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119-769: The Alberta Securities Act RSA 2000 , a revision of the original Act that came into effect on January 1, 2002, is the statute that establishes Alberta's securities laws and gives the Alberta Securities Commission its powers and duties. The ASC also oversees the ICE NGX Canada Inc., the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada. Along with British Columbia,

238-620: A by-election. The first year and a half in power was a period of adjustment for the newly elected Socred MLAs and their premier. Certain historians believe that much of the Social Credit Party's leadership, and many of its members, didn't understand Douglas' teachings. Negotiations between Aberhart and Douglas, who had been hired by the UFA as a financial advisor, were colourful but unproductive. Aberhart, consumed with details of governance and administration, made little progress along

357-433: A distant seventh in the 2012 and 2015 general elections, before the party's name change. In May 2017, the party changed its name to Pro-Life Alberta Political Association (or Prolife Alberta, for short) following the election of anti-abortion activist Jeremy Fraser as leader. The change in name reflected the change in direction from the comprehensive political platform of Social Credit with aims of forming government, to

476-580: A few fossils are the Belly River Group and St. Mary River Formations of the southwest and the northwestern Wapiti Formation , which contains two Pachyrhinosaurus bone beds. The Bearpaw Formation represents strata deposited during a marine transgression . Dinosaurs are known from this formation, but represent specimens washed out to sea or reworked from older sediments . Paleo-Indians arrived in Alberta at least 10,000 years ago, toward

595-555: A foothold in the province's financial sector by creating the Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) in 1938. ATB has become a lasting legacy of Social Credit Party policies in Alberta, operating as of 2017 as an orthodox financial institution and crown corporation . It is today the only government-owned financial institution in Canada that provides commercial banking to the public. Bowen also refused Royal Assent to

714-473: A formal leader who would become the province's new premier. Aberhart was the obvious choice, having been the party's driving force from the beginning. He didn't want the office, but was persuaded to take power. He was elected as leader and premier-designate at the party's first caucus meeting, and was sworn in on 3 September. He became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) a year later in

833-466: A high rate of interprovincial migration compared to other provinces. In 2016, Alberta continued to have the youngest population among the provinces with a median age of 36.7 years, compared with the national median of 41.2 years. Also in 2016, Alberta had the smallest proportion of seniors (12.3%) among the provinces and one of the highest population shares of children (19.2%), further contributing to Alberta's young and growing population. About 81% of

952-533: A land area of 634,658.27 km (245,042.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.7/km in 2021. Statistics Canada estimated the province to have a population of 4,800,768 in Q1 of 2024. Since 2000, Alberta's population has experienced a relatively high rate of growth, mainly because of its burgeoning economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province had high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and

1071-498: A modest campaign alleging corruption within Manning's administration. However, historians suggest that a number of other problems were brewing during Manning's later years, such as the province's poor mental health system, the poor conditions of the native Albertan peoples, high housing and land prices, and relatively low royalty prices on oil. Despite winning 55 of the 65 seats in the legislature, it received less than 45% of

1190-546: A month to Albertan adults. In the 22 August 1935 election, much to its own surprise, Social Credit won a landslide victory , taking 54% of the vote and winning 56 of the 63 seats in the Legislative Assembly . The only elected opposition was five Liberals and two Conservatives . The UFA lost all of its seats in the worst defeat for a sitting provincial government in Canadian history. Alberta thus elected

1309-537: A new election, and the Socreds were so popular that they would have almost certainly been re-elected. Though Aberhart's government initially enjoyed widespread support from Alberta's working class, labour unions viewed his government with suspicion, and believed that Aberhart was authoritarian. A number of labour leaders took issue with the party's campaign to control prices, fearing that this would also lead to strict wage controls. Aberhart's administration legislated

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1428-511: A number of instances, likening the CCF to "the socialism of Germany ". Saying in one "letter to a CCFer, who... had naively written to suggest CCF-Social Credit electoral co-operation: "it's an insult to suggest to the Canadian people who are sacrificing their sons to remove the curse which the socialism of Germany has brought in the world that their own social and economical security can be attained only by introducing some form of socialism in Canada.

