Alberta

Alberta

Flag of Alberta Coat of arms of Alberta
Motto: "Fortis et liber"  (Latin) "Strong and free"
Official languages	English (see below)
Capital	Edmonton
Largest city	Calgary
Lieutenant-Governor	Norman Kwong
Premier	Ed Stelmach (PC)
Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats	28 6
Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total)	Ranked 6th 661,848 km² 642,317 km² 19,531 km² (2.95%)
Population  - Total (2006)  - Density	Ranked 4th 3,290,350 4.63/km²
GDP (2005)  - Total  - Per capita	$215.858 billion (3rd) $66,279 (2nd)
Confederation	September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th )
Time zone	UTC-7
Abbreviations  - Postal  - ISO 3166-2  - Postal Code Prefix	AB CA-AB T
Flower	Wild rose
Tree	Lodgepole Pine
Bird	Great Horned Owl
Website	www.gov.ab.ca
All rankings include the territories

Alberta is one of Canada's western 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 only a single U.S. state. It is also one of two provinces that is completely land-locked (the other being Saskatchewan).

The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Calgary is a major distribution and transportation hub as well as being one of Canada's major commerce centres. Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas have now both exceeded 1 million people, Calgary being slightly more populous than Edmonton. 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.

Since December 14, 2006, the Premier of the province is Hon. Ed Stelmach, Progressive Conservative.

Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was the wife of the Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Lake Louise, the village of Caroline, and Mount Alberta were also named in honour of Princess Louise.