Alberta is the second westernmost province in Canada. During 2010, the projected population was 3.7 million that made it the most populous of the 3 Prairie Provinces. On the first of September, the year 1905, the province of Alberta and the nearby province of Saskatchewan became officially established as provinces.
Alberta is bounded by Saskatchewan to the east and wonderful British Columbia forms the western border. Towards the north lie the Northwest Territories and the U.S. State of Montana lies towards the south. Alberta is 1 among only 2 landlocked provinces and it is 1 of 3 Canadian provinces and territories to border one U.S. state.
Edmonton is the capital city of the province of Alberta. The city is the province's main service and supply hub for the Canadian oil sands and other northern resource industries. This is largely because of the city being located near the geographical centre of the province of Alberta. Calgary is one more large city that is approximately 300 kilometres and 190 miles to the south. Both of these two metropolitan regions have exceeded 1 million inhabitants according to the latest census estimates.
Thanks in part to the large petroleum trade, the economy in Alberta is one of the strongest in Canada, with technology and agriculture following suit. During 2007, the GDP per capita was the highest of any province by far within the nation coming in at $74,825. This number was higher compared to the national average of $46,441 by 61% and compared to several of the Atlantic Provinces it was twice as much. The census of 2006 recorded the median annual family income after taxes to be $70,986 within Alberta compared to the Canadian average of $60,270.
The province's most urbanized region is the corridor between Calgary and Edmonton, which makes up amongst the densest areas in the nation. The region covers over 400 kilometers from its northern boundary to the south. The Calgary-Edmonton Corridor had a population during 2001 of 2.15 million which was 72 percent of Alberta's populationthe population of Albertathe province of Alberta. This is one of the fastest growing locations in Canada. Based on the Fraser Institute, Alberta is rated as the freest economy in Canada and along with its economic freedom; it is the second freest economy amongst US states and Canadian provinces.
Alberta is the biggest producer of synthetic crude, conventional crude oil, natural gas and gas products in Canada. Additionally, the province of Alberta rates as the second largest exporter of natural gas and the 4th largest producer. Two of the top producing petrochemical plants within North America are situated within north-central and central Alberta. There are also world class polyethylene and vinyl makers who make products in Red Deer and Edmonton and ship to all around the world. The raw materials for a big petrochemical industry located towards the east of Edmonton are provided by Edmonton's oil refineries.
The Athabasca oil sands have an estimated 1.6 trillion barrels or 254km3 of unconventional oil reserves, which is approximately the amount of all conventional oil reserves which can be located in the rest of the world. There are new extraction methods being developed in the province of Alberta like the method of steam assisted gravity drainage. This advancement has made bitumen and synthetic crude oil able to be produced at costs similar to those of conventional crude.