Amoung Canada's large cities Edmonton is located farthest north, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the Gateway to the North. The city thrived from being a fur trading fort in the beginnings to being the capital of the province of Alberta, and it is now a metropolitan area with a little less than 900,000 residents in the city alone, and about 1.2 million people in the Census metropolitan area.

Edmonton Skyline with Bridge

Convergence Fountain in Edmonton

Edmonton is well connected, with important links via road, rail, air transportation, and the glacier-fed North Saskatchewan River. As a major economic centre for north and central Alberta, Edmonton has large scaled projects in oil and gas, research and education.

The people in Edmonton can be proud of a wide range of cultural, sporting, and tourist attractions, and the immense variety of festivals hosted in the city, e.g. the Heritage Festival, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, the Edmonton Blues Festival, the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, and many more. Because of it's activities all over the year Edmonton has earned a second nickname, Canada's Festival City.

One could expect that such an attractive city is a magnet for a variety of interesting people from all kinds of areas, from arts, science, and economy, and that it is a birthplace for many outstanding organizations, charities, and companies.