1547-411: A number of ridings by a small margin. However, due to the first past the post system, which awards seats to the candidate with the most votes in a district, even if they do not get a majority of votes (and awards power based on seats won), Social Credit's caucus was cut almost in half. It was cut down to 25 seats, and was consigned to the opposition benches for the first time in party history. Strom led

1666-410: A part of the province's identity. Since Alberta is the province most rich in hydrocarbons, it provides 70% of the oil and natural gas produced on Canadian soil. In 2018, Alberta's output was CA$ 338.2 billion, 15.27% of Canada's GDP. Until the 1930s, Alberta's political landscape consisted of two major parties: the centre-left Liberals and the agrarian United Farmers of Alberta . Today, Alberta

1785-431: A precarious position. Not only was it without a full-time leader or incumbents, but it had been unable to get its leader elected to the legislature at any point during the parliamentary term. The party ran only 23 candidates and garnered only 0.8 percent of the vote. It was shut out of the Legislative Assembly altogether for the first time, and has never elected another MLA. In 1986, Social Credit, Western Canada Concept and

1904-534: A resounding majority of seats as a result of the 1944 election, devoted itself to an anti-socialist crusade. In 1946, Manning's government began a Red Scare , censoring communist propaganda films in the hopes of "eliminating communist thought from Alberta-shown movies". Manning's administration also sought to disrupt labour strikes , denouncing them as communist , totalitarian , and anti-Christian. Labour unions subsequently defended themselves as non-communist, or simply refused to respond to these charges in

2023-485: A semi-arid steppe climate because the annual precipitation is less than the water that evaporates or is used by plants . The southeastern corner of Alberta, part of the Palliser Triangle , experiences greater summer heat and lower rainfall than the rest of the province, and as a result, suffers frequent crop yield problems and occasional severe droughts. Western Alberta is protected by the mountains and enjoys

2142-472: A serious attempt to implement social credit policies. It passed several pieces of radical populist legislation, such as the issuance of prosperity certificates to Alberta residents (dubbed "funny money" by detractors) in accordance with the theories of Silvio Gesell . Douglas, the main leader of the Social Credit movement, did not like the idea of prosperity certificates, which depreciated in value

2261-592: A tributary of the Mackenzie River . Alberta's capital city, Edmonton , is at about the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly major city in Canada and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada. With its proximity to Canada's largest oil fields, the region has most of western Canada's oil refinery capacity. Calgary is about 280 km (170 mi) south of Edmonton and 240 km (150 mi) north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country. Almost 75% of

2380-507: A type of intense, fast-moving winter storm that generally forms over or near the province and, pushed with great speed by the continental polar jetstream , descends over the rest of southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States. In southwestern Alberta, the cold winters are frequently interrupted by warm, dry Chinook winds blowing from the mountains, which can propel temperatures upward from frigid conditions to well above

2499-575: A welcoming environment for oil investors. The former social credit board chairman Alfred Hooke who became provincial secretary in 1943 "came even closer than Manning in negating the differences among democratic socialism , communism , and the socialism of national socialism . Durning the Throne debate in February 1944, Hooke said: "I wonder if this is what our boys are fighting for? They are being told today by many spokesmen in Canada that socialism

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2618-477: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alberta Alberta is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces . Alberta borders British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. It is one of

2737-471: Is generally perceived as a conservative province. The right-wing Social Credit Party held office continually from 1935 to 1971 before the centre-right Progressive Conservatives held office continually from 1971 to 2015, the latter being the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history. Since before becoming part of Canada, Alberta has been home to several First Nations like Plains Indians and Woodland Cree . It

