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Edmonton Capital Region

The Edmonton Capital Region (ECR), also known as Greater Edmonton or the Alberta Capital Region, comprises Alberta's provincial capital of Edmonton and surrounding communities in Sturgeon County (north), Parkland County (west), the Specialized Municipality of Strathcona County (east) and Leduc County (south). A small portion of Lamont County also lies within the ECR just to the northeast. Up to 35 independent municipalities make up Edmonton's CMA outside the City of Edmonton itself. The largest of these are St. Albert, Sherwood Park (part of the Municipality of Strathcona County), Spruce Grove, Leduc, and Fort Saskatchewan. Towns include Stony Plain, Beaumont, Morinville, Devon, Redwater, Legal, Gibbons, Calmar, Bruderheim, Lamont and Bon Accord. Major industrial areas include Nisku and Port Alberta in Leduc County and the recently established Alberta Industrial Heartland, northeast of Fort Saskatchewan.

Elk Island National Park lies within the eastern part of the Edmonton Capital Region. It is a remaining patch of natural parkland, which is now largely destroyed in this region by extensive agricultural and other human activities. Herds of wood bison and elk can be seen roaming in the national park. Also beaver, moose and other animals make their home in Elk Island National Park.

The ECR's boundaries are the same as that of Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as outlined by Statistics Canada. The total area of the CMA is - the largest CMA by area in Canada. The population of the ECR and Edmonton CMA is 1,034,945 as per the 2006 census by Statistics Canada. The population of the ECR is expected to reach 1.25 million by 2020 and 1.5 million by 2033.

The ECR is also a part of the Statistics Canada Division No. 11 in Alberta. Unlike the census division, the ECR itself does not include Wetaskiwin County or Brazeau County, as does Division No. 11. And division No. 12

In the past, Edmonton annexed a few surrounding communities which are now neighbourhoods of that city, including Beverly (annexed 1961), Jasper Place (annexed 1964), and most famously, Strathcona (annexed 1912), whose downtown is now the Old Strathcona historical district centered on Whyte (82) Avenue. Edmonton has attempted in the past to annex Sherwood Park and St. Albert, but without success to date.

The ECR is fragmented in terms of regional cooperation and partnership, and that has played a role in the history of Edmonton and the surrounding region. The City of Edmonton is pushing for greater cooperation among the surrounding municipalities within the Capital Region. In December 2006, Premier Ed Stelmach ordered the creation of a new regional planning board with binding powers over the municipalities of the ECR.

The Edmonton Capital Region is considered a major gateway to northern Alberta and the Canadian North, particularly for many companies, including airlines and oil/natural gas exploration. Located at , it is the northernmost metropolitan area in Canada and is also located near the geographical centre of Alberta. The ECR is at the northern end of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, one of four major economic regions which comprise 50% of Canada's total population.

Communities

Municipalities	Population	Year
Cities
Edmonton	752,412	2007
Fort Saskatchewan	14,957	2006
Leduc	16,967	2006
Spruce Grove	19,496	2006
St. Albert	57,719	2006
total	839,511
Towns
Beaumont	10,820	2008
Bon Accord	1,534	2006
Bruderheim	1,215	2006
Calmar	1,959	2006
Devon	6,256	2006
Gibbons	2,642	2006
Lamont	1,664	2006
Legal	1,192	2006
Morinville	6,775	2006
Redwater	2,192	2006
Stony Plain	12,363	2006
total	46,753
Villages
New Sarepta	410	2006
Thorsby	945	2006
Wabamun	601	2006
Warburg	621	2006
total	2,577
Rural Districts
Leduc County	12,730	2006
Parkland County	29,265	2006
Sturgeon County	18,621	2006
total	60,616
Specialized Municipalities
Strathcona County	82,511	2006
First Nations Reserves
Enoch Cree Nation #1440	1,418	2006
Total	1,033,386