The Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR), commonly referred to as Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Edmonton, the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta.
While the EMR is not a strictly defined entity, its commonly known boundaries are coincident with those of the Edmonton census metropolitan area (CMA) as delineated by Statistics Canada. However, the now defunct Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB)established by the provincial government to provide a form of regional government, fostering cooperation for regional planning amongst the City of Edmonton and its surrounding municipalitieshad a membership that differed slightly from the CMA.
The EMR is considered a major gateway to northern Alberta and the Canadian North, particularly for many companies, including airlines and oil/natural gas exploration. Located within central Alberta and at the northern end of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor, the EMR is both the northernmost metropolitan area in Canada and the northernmost metropolitan area in North America with a population over one million.
Edmonton CMA As of the 2021 Canadian census, the Edmonton CMA includes the following 34 census subdivisions (municipalities or municipality equivalents): six cities (Beaumont, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Spruce Grove and St. Albert); one specialized municipality (Strathcona County, which includes the Sherwood Park urban service area); three municipal districts (Leduc County, Parkland County, and Sturgeon County); ten towns (Bon Accord, Bruderheim, Calmar, Devon, Gibbons, Legal, Morinville, Redwater, Stony Plain and Thorsby); two villages (Spring Lake and Warburg); eight summer villages (Betula Beach, Golden Days, Itaska Beach, Kapasiwin, Lakeview, Point Alison, Seba Beach, and Sundance Beach); and four Indian reserves for three First Nations (Alexander 134 of the Alexander First Nation, Enoch Cree Nation 135 of the Enoch Cree Nation, and Wabamun 133A and 133B of the Paul First Nation).
The Edmonton CMA is the largest of the 41 CMAs in Canada by area, at . In the 2021 Canadian census, it had a population of 1,418,118, making it the sixth largest CMA in Canada by population, with the second largest percentage increase in national CMA population (37.0% versus 37.3% for the Calgary CMA) over the 15 years since the 2006 Canadian census. The Edmonton CMA comprises the majority of Statistics Canada's Division No. 11 in Alberta.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Edmonton metropolitan region recorded a population of 1,418,118 living in 548,624 of its 589,554 total private dwellings, a change of 7.3% from its 2016 population of 1,321,441. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 9, 2022). Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved August 11, 2023
Ethnicity + Panethnic groups in Metro Edmonton (2001−2021)Panethnic group20212016201120062001 European 849,515 857,085 822,830 797,420 750,315 South Asian 123,340 91,420 61,135 40,205 29,065 Southeast Asian 101,410 78,310 56,240 30,655 23,865 Indigenous 87,600 76,205 61,765 52,105 40,930 African 80,575 57,820 32,725 20,380 14,095 East Asian 74,140 70,255 59,140 53,235 45,965 Middle Eastern 39,955 32,255 21,590 14,865 10,840 Latin American 21,955 18,755 14,530 9,210 7,515 Other/Multiracial 20,200 15,170 9,640 6,750 4,430 Total responses 1,397,750 1,297,280 1,139,585 1,024,820 927,020 Total population 1,418,118 1,321,426 1,159,869 1,034,945 937,845
Language The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2021 Canadian Census, and lists languages that were selected by at least 1,000 respondents. +Knowledge of Languages in Metro EdmontonLanguage2021 English 1,372,110 French 96,620 Cree 3,915 Oromo 2,615 Somali 10,555 Amharic 5,965 Arabic 34,760 Hebrew 1,360 Tigrigna 6,440 Khmer(Cambodian) 1,055 Vietnamese 12,490 Bisaya,n.o.s. 1,055 Cebuano 3,190 Hiligaynon 1,510 Ilocano 4,760 Tagalog 63,930 Malayalam 6,485 Tamil 4,870 Telugu 2,140 Czech 1,035 Polish 10,715 Russian 10,420 Serbo-Croatian 5,845 Ukrainian 12,680 German 18,685 Afrikaans 1,360 Dutch 4,380 Greek 1,545 Bengali 3,865 Gujarati 10,620 Hindi 41,900 Kacchi 1,110 Marathi 1,470 Nepali 2,500 Punjabi 53,280 Sinhala 2,105 Urdu 16,575 Pashto 1,155 Dari 2,220 IranianPersian 3,740 Italian 8,095 Portuguese 6,500 Romanian 2,960 Spanish 36,115 Japanese 3,320 Korean 8,020 Akan(Twi) 1,660 Igbo 1,295 Kinyarwanda(Rwanda) 1,520 Rundi(Kirundi) 1,060 Shona 1,100 Swahili 5,030 Yoruba 3,230 Mandarin 32,395 Min Nan(Chaochow, Teochow,Fukien, Taiwanese) 1,685 Cantonese 29,300 Turkish 2,920 Hungarian 1,805 TotalResponses 1,397,750 TotalPopulation 1,418,118
Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board
Fragmentation in regional cooperation and partnership has long played a divisive role within the EMR. Particularly, Edmonton was frustrated that its surrounding municipalities were receiving an increased tax base for major industrial development, while not contributing to Edmonton's burden to maintain and build new infrastructure within Edmonton used by the residents and businesses of the surrounding municipalities.
