two Canadian provinces to have no
maritime coast (the other being the neighbouring province of
Saskatchewan.)
Largest municipalities and metro areas by population
Municipality
|
2006
|
2001
|
1996
|
| Census Metropolitan Areas: |
| Calgary
CMA |
1,060,300** |
951,395 |
821,628
|
| Edmonton CMA |
1,016,000** |
937,845 |
862,597
|
| Cities (10 Largest): |
| Calgary |
991,759 |
878,866 |
768,082
|
| Edmonton |
712,391* |
666,104 |
616,306
|
| Red
Deer |
82,971 |
67,707 |
60,080
|
| Lethbridge |
78,713 |
67,374 |
63,053
|
| St.
Albert(included in Edmonton CMA)
|
56,318* |
53,081 |
46,888
|
| Medicine Hat |
56,048* |
51,249 |
46,783
|
| Grande Prairie |
44,631* |
36,983 |
31,353
|
| Airdrie(included in Calgary CMA)
|
29,035 |
20,382 |
15,946
|
| Spruce Grove(included in Edmonton
CMA)
|
18,405* |
15,983 |
14,271
|
| Camrose |
15,850* |
14,854 |
13,728
|
| Districts (3 Largest): |
| Strathcona County(included in Edmonton
CMA)
|
80,232* |
71,986 |
64,176
|
| Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo |
79,810 |
41,466 |
35,213
|
| Municipality of Rocky View(included in
Calgary CMA)
|
30,688* |
28,441 |
23,326
|
Sources: All 2006 figures are based on official 2006
census data from municipalities. The study found GDP per capita in
the corridor is 10 percent above average U.S. metropolitan areas
and 40 percent above other Canadian cities.
According to the Fraser Institute Alberta also has very high levels of
economic
freedom.
Industry
Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude,
natural gas and gas
products in the country. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in
North America are
located in central and north central Alberta. In both Red Deer and
Edmonton,
world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over
the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large
petrochemical
industry to the east of Edmonton.
The Athabasca
Oil Sands (previously known as the Athabasca Tar sands) have estimated
oil reserves in excess
of that of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion
barrels (254 km³). Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and
non-conventional methods to extract the bitumen from the Athabasca deposit. Fort McMurray, one of
Canada's youngest and liveliest cities, has grown up entirely
because of the large multinational corporations which have taken on the
task of oil production.
Another factor determining the viability of oil extraction from the
Tar Sands is the price of oil. In 2005, record oil prices have made
it more than profitable to extract this oil, which in the past
would give little profit or even a loss.
While Edmonton is considered the pipeline junction,
manufacturing, chemical processing, research and refining centre of
the province, Calgary is
known for its senior and junior oil company head offices.
With concerted effort and support from the provincial government,
several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta,
notably the invention and perfection of liquid crystal
display systems fact.
Sheep for
wool and mutton are also raised.
Wheat and canola are primary farm crops,
with Alberta leading the provinces in spring wheat production, with
other grains also
prominent. Across the province, the once common grain elevator is slowly
being lost as rail lines are decreased and farmers now truck the
grain to central points.
Alberta is the leading beekeeping province of Canada, with some beekeepers
wintering hives indoors in
specially designed barns in southern Alberta, then migrating north
during the summer into the Peace River
valley where the season is short but the working days are long for
honeybees to produce
honey from clover and
fireweed. Hybrid canola also requires bee pollination, and some beekeepers service this
need.
The vast northern forest
reserves of softwood
allow Alberta to produce large quantities of lumber, oriented strand board
(OSB) and plywood,
and several plants in northern Alberta supply North America and the
Pacific Rim nations with bleached wood pulp and newsprint.
Government
The government of Alberta is organized as a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral
legislature and a bicameral government. Although the Lieutenant
Governor is technically the most powerful person in Alberta, (s)he
is in reality a figurehead whose actions are restricted by custom and
constitutional convention. The government is therefore
headed by the Premier,
Ralph Klein, who is
the Chief Executive Officer of the Government of Alberta.
As is always the case in a parliamentary system of government, the
Premier is a Member of the Legislative Assembly, and he draws all
the members of his Cabinet from among the Members of the
Legislative Assembly.
The City of Edmonton is
the seat of the provincial government — the capital of
Alberta.
