Alberta

Alberta is one of the thirteen provinces and territories that make up the Canadian Federation of Independent States. In addition to being a part of Western Canada, it is also one of the three provinces of the prairies. Alberta is bordered on the west by British Columbia, on the east by Saskatchewan, on the north by the Northwest Territories (NWT), and on the south by the state of Montana in the United States of America. It is one of only two provinces in Canada that is completely surrounded by water. Although the Great Plains occupy the eastern portion of the province, it shares a boundary with the Rocky Mountains in the western portion. Aridity in the air causes temperature variations to be rapid in the province, which has a primarily continental climate yet suffers rapid temperature swings. Because to the presence of chinook breezes on sometimes, seasonal temperature changes are less noticeable in western Alberta.

Alberta is the sixth-largest province in terms of land size, with 661,848 square kilometres, and the fourth-most populated, with a population of 4,067,175 people. Alberta's capital city is Edmonton, while the state's biggest city is Calgary. The two are the most populous census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Alberta, with each having a population of more than one million people. In Alberta, almost half of the population resides in either Edmonton or Calgary, which contributes to the continuation of a bitter rivalry between the two major cities. The province's official language is English, which is widely spoken. In 2016, 76.0 percent of Albertans identified as anglophone, 1.8 percent as francophone, and 22.2 percent as allophone, according to the 2016 census.

The oil and gas sector contributes to the province's overall character as well. Agricultural production, livestock, and frontier technology are the foundations of Alberta's economy. Since 1947, when significant oil resources were found at the Leduc No. 1 well, the oil sector has been a cornerstone of Alberta's economy. Because Alberta is the province with the greatest concentration of hydrocarbon resources, it accounts for 70 percent of all oil and natural gas produced on Canadian land. In 2018, Alberta's production was CDN$338.2 billion, accounting for 15.27 percent of Canada's gross domestic product.

In the past, political groups such as the left-wing Liberals and the agricultural United Farmers of Alberta were represented on Alberta's political scene. Alberta is typically regarded as a conservative province in today's society. In Canada's history, the right-wing Social Credit Party held power continuously from 1935 to 1971, followed by the centre-right Progressive Conservatives, who held power continuously from 1971 to 2015, the latter representing the country's longest uninterrupted period of government at either the provincial or federal level.