2856-407: Is the answer to their problems. If this is true, Mr Speaker, why send them to Europe to fight against it? Why don't we tell them that international finance, their worst enemy, is backing the philosophy of socialism."" Manning also fought against the media and education system, believing that they were full of Marxists and sympathetic to the communist cause. Stating that it is "evident, in my view, in

2975-403: Is the fourth-largest province by area at 661,848 square kilometres (255,541 square miles), and the fourth-most populous, being home to 4,262,635 people. Alberta's capital is Edmonton , while Calgary is its largest city. The two are Alberta's largest census metropolitan areas . More than half of Albertans live in either Edmonton or Calgary, which contributes to continuing the rivalry between

3094-523: The 2013 Alberta floods Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow , Elbow , Highwood and Oldman rivers and tributaries. A dozen municipalities in Southern Alberta declared local states of emergency on June 21 as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders. In 2016,

3213-441: The 2021 Canadian Census , the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (4,109,720 or 98.37%), French (260,415 or 6.23%), Tagalog (172,625 or 4.13%), Punjabi (126,385 or 3.03%), Spanish (116,070 or 2.78%), Hindi (94,015 or 2.25%), Mandarin (82,095 or 1.97%), Arabic (76,760 or 1.84%), Cantonese (74,960 or 1.79%), and German (65,370 or 1.56%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. As of

3332-851: The Alberta Act was passed, creating the province of Alberta. Massive oil reserves were discovered in 1947. The exploitation of oil sands began in 1967. Alberta is renowned for its natural beauty, richness in fossils and for housing important nature reserves. Alberta is home to six UNESCO -designated World Heritage Sites : the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks , Dinosaur Provincial Park , Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump , Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park , Wood Buffalo National Park and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park . Other popular sites include Banff National Park , Elk Island National Park , Jasper National Park , Waterton Lakes National Park , and Drumheller . Alberta

3451-665: The Drumheller Valley and Edmonton regions there are exposed Horseshoe Canyon facies . Other formations have been recorded as well, like the Milk River and Foremost Formations. The latter two have a lower diversity of documented dinosaurs, primarily due to their lower total fossil quantity and neglect from collectors who are hindered by the isolation and scarcity of exposed outcrops. Their dinosaur fossils are primarily teeth recovered from microvertebrate fossil sites. Additional geologic formations that have produced only

3570-566: The Fort McMurray wildfire resulted in the largest fire evacuation of residents in Alberta's history, as more than 80,000 people were ordered to evacuate. From 2020 until restrictions were lifted in 2022, Alberta was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic . The 2021 Canadian census reported Alberta had a population of 4,262,635 living in 1,633,220 of its 1,772,670 total dwellings, an 4.8% change from its 2016 population of 4,067,175. With

3689-533: The Government of Alberta has operated a rat-control program, which has been so successful that only isolated instances of wild rat sightings are reported, usually of rats arriving in the province aboard trucks or by rail. In 2006, Alberta Agriculture reported zero findings of wild rats; the only rat interceptions have been domesticated rats that have been seized from their owners. It is illegal for individual Albertans to own or keep Norwegian rats of any description;

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3808-636: The North West Company (NWC) of Montreal to compete with the HBC in 1779. The NWC occupied the northern part of Alberta territory. Peter Pond built Fort Athabasca on Lac la Biche in 1778. Roderick Mackenzie built Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca ten years later in 1788. His cousin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie , followed the North Saskatchewan River to its northernmost point near Edmonton, then setting northward on foot, trekked to

3927-711: The Northwest Territories . The 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan ; while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60°N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains , and from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a generally southeasterly direction until it reaches

4046-717: The Plains Indians of southern Alberta such as those of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Plains Cree, who generally lived by hunting buffalo , and the more northerly tribes such as the Woodland Cree and Chipewyan who hunted, trapped, and fished for a living. The first Europeans to visit Alberta were French Canadians during the late 18th century, working as fur traders. French was the predominant language used in some early fur trading forts in