The province's revenue comes mainly from the taxation of oil,
natural gas, beef, softwood lumber, and wheat, but also includes a
tax on corporate and personal income, gaming revenue, and grants from the federal government
primarily for infrastructure projects. Albertans are the
lowest-taxed people in
Canada, and Alberta is
the only province in Canada without a provincial sales tax (though residents
are still subject to the federal sales tax, the GST). Alberta has traditionally had
three political parties, the Progressive Conservatives ("Conservatives" or "Tories"),
the Liberals, and the social democratic New
Democrats. A fourth party, the strongly conservative Social Credit
Party, was a power in Alberta for many decades, but fell from the political map after the
Progressive Conservatives came to power in 1971. See also: Alberta
separatism.
In the 2004 provincial election, held in November, the
Progressive Conservative Party was re-elected as a majority
government (62 Members), the Liberal Party of Alberta was elected
as the Official Opposition (16 Members), the New Democratic Party
elected four Members, and the Alberta Alliance
Party, running to the right of the Conservatives, won one seat.
See also: List of Alberta Premiers, List of
Alberta general elections
Education
As with any Canadian province, the Albertan Legislature has
(almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education.
There is also Athabasca University, which focuses on distance
learning, and the University of Lethbridge. There are 15 colleges that
receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes,
NAIT and SAITPost Secondary
Education. The main north-south corridor is Highway 2,
which begins south of Cardston at the Carway border crossing. Highway 4,
which effectively extends U.S. Interstate Highway 15 into Alberta and is the
busiest U.S. gateway to the province, begins at the Coutts border crossing
and ends at Lethbridge. Highway 3
joins Lethbridge to Fort Macleod and links Highway 4
to Highway 2. Highway 2 travels northward through Fort Macleod,
Calgary, Red Deer, and
Edmonton
before dividing into two highways. The section of Highway 2 between
Calgary and Edmonton has been named the Queen Elizabeth
II Highway to commemorate the visit of the monarch in 2005. Past Edmonton, one branch
continues northwest as Highway 43
into Grande Prairie and the Peace River Country;
the other (Highway 63) travels northeast to Fort McMurray,
the location of the Athabasca Oil Sands. Highway 2 is supplimented by two
more highways that run parallel to it: Highway
22, west of highway 2, known as "the cowboy trail," and
Highway 21, east of highway 2.
Alberta has two main east-west corridors. The southern corridor,
part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near
Medicine
Hat, runs westward through Calgary, and leaves Alberta through
Banff National
Park. The northern corridor, also part of the Trans-Canada
network but known alternatively as the Yellowhead Highway
(Highway 16),
runs west from Lloydminster in eastern Alberta, through Edmonton and
Jasper National
Park into British Columbia. On a sunny spring or fall day, one of
the most scenic drives in the world is along the Icefields Parkway,
which runs some 300 km between Jasper and Banff, with mountain
ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length.
Urban stretches of Alberta's major highways and freeways are often called
trails. Calgary International Airport and Edmonton
International Airport are the fourth and fifth busiest in
Canada respectively. Calgary's airport is a hub for WestJet Airlines and a regional hub for Air Canada. Calgary's airport
primarily serves the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Manitoba) for connecting flights to British
Columbia, eastern Canada, 15 major US centres, nine European
airports, and four destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean Calgary International
Airport.
There are over 9000 km of operating mainline railway, and many
tourists see Alberta aboard Via Rail or Rocky Mountain Railtours.
See also: List of airports in Alberta
Culture
-
Main article: Culture of Alberta
Alberta is well known for its warm and outgoing friendliness and
frontier
spirit.
Summer brings many festivals to the province. The Edmonton Fringe
Festival is the world's second largest after Edinburgh's. Calgary is also
home to Carifest, the
second largest Caribbean festival in the nation (after Caribana in Toronto). According to Statistics Canada,
Alberta is home to the second highest proportion (two percent) of
Francophones in
western Canada (after Manitoba). Forty-four percent of Albertans are of
British and
Irish descent,
and there are also large numbers of Germans, Ukrainians, and
Scandinavians.
Both cities are home to Canadian Football
League and National Hockey League teams. Soccer, rugby union and lacrosse are also played
professionally in Alberta.
