The Games > Contingents > Northern Alberta
Northern
Alberta has participated in every Arctic Winter Games since 1986, and
became a permanent member in 1988. Team Alberta North increased the
size of its contingent in 1994 when Slave Lake hosted the Games. Team
Alberta was the host for the 2004 Arctic Winter Games in the Regional
Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Team Northern Alberta encompasses the
region of Alberta located north of the 55th parallel and was admitted
to the Arctic Winter Games because of its close social, political and
economic ties to Canada’s North. The landscape features huge tracts
of boreal forest and several large river systems: the Peace, the Athabasca
and the Hay, which feed into the Mackenzie River drainage. Settlement
of Northern Alberta began in 1778 when Peter Pond of the Northwestern
Company established the province's first fur trading post. From that
point on, the region was part of major fur trading routes for both the
Northwestern Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. Northern Alberta
became the gateway to Canada's Far North when it served as a transportation
and construction hub for the Canol pipeline project during the Second
World War. The largest industry and the source of Northern Alberta growth,
involve oil and natural gas production in the Peace River and Wood Buffalo
areas.
Northern Alberta Facts
| Area | 661,185 sq. km |
| Population | 2,907,882 |
| Capital | Edmonton |
| More Information | Travel Alberta |
| Number of participants at the 2006 Arctic Winter Games | 232 |
| Team Website | Team Alberta |
