About Edmonton

The capital city of Alberta is a vibrant northern city with community-minded citizens that take great pride in living here. As Canada's "Festival City", Edmonton is always celebrating something. With over 50 festivals each year celebrating food, heritage, music, theater, winter, and more, there is bound to be an event that will spark your interest.

A big city with a small town feel, Edmonton boasts the longest stretch of urban parkland on the continent. Further to Edmonton's beautiful landscape, it is proud to be an economic leader in Canada as well as home to the renowned University of Alberta.

In order to help plan your trip, we’ve compiled some useful links and resources about life in Edmonton, ranked as number 86 in 2021's top 100 World's Best Cities. We hope you will find this information helpful. If any of your questions go unanswered, please do not hesitate to contact members of the Postgraduate Office of Surgical Education.

photo credit: exploreedmonton.com

QUICK FACTS:

  • Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley is the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America.

  • There are 275 kilometers of paths and sidewalks for cyclists – though they have to be shared with walkers. Also noteworthy are the 460 kilometers of unpaved single track and unimproved trails.

  • Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a population over one million.

  • The University of Alberta has produced 75 Rhodes Scholars and is ranked as fourth in Canada as a top research university.

  • The U of A Libraries is Canada’s second-largest research library, with a collection of 1.3 million e-books and 1,700 databases.

  • Edmonton has over 30 annual festivals year round. Internationally renowned are the Folk, Fringe and Street Performers festival.

  • There are over 80 golf courses in metropolitan Edmonton and 300 in Alberta.

  • Edmonton is one of Canada's sunniest cities with over 2,300 hours of bright sunlight per year.

  • Alberta has no provincial sales tax.