Lucky Edmonton is a boomtown that never seems to go bust. The first boom arrived in 1795, when the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company both established fur-trading posts in the area. Boom II came in 1897, when Edmonton became the principal outfitter on the overland "All Canadian Route" to the Yukon goldfields; as a result, Edmonton was named capital when the province of Alberta was formed in 1905. The latest boom began on February 13, 1947, when oil was discovered in Leduc, 40 km (25 mi) to the southwest. More than 10,000 wells were eventually drilled within 100 km (62 mi) of the city, and with them came fields of refineries and supply depots. By 1965 Edmonton had solidified its role as the oil capital of Canada.

More interesting is how wisely Edmonton has spread the wealth to create a beautiful and livable city. Shunning the uncontrolled development of some other oil boomtowns, Edmonton turned its great natural resource, the North Saskatchewan River valley, into a 27-km (17-mi) greenbelt of parks and recreational facilities. With a population approaching 900,000, Edmonton is the fifth-largest city in Canada and also Canada's second-largest city in land area. As the seat of the provincial government and home to the University of Alberta, the city has an unusually sophisticated atmosphere that has generated many fine restaurants and a thriving arts community. Another of its attractions, the vast West Edmonton Mall, has facilities ranging from an amusement park and a hotel to a cinema complex and a water park.