After pulling out of the Alberta Capital Region Alliance (ACRA), Edmonton lobbied the provincial government to establish some form of regional government that would be more effective in fostering regional cooperation between it and its surrounding municipalities. As a result, Premier Ed Stelmach announced in December 2007 that a governing board would be established for Edmonton's Capital Region. Four months later, the Capital Region Board was formed on April 15, 2008 with the passing of the Capital Region Board Regulation by Order in Council 127/2008 under the authority of the Municipal Government Act.
On October 26, 2017, the Capital Region Board (CRB) was renamed to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB).
Member municipalities The original Capital Region Board (CRB) was established with 25 participating or member municipalities, differing slightly from the municipalities that Statistics Canada included in the Edmonton CMA as the CRB excluded entities which did not take active involvement in the greater regional planning activity (four Indian reserves, eight summer villages and one village) while including the non-CMA Lamont County and the Town of Lamont. The number of member municipalities was reduced to 24 on September 10, 2010 after the Village of New Sarepta dissolved to hamlet status under the jurisdiction of Leduc County on September 1, 2010. Concurrent with the CRB's name change to the EMRB in October 2017, municipal membership decreased from 24 to 13, with the two non-CMA CRB members (Lamont County and Town of Lamont) no longer included, and only those municipalities within the CMA with a population of 5,000 or more remain as members (smaller municipalities are represented by their municipal districts).
More specifically, the EMRB includes: six cities (Beaumont, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, St. Albert, and Spruce Grove); one specialized municipality (Strathcona County, which includes the Sherwood Park urban service area); three municipal districts (Leduc County, Parkland County, and Sturgeon County); and three towns (Devon, Morinville, and Stony Plain).
Edmonton Metropolitan Region Growth Plan In recent decades, the Edmonton Metro region growth plans were prepared by the CRB/EMRB organization and approved by the Government of Alberta. In 2010 the Government of Alberta adopted the Growing Forward: The Capital Region Growth Plan – this plan was in force until it was replaced in 2016 when the Government of Alberta adopted the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Growth Plan. The 2016 plan anticipated the region would be home to 2.2 million people by 2044.
Dissolution In 2024, the provincial government announced it would no longer fund the EMRB. In January 2025, member municipalities decided to wind down the organization rather than replace the withdrawn provincial government funding. The regulatory and policy implications of the EMRB dissolution include the end to regional minimum residential density targets and regional management of prime agricultural lands.
List of municipalities
The following is a list of municipalities in the Edmonton CMA, with those that are members of the EMRB indicated accordingly.
MunicipalityMunicipalstatusFederalcensuspopulation(2021)Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population Edmonton, Census metropolitan area. Statistics Canada Retrieved August 12, 2023Latestmunicipalcensuspopulation(2016-2017)LatestmunicipalcensusyearEMRBmemberAlexander 134Indian reserve1,077NBeaumontCity20,88819,2362019YBetula BeachSummer village27NBon AccordTown1,461NBruderheimTown1,329NCalmarTown2,183NDevonTown6,545YEdmontonCity1,010,899972,2232019YEnoch Cree Nation 135Indian reserve1,825NFort SaskatchewanCity27,08826,9422019YGibbonsTown3,218NGolden DaysSummer village248NItaska BeachSummer village30NKapasiwinSummer village24NLakeviewSummer village29NLeducCity34,09433,0322019YLeduc CountyMunicipal district14,416YLegalTown1,232NMorinvilleTown10,38510,5782020YParkland CountyMunicipal district32,205YPoint AlisonSummer village18NRedwaterTown2,115NSeba BeachSummer village229NSpring LakeVillage711NSpruce GroveCity37,64535,7662018YSt. AlbertCity68,23266,0822018YStony PlainTown17,993YStrathcona CountySpecialized municipality99,225YSturgeon CountyMunicipal district20,061YSundance BeachSummer village42NThorsbyTown967NWabamun 133A and 133BIndian reserve1,001NWarburgVillage676N Total Edmonton CMA — — —
Strathcona County's 2021 federal census population of 99,225 includes 72,017 in the Sherwood Park urban service area.Census population results. Strathcona County. September 13, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2023 The combined Wabamun 133A and 133B population of 1,001 includes 981 in Wabamun 133A and 20 in Wabamun 133B.
Major industrial areas Major industrial areas within the EMR include the northwest, southeast and Clover Bar industrial areas in Edmonton, Nisku Industrial Business Park in Leduc County, Acheson Industrial Area in Parkland County, Refinery Row in Strathcona County, and Alberta's Industrial Heartland spanning portions of Sturgeon County, Strathcona County, Lamont County and Fort Saskatchewan.
At the moment, two more major industrial areas are in the final stages of establishment. The establishment of the Horse Hills industrial area in northeast Edmonton is in the final planning stages, while Edmonton Airports is currently planning its inland port development under the Port Alberta initiative at the Edmonton International Airport within Leduc County.
See also Edmonton Calgary-Edmonton Corridor Calgary Metropolitan Region
Notes
References
External links
Edmonton.com - Portal to Greater Edmonton EEDC - Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Government of Alberta Regional Dashboard economic data for the Edmonton CMA