Canada – 125th Anniversary of the Canadian Confederation Alberta 1992 Proof Silver 25 Cents 23.8mm (5.83 grams) 0.925 Silver (0.1734 oz. ASW) Reference: KM# 221a | Engraver: Dora de Pédery-Hunt, Melvin (Mel) Heath ELIZABETH II CANADA D·G·REGINA 1867-1992, Elizabeth II facing right. ALBERTA MH 25 CENTS, Rock formations in the badlands near Drumhelter.
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Alberta (/ælˈbɜːrtə/) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. English is the official language of the province. In 2016, 76.0% of Albertans were anglophone, 1.8% were francophone and 22.2% were allophone.
Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories (NWT) to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. It is one of the only two landlocked provinces in Canada. The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains, while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity. Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional chinook winds.
Alberta is the 6th largest province by area, being approximately 660,000 square kilometers, and the 4th most populous, being home to 4,067,175 people. Alberta’s capital is Edmonton, while Calgary is its largest city. The two are Alberta’s largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and both exceed 1 million people. More than half of Albertans live in either Edmonton or Calgary, which contributes to continuing the rivalry between the two cities. The province also has one other CMA, Lethbridge, and 15 census agglomerations.
The oil and gas industry is also a part of the province’s identity. Alberta’s economy is based on hydrocarbons, petrochemical industries, livestock, agriculture and frontier technologies. The oil industry has been a pillar of Alberta’s economy since 1947, when substantial oil deposits were discovered at Leduc No. 1 well. Since Alberta is the province most rich in hydrocarbons, it provides 70% of the oil and natural gas exploited on Canadian soil. In 2018, Alberta’s output was CDN$338.2 billion, 15.27% of Canada’s GDP.
In the past, Alberta’s political landscape hosted parties like the left-wing Liberals and the agrarian United Farmers of Alberta, as well as the right-wing Social Credit Party and the Progressive Conservatives. Today, Alberta is generally perceived as a conservative province. The longest political dynasty in Canada was held by the Progressive Conservatives from 1971 to 2015.
Before becoming part of Canada, Alberta was home to several First Nations and was a territory used by fur traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The lands that would become Alberta were acquired by Canada as part of the NWT on July 15, 1870. On September 1, 1905, Alberta was separated from the NWT as a result of the Alberta Act and designated the 8th province of Canada. From the late 1800s to early 1900s, many immigrants arrived, the biggest wave of which was pushed by Wilfrid Laurier, to prevent the prairies from being annexed by Americans. Massive oil resources were discovered in Alberta in 1947.
Alberta is renowned for its natural beauty, richness in fossils and for housing important nature reserves. Alberta is home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites: The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Dinosaur Provincial Park, the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Waterton–Glacier International Peace Park, Wood Buffalo National Park and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park. Other popular sites include: Banff, Canmore, Drumheller, Jasper, Sylvan Lake and Lake Louise.
Canada is a country, consisting of ten provinces and three territories, in the northern part of the continent of North America. It extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles) in total, making it the world’s second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area. Canada’s common border with the United States forms the world’s longest land border. Canada is sparsely populated overall, the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra as well as the mountain range of the Rocky Mountains; about four-fifths of the population live near to the southern border. The majority of Canada has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer.
The land now called Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonies were established on the region’s Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various conflicts, the United Kingdom gained and lost North American territories until left, in the late 18th century, with what mostly comprises Canada today. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1, 1867, three colonies joined to form the autonomous federal Dominion of Canada. This began an accretion of provinces and territories to the new self-governing Dominion. In 1931, Britain granted Canada near total independence with the Statute of Westminster 1931 and full sovereignty was attained when the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.
Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II being the current head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level. It is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries, with a population of approximately 35 million as of 2015. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Canada’s long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture.
Canada is a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world, with the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally, and the eighth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. Canada is a Commonwealth Realm member of the Commonwealth of Nations, a member of the Francophonie, and part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G8, the Group of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
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