4165-471: The Proto-Germanic language *Aþalaberhtaz (compound of "noble" + "bright/famous"). Alberta, with an area of 661,848 square kilometres (255,541 square miles), is the fourth-largest province after Quebec , Ontario , and British Columbia . Alberta's southern border is the 49th parallel north , which separates it from the U.S. state of Montana . The 60th parallel north divides Alberta from

4284-455: The fronts between the air masses shift north and south across Alberta, the temperature can change rapidly. Arctic air masses in the winter produce extreme minimum temperatures varying from −54 °C (−65 °F) in northern Alberta to −46 °C (−51 °F) in southern Alberta, although temperatures at these extremes are rare. In the summer, continental air masses have produced record maximum temperatures from 32 °C (90 °F) in

4403-408: The prairie crocus ( Pulsatilla nuttalliana ) anemone ; this member of the buttercup family has been recorded flowering as early as March, though April is the usual month for the general population. Other prairie flora known to flower early are the golden bean ( Thermopsis rhombifolia ) and wild rose ( Rosa acicularis ). Members of the sunflower ( Helianthus ) family blossom on the prairie in

4522-499: The 1960s, commercial airlines could not serve alcohol while flying over Alberta. As well, the government passed stronger labour legislation, such as a minimum wage law for male workers (female workers already coming under legislation passed by the UFA government), and centralized the province's school system. The latter years of Aberhart's government saw a decline in popularity, with party membership falling from 41,000 in 1938 to just 3,500 in 1942. The Albertan public recognized that

4641-560: The 1960s. Censoring films sympathetic to international cooperation due to allegations of communism, greatly weakening workers' protections, and seeking to create a welcoming environment for oil investors. Ernest Manning's government was starkly right-wing, attacking a number of unions with charges of communism , censoring films sympathetic to the New Left , and international cooperation due to allegations, and its connection to communism. Manning engaged in red-baiting on

4760-469: The 2016 census Alberta has 779,155 residents (19.2%) between the ages of 0–14, 2,787,805 residents (68.5%) between the ages of 15–64, and 500,215 residents (12.3%) aged 65 and over. Additionally, as per the 2016 census, 1,769,500 residents hold a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree, 895,885 residents have obtained a secondary (high) school diploma or equivalency certificate, and 540,665 residents do not have any certificate, diploma or degree. As of

4879-541: The 2016 census, English is the most common mother tongue, with 2,991,485 native speakers. This is followed by Tagalog , with 99,035 speakers, German, with 80,050 speakers, French, with 72,150 native speakers, and Punjabi , with 68,695 speakers. Alberta Social Credit Party Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement

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4998-1217: The ASC jointly oversees the operations of the TSX Venture Exchange. The organization of the ASC is divided into Members and Staff, which includes the Executive Management. Members set policy and recommend changes to the Securities Act and the Securities Regulation, and members act as the commission's Board of Directors. The Staff has responsibility for registering persons and companies, reviewing prospectuses, considering exemption applications and taking enforcement action. The ASC staff has also created seven advisory committees to act as sounding boards for developing new or amended securities regulation: Exempt Market Dealer Advisory Committee, Derivatives Advisory Committee, Financial Advisory Committee, Market Advisory Committee, Petroleum Advisory Committee, Securities Advisory Committee, and New Economy Advisory Committee. This Alberta -related article

5117-763: The Athabasca River, which he followed to Lake Athabasca. It was there he discovered the mighty outflow river which bears his name—the Mackenzie River —which he followed to its outlet in the Arctic Ocean. Returning to Lake Athabasca, he followed the Peace River upstream, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean, and so he became the first European to cross the North American continent north of Mexico. The extreme southernmost portion of Alberta

5236-646: The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation attempted to use against him in the 1948 election. Beginning in 1947, Alberta experienced a major oil boom, aiding Manning in fending off political challenges. In campaigning for the 1948 election , the Alberta Social Credit Party purported that the development of the province's petroleum industry was the main issue at stake, and touted the newfound prosperity resulting from this oil to win another strong majority in