Language
See also Languages of Canada
Alberta is home to speakers of many languages, with many minorty
languages growing due to in-migration.
Tourism
-
Main article: Tourism in Alberta
Alberta has been a tourist destination from the early days of
the 20th Century, with attractions including outdoor locales for
skiing, hiking and camping, shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall,
outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, international
sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games
and Olympic Games,
as well as more eclectic attractions.
According to Alberta Economic Development, Edmonton and Calgary
both host over four million visitors annually. Banff, Jasper and
the Rocky Mountains are vistited by about three million people per
year Alberta Economic
Development: Tourism Statistics.
Alberta's Rocky
Mountains include well known tourist destinations Banff National Park
and Jasper
National Park. Banff is located 128km west of Calgary on
Highway
1 and Jasper is located 366km west of Edmonton on Yellowhead
Highway.
About 1.2 million people pass through the gates of Calgary's
world-famous Stampede, a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle
ranching industry. Edmonton was the gateway to the only
all-Canadian route to the Yukon gold
fields, and the only route which did not require gold-seekers
to travel the exhausting and dangerous Chilkoot Pass.
Alberta is an important destination for tourists who love to
ski and hike; Hunters and fishermen from
around the world are able to take home impressive trophies and tall tales from their
experiences in Alberta's wilderness.
Demographics
Alberta has enjoyed a relatively high rate of growth in recent
years, due in large part to its burgeoning economy.
Population of Alberta since 1901
Year
|
Population
|
Five Year
% change
|
Ten Year
% change
|
Percentage of
Canadian Pop.
|
Rank Among
Provinces
|
| 1901 |
73,022 |
n/a |
n/a |
1.4 |
9
|
| 1911 |
374,295 |
n/a |
412.6 |
5.2 |
7
|
| 1921 |
588,454 |
n/a |
57.2 |
6.7 |
5
|
| 1931 |
731,605 |
n/a |
24.3 |
7.0 |
4
|
| 1941 |
796,169 |
n/a |
8.8 |
6.9 |
5
|
| 1951 |
939,501 |
n/a |
18.0 |
6.7 |
4
|
| 1956 |
1,123,116 |
19.5 |
n/a |
n/a |
4
|
| 1961 |
1,331,944 |
18.6 |
41.8 |
7.3 |
4
|
| 1966 |
1,463,203 |
9.9 |
30.3 |
n/a |
4
|
| 1971 |
1,627,874 |
11.3 |
22.2 |
7.5 |
4
|
| 1976 |
1,838,035 |
12.9 |
25.6 |
n/a |
4
|
| 1981 |
2,237,724 |
21.7 |
37.5 |
9.2 |
4
|
| 1986 |
2,365,825 |
5.7 |
28.7 |
9.3 |
4
|
| 1991 |
2,545,553 |
7.6 |
13.8 |
9.3 |
4
|
| 1996 |
2,696,826 |
5.9 |
14.0 |
9.3 |
4
|
| 2001 |
2,974,807 |
10.3 |
16.9 |
9.9 |
4
|
Source: Statistics Canada Population of Alberta - Statistics
Canada
Ethnic Origins
Ethnic Origin
|
Population
|
Percent
|
| Canadian |
813,485
|
27.66%
|
| English |
753,190
|
25.61%
|
| German |
576,350
|
19.60%
|
| Scottish |
556,575
|
18.92%
|
| Irish |
461,065
|
15.68%
|
| French |
332,675
|
11.31%
|
| Ukrainian |
285,725
|
9.71%
|
| Dutch
(Netherlands) |
149,225
|
5.07%
|
| North American
Indian |
144,040
|
4.90%
|
| Polish |
137,625
|
4.68%
|
| Norwegian |
120,045
|
4.08%
|
| Chinese |
108,050
|
3.67%
|
| Swedish |
78,565
|
2.67%
|
| Italian |
67,655
|
2.30%
|
| Métis |
63,620
|
2.16%
|
| Russian |
62,750
|
2.13%
|
| East
Indian |
61,180
|
2.08%
|
| Welsh |
59,470
|
2.02%
|
| Danish |
50,465
|
1.72%
|
| American (USA) |
49,875
|
1.70%
|
| Hungarian
(Magyar) |
41,535
|
1.41%
|
| Filipino |
36,235
|
1.23%
|
The information regarding ethnicities at the left is from the
2001 Canadian Census.
The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses
(e.g. Many Albertan Mormons descend from Mormon pioneers who
emigrated from Utah around
the turn of the 20th century. Alberta also has a large Hutterite population, a
communal Anabaptist
sect similar to the Mennonites, and a significant population of Seventh-day
Adventists in and around the Lacombe area due to the presence of the Canadian
University College. Alberta is also home to several Eastern Rite
Catholic Churches as part of the legacy of Eatern European
immmigrantion, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton.
