Describing Edmonton

Did You Know?

• The average cost of a townhouse in Edmonton is $370,000 compared to $990,000 in Toronto and $1.1 million in Vancouver.
• Alberta is the only province with no PST or HST and offers the lowest overall taxes in Canada.
• The Edmonton Metropolitan Region is home to more than 1.4 million people and generates $105 billion in GDP, making it Canada’s 5th largest economy and fastest growing region.
• We are the world’s second largest producer of low-cost hydrogen and our region is estimated to see $30 billion invested in the hydrogen economy by 2030.
• Edmonton’s startup ecosystem value has increased by 236 per cent since 2020.
• Urban Work Index ranked Edmonton as the third best city in the country for youth work.
• There are more than 75 indie game developers in Edmonton.
• Edmonton’s river valley is the largest urban parkland in North America and is 22 times the size of New York’s Central Park.
• Edmonton is one of the sunniest cities in Canada, getting up to 17 hours of sunlight a day in the summer.
• The Edmonton Heritage Festival is the world’s largest multicultural festival.

Topics

Overall  |  Arts and Culture  |  Business  |  Indigenous Edmonton  |  Innovation

Overall

We’re young, ambitious and building something extraordinary. Located on Treaty 6 Territory and with a population of just over one million, Edmonton is one of Canada's youngest and fastest growing cities. We’re building a resilient and diverse economy, attracting the best and the brightest and striving to be a world leader in environmental sustainability. We value quality of life, community safety and a welcoming spirit that embraces new people and new ideas.

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Arts and Culture

Edmonton is home to a vibrant medley of different cultures, languages and religious backgrounds. We support and encourage the new and fresh, while also cherishing what our past has given us. First generation newcomers make up 23 per cent of the region’s population, creating diverse, welcoming and vibrant communities and workplaces. 

A gathering place for the arts, the Downtown Arts District is a vibrant hub of live entertainment, visual art and music. Be inspired at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Citadel Theatre, Winspear Centre and Royal Alberta Museum. 

Arts and culture are celebrated year-round. Every season is festival season and Edmonton’s home-grown festivals are now renowned: the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival and Edmonton International Street Performers Festival are the largest and longest-running in North America; Gallery Walk featuring six galleries is the first of its kind in Canada; and the Edmonton Heritage Festival is the world’s largest multicultural festival.

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Business

Edmonton has a strong, diverse and resilient economy, focusing on energy, life sciences, food and agriculture, technology and manufacturing industries. Our highly skilled workforce, strategic location and innovation drives our success. With no provincial sales tax and extremely low personal and corporate tax rates, Edmonton is one of the most cost-competitive places to do business in the world.

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Indigenous Edmonton

Located within the Treaty 6 Territory, Edmonton has long been a gathering place for Indigenous communities, including the Cree, Dene, Stoney, Saulteaux, Blackfoot and Metis people. The traditional name of Edmonton is amiskwaciy-wâskahikan, meaning Beaver Hills House.

The City of Edmonton and numerous community partners are committed to growing healthy relationships with Indigenous communities in Edmonton through the Indigenous Framework. The University of Alberta has the Faculty of Native Studies, the only faculty of its kind in Canada; and the City encourages ongoing celebrations of culture through the Indigenous Artist-in-Residence Program, Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Currently home to the second largest Indigenous population in Canada, Edmonton offers many ways to celebrate and experience the rich culture through history, art, food, festivals and stories.  

Also see the City of Edmonton’s current Land Acknowledgement.

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Innovation

Edmonton is being recognized as an emerging regional hub for artificial intelligence and start up industries, using high-tech and automation to create opportunities and developments. We are innovative, globally competitive and empowered by a talented and diverse workforce, which has created breakthroughs in autonomous vehicles, cleantech, medical research and nanotechnology. 

The University of Alberta is one of the top artificial intelligence and machine learning research universities in the world.

Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) provides support to businesses implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning, and partners with global industry leaders, notably Google Brain, IBM, Microsoft Research, and Volkswagen Data Lab. 

Service business software Jobber, the 2nd fastest growing software company in Canada, is currently in 47 countries, and businesses using the platform deliver $6 billion in services.

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