Edmonton (pronounced /ˈɛdməntən/) is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies. It is the second largest city in Alberta after Calgary, and is the hub of Canada's sixth-largest census metropolitan area. The hadrosaur Edmontosaurus is named after the city. In the Canada 2006 Census, the city had a population of 730,372, and its census metropolitan area had a population of 1,034,945, making it the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. The 2009 civic census showed a population of 782,439. At 684 km2 (264 sq mi), the City of Edmonton covers an area larger than Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, or Montreal. Edmonton has one of the lowest urban population densities in North America, about 9.4% that of New York City. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.
Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor (one of four regions that together comprise 50% of Canada's population) and is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories. Edmonton is Canada's second most populous provincial capital (after Toronto) and is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It plays host to a year-round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of "The Festival City." It is home to North America's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (which was the world's largest mall for a 23 year period from 1981 until 2004.), and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum. In 2004, Edmonton celebrated the centennial of its incorporation as a city.
West Edmonton Mall (WEM), located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is the largest shopping mall in North America and fourth largest in the world. West Edmonton Mall is located in a suburban part of the city, covers a gross area of 570,000 m² (5.3 million ft²) and cost C$1.2 billion to build. There are over 800 stores and services and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 23,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives 22 million visits per year and over 60 000 shoppers daily. The mall is currently valued at $926 million.
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Parade celebrating anniversary of the Hudson's Bay Co., 1920.
Edmonton, like many places in North America had been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous groups. First permanent settlement by Europeans is known to have started around 1795, when Fort Edmonton was officially founded around present day Fort Saskatchewan.
In the early 1800s, the fort was moved to near the current (Alberta) legislature site. The fort was big in the fur trade business. The first settlement outside of the fort was on "River lots", which actually now consist of neighbourhoods. In 1894, settlement began outside the fort and the Town of Edmonton was established. The town encompassed modern Boyle Street (the original downtown) and McCauley neighbourhoods.
In the 1900-1910 decade, the Hudson's Bay Company was granted a reserve on much of the Fort's land but in the decade it was eventually all sold off to Edmonton. Edmonton became a city in 1904 and shortly after, with a mere 5,000 people became Alberta's capital. With the new land west of Queens Avenue (modern 100 St) available to the city, the city grew tremendously, and Boyle Street was abandoned as the downtown for the new, current downtown.
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Michael J. Fox Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the son of Phyllis, an actress and payroll clerk, and William Fox, a police officer and member of the Canadian Forces. Fox's family lived in various cities and towns across Canada because of his father's career.1 The family finally settled in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby, British Columbia, when his father retired in 1971. Fox attended Burnaby Central Senior Secondary, and currently has a theatre named after him in Burnaby South Secondary.
Fox co-starred in the Canadian television series Leo and Me at age fifteen, and in 1979, at eighteen, moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He was "discovered" by producer Ronald Shedlo and made his American television debut in the television movie Letters from Frank, credited under the name "Michael Fox".
He intended to continue to use the name, but when he registered with the Screen Actors Guild, which does not allow duplicate registration names to avoid credit ambiguities, he discovered that Michael Fox, a veteran character actor, was already registered under the name. As he explained in his autobiography, Lucky Man: A Memoir, and in interviews, he needed to come up with a different name. He did not like the sound of "Andrew" or "Andy" Fox.
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