Many people of the Hindu,
Sikh, and Muslim faiths also make Alberta
their home; North America's oldest mosque is located in
Edmonton.
History
-
Main article: History of Alberta
The present province of Alberta, as far north as about 53° north
latitude, was a part of Rupert's Land from the time of the incorporation of the
Hudson's Bay
Company (1670). After
the arrival in the North-West of the French around 1731 they
settled the prairies of the west, establishing communities such as
Lac La
Biche and Bonnyville. The first explorer of the Athabasca region
was Peter Pond, who,
on behalf of the North-West Company of Montreal, built Fort Athabasca on Lac La
Biche in 1778. Roderick Mackenzie built Fort Chipewyan on
Lake Athabasca
ten years later in 1788. His cousin, Sir Alexander
Mackenzie followed the North Saskatchewan
River to its northernmost point near Edmonton, then setting
northward on foot, trekked to the Athabasca River, which he followed to Lake
Athabasca. Returning to Lake Athabasca, he followed the Peace River
upstream, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean, and so being the first white man to
cross the North American continent north of Mexico.
The district of Alberta was created as part of the North-West
Territories in 1882. After a long campaign for autonomy, in 1905
the district of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial
status.
Fauna and flora
Fauna
The three climatic regions (alpine, forest, and prairie) of Alberta are home to many different species
of animals. Among them are the grizzly and black bears, which are found in the mountains and
wooded regions. Smaller carnivores of the dog and cat families include coyotes, wolves,
fox, lynx, bobcat and mountain lion (cougar).
Herbivorous, or
plant-eating animals, are found throughout the province. Moose and deer (both mule and white-tail varieties) are
found in the wooded regions, and pronghorn antelope
can be found in the prairies of southern Alberta. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats live in the
Rocky Mountains. Rabbits,
porcupines, skunks, squirrels, and many species of rodents and
reptiles live in every corner of the province. Vast numbers of
ducks, geese, swans, and pelicans arrive in Alberta every spring and nest on or
near one of the hundreds of small lakes that dot northern Alberta.
Eagles, hawks, owls, and crows
are plentiful, and a huge variety of smaller seed and insect-eating
birds can be found. Alberta, like other temperate regions, is home to mosquitoes, flies, wasps, and bees.
Rivers and lakes are well stocked with pike, walleye, whitefish, rainbow, speckled, and brown trout, and even sturgeon. Frogs and salamanders are a few of the
amphibians that make
their homes in Alberta.
Flora
In central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring brings the
prairie anemone, the avens, crocuses, and other early flowers. The southern part of
Alberta is covered by a short grass, very nutritive, but dries up
as summer lengthens, to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the
buffalo bean,
fleabane, and sage. These are largely
deciduous, typically
birch, poplar, and tamarack. Aspen poplar, balsam poplar (or cottonwood), and paper birch are the primary
large deciduous species. Conifers include Jack pine, Rocky Mountain pine, Lodgepole pine, both
white and black spruce,
and the deciduous conifer tamarack.
Chronology
- Key Dates:
-
1973: Company is incorporated.
-
1975: Company sells shares publicly.
-
1986: Company establishes pipeline division.
-
1989: Company begins construction of Vancouver Island Natural Gas Pipeline.
-
1994: Alberta Government completes divestiture of company shares and company becomes fully privatized.
-
1995: Company acquires Conwest Exploration Company Ltd.
-
1999: Company acquires Pacalta Resources Ltd. and begins oil exploration in Oriente Basin (Ecuador/Colombia).
-
2000: Company acquires McMurry Oil Company and begins expansion into the Rocky Mountain area of United States.
-
2001: Express Pipeline adds connection in Montana and opens new U.S. markets for Alberta oil.
Additional topics
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