1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Edmonton

EDMONTON, the capital of the province of Alberta, Canada (see 8.946), first established as a trading post by the Hudson Bay Co. in 1795, remained little more than a village until 1901. Since then its growth has been rapid, and in 1920 it had a pop. of 67,000. Edmonton has 5 railways with 13 radiating lines, and is the terminus of the Calgary and Edmonton branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The city council consists of a mayor and 10 aldermen elected from the city at large—the mayor for one year and aldermen for two—and the mayor and two commissioners act as a board for administration. There is also an elected board of six public school trustees, and another elected board of trustees for the separate (Roman Catholic) schools. The Supreme Court sits at Edmonton several times a year. Edmonton is the chief educational centre of the province, and besides the university of Alberta has a branch of the Normal school, Alberta College, Westminster Ladies' College and a Presbyterian college.

Edmonton has extensive live-stock, dairy, milling and packing industries. There are 9 coal mines within the city limits and 24 on the outskirts, giving a yearly output of 1,680,000 tons. Gold, silver and oil are also found in the neighbourhood.