5355-570: The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. During the campaign, Manning engaged in red-baiting on a number of instances, likening the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation to "the socialism of Germany ". In the election, Manning led the Alberta Social Credit Party to retain a solid majority in the Legislative Assembly . As a result of an oil boom in the late 1940s, Alberta received high amounts of oil royalties during much of Manning's term as premier, enabling large amounts of spending on education and healthcare. Under Manning's leadership,

5474-553: The District of Alberta was enlarged and given provincial status, with the election of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as the first premier. Less than a decade later, the First World War presented special challenges to the new province as an extraordinary number of volunteers left relatively few workers to maintain services and production. Over 50% of Alberta's doctors volunteered for service overseas. On June 21, 2013, during

5593-627: The First Nations and guaranteed their hunting and fishing rights. The most significant treaties for Alberta are Treaty 6 (1876), Treaty 7 (1877) and Treaty 8 (1899). The District of Alberta was created as part of the North-West Territories in 1882. As settlement increased, local representatives to the North-West Legislative Assembly were added. After a long campaign for autonomy, in 1905,

5712-431: The Legislative Assembly by petition of constituents. However, he repealed the legislation when he himself became the target of a recall drive. Continuing the UFA government's conservatism (which verged on prohibition ) on the matter of drinking, Aberhart's government enacted several socially conservative laws, notably one restricting the sale and serving of alcohol. It was one of the strictest such laws in Canada. Well into

5831-475: The Legislative Assembly. During the campaign, the party used such prosperity to fervently denounce the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's calls for public ownership of the oil industry. By the mid-1950s, oil royalties provided the Albertan government with the majority of its total revenue, and the province enjoyed significantly higher per capita revenue than its Canadian counterparts. This enabled

5950-678: The Montana border at 49°N. The province extends 1,223 kilometres (760 miles) north to south and 660 kilometres (410 miles) east to west at its maximum width. Its highest point is 3,747 metres (12,293 feet) at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border while its lowest point is 152 metres (499 feet) on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast. With

6069-632: The Party's new, and sole, focus of promoting pro-life public policy. William Aberhart , a Baptist lay-preacher and evangelist in Calgary , was attracted to social credit theory while Alberta (and much of the western world) was in the depths of the Great Depression . He soon began promoting it through his radio program on CFCN in Calgary, adding a heavy dose of fundamentalist Christianity to

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6188-570: The Social Credit theories of C.H. Douglas . The basic premise of social credit is that all citizens should be paid a dividend as capital and technology replace labour in production; this was especially attractive to farmers sinking under the weight of the Depression. Many study groups devoted to the theory sprang up across the province, which united into the Social Credit League of Alberta. From 1932 to 1935, Aberhart tried to get

6307-571: The Socreds into opposition, but resigned as party leader in 1973. Former Health Minister James Douglas Henderson became interim leader, and hence Leader of the Opposition. In the 1973 leadership election, Werner Schmidt , vice-president of Lethbridge Community College, who didn't hold a seat in the Legislative Assembly, ran against former Highways Minister Gordon Taylor , former Education Minister Robert Curtis Clark , and John Ludwig , dean of business education at Alberta College. Clark, who had

6426-548: The UFA government, and in some cases, local UFA chapters openly supported Social Credit candidates. The UFA government was also reeling from a scandal that had forced Reid's predecessor, John Brownlee , to resign a year earlier. This, in particular, caused some socially conservative UFA members to transfer their allegiance to the Christian-based Social Credit movement. The Social Credit Party campaigned on price controls , and social dividends of $ 25

6545-612: The administration's Workmen's Compensation Board, although many unions affiliated with the Canadian Congress of Labour , including the province's largest union, the 18th District of the United Mine Workers of America , took issue with the Workmen's Compensation Board's leadership. To uphold its election promise of democratizing Alberta's government, Aberhart passed a law allowing for the recall of members of

6664-642: The animals can only be kept in the province by zoos, universities and colleges, and recognized research institutions. In 2009, several rats were found and captured, in small pockets in southern Alberta, putting Alberta's rat-free status in jeopardy. A colony of rats was subsequently found in a landfill near Medicine Hat in 2012 and again in 2014. Alberta has one of the greatest diversities and abundances of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils worldwide. Taxa are represented by complete fossil skeletons, isolated material, microvertebrate remains, and even mass graves . At least 38 dinosaur type specimens were collected in

6783-471: The attending delegates and a new president was elected. As soon as the writs were dropped in October, Speaker and Walt Buck left the party to become independent candidates for the legislature. The party's third MLA, Fred Mandeville announced his retirement. For the first time since 1935, the party had no incumbents. George Richardson was named acting leader. Social Credit went into the 1982 election in

6902-478: The badlands terrain, desert flora, and remnants from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape. Alberta extends for over 1,200 km (750 mi) from north to south; its climate, therefore, varies considerably. Average high temperatures in January range from 0 °C (32 °F) in the southwest to −24 °C (−11 °F) in the far north. The presence of the Rocky Mountains also influences

7021-417: The ban on airlines serving alcohol over provincial airspace. Manning led Social Credit to seven consecutive election victories. He governed with very large majorities for virtually his entire tenure, winning well over 50 percent of the popular vote and rarely facing more than ten opposition MLAs. For most of the next two decades, Alberta was virtually a one-party state. He wielded considerable influence over

7140-403: The climate to the southwest, which disrupts the flow of the prevailing westerly winds and causes them to drop most of their moisture on the western slopes of the mountain ranges before reaching the province, casting a rain shadow over much of Alberta. The northerly location and isolation from the weather systems of the Pacific Ocean cause Alberta to have a dry climate with little moderation from

7259-404: The discovery of oil in north-central Alberta and its accompanying wealth for many, Social Credit took on a more conservative hue. Its policies were pro-business and anti-union, and largely opposed to government intervention in the economy. It stayed in power until 1971, one of the longest unbroken runs in government at the provincial level in Canada. However, it held no seats after 1982, and finished

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7378-748: The dour Strom. His cause was not helped when the Tories picked up an additional four seats during the term. In the 1971 election , Lougheed's PCs ended Social Credit's 36-year hold on power. The Socred share of the popular vote decreased slightly, but still they finished only five points behind the PCs and won a record number of votes (due in part to Alberta's larger population). While they mostly held their own in their rural heartlands, their support in Edmonton and Calgary plummeted from 1968. The PCs took every seat in Edmonton, and all but five in Calgary. The Socreds lost

7497-472: The dry prairie of the southeast. The northern and western parts of the province experience higher rainfall and lower evaporation rates caused by cooler summer temperatures. The south and east-central portions are prone to drought-like conditions sometimes persisting for several years, although even these areas can receive heavy precipitation, sometimes resulting in flooding. In the winter, the Alberta clipper ,

7616-527: The end of the last ice age . They are thought to have migrated from Siberia to Alaska on a land bridge across the Bering Strait and then possibly moved down the east side of the Rocky Mountains through Alberta to settle the Americas . Others may have migrated down the coast of British Columbia and then moved inland. Over time they differentiated into various First Nations peoples, including

7735-469: The entire year. Manning acted swiftly to avert the crisis. Rewriting the province's labour laws in March to allow the government to shut down the strike. Greatly weakened by charges of communism, and Manning's Stallworth defiance of union threats caused the unions to attempt to persuade legislators instead of protesting using strikes, or violence. Manning's steadfast defiance in the face of union threats halted

7854-635: The exception of the semi-arid climate of the steppe in the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources . There are numerous rivers and lakes in Alberta used for swimming, fishing and a range of water sports. There are three large lakes, Lake Claire (1,436 km  [554 sq mi]) in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake (1,168 km  [451 sq mi]), and Lake Athabasca (7,898 km  [3,049 sq mi]), which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. The longest river in

7973-740: The federal party's leadership in 1961, only to have his win vetoed by Manning and the Alberta Socreds. In 1946, Manning's government began a Red Scare , censoring "communist propaganda films" in the hopes of "eliminating communist thought from Alberta-shown movies". Alberta's government quickly began banning films, including films produced by the British government which supported the United Nations, as well as Hollywood films such as The Wild One and Blackboard Jungle . The government's attempts at film censorship continued through

8092-409: The first Social Credit government in the world. The Social Credit Party's success is largely attributed to the charisma of Aberhart, who brought together a broad coalition ranging from social credit supporters to moderate socialists . Not even the Socreds had expected to win the election. Indeed, they hadn't even named a leader during the campaign. The Socreds now found themselves having to choose

8211-516: The freezing point in a very short period. During one Chinook recorded at Pincher Creek , temperatures soared from −19 to 22 °C (−2 to 72 °F) in just one hour. The region around Lethbridge has the most Chinooks, averaging 30 to 35 Chinook days per year. Calgary has a 56% chance of a white Christmas , while Edmonton has an 86% chance. After Saskatchewan, Alberta experiences the most tornadoes in Canada with an average of 15 verified per year. Thunderstorms, some of them severe, are frequent in

8330-407: The governing United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) to adopt social credit. However, the 1935 UFA convention voted against adopting social credit and UFA Premier Richard Reid rejected the proposals as being outside the province's constitutional powers, so Aberhart entered Social Credit candidates in that year's provincial election . There was widespread discontent with the overly cautious behaviour of

8449-536: The government to spend large amounts on education and healthcare, which some historians view as partially responsible for Manning's high levels of popular support. Manning's last election win in 1967 demonstrated a weaker standing of the Alberta Social Credit Party. While the New Democratic Party emerged as a new challenger to the Social Credit Party, they were wary of the strong anti-communist and anti-union sentiments formed in Alberta, and ran

8568-507: The government's Accurate News and Information Act , which would have forced newspapers to print government rebuttals to stories to which the Executive Council (cabinet) objected. The government's relationship with Bowen became so acrimonious that in 1938, Bowen threatened to use his reserve power to dismiss Aberhart. In the end, Bowen chose not to take this extraordinary action. Had Bowen sacked Aberhart, it would have triggered

8687-459: The hopes of maintaining good relationships with the government. In January 1948 a coal miners ' strike broke out. With thousands of miners, threatening the provincial Electrical grid , as most electricity was generated from coal. With this one strike alone accounting for 30% of all time lost to strikes in Canada in 1948. In Alberta, the time lost was even worse. With it being responsible for well over 99% of all person-lost days due to strikes for

8806-405: The hundreds of small lakes that dot northern Alberta. Eagles , hawks , owls, and crows are plentiful, and a huge variety of smaller seed and insect-eating birds can be found. Alberta, like other temperate regions, is home to mosquitoes , flies , wasps , and bees. Rivers and lakes are populated with pike , walleye , whitefish , rainbow , speckled , brown trout , and sturgeon . Native to

8925-408: The legislature, the party continued to sag in the polls. The beginning of the end for Social Credit came when Clark retired from politics in 1981. His seat of Olds-Didsbury , a longstanding Social Credit bastion (parts of the riding had been in Social Credit hands for all but one month since 1935), was resoundingly lost to Western Canada Concept . In the process, Social Credit lost official status in

9044-466: The legislature. Unable to resolve the party's internal and financial problems, Sykes quit as leader in March 1982. On 31 March 1982, Social Credit parliamentary leader Raymond Speaker , the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly, announced that Social Credit would sit out that year's election . In his press release, he said it would be useless for Social Credit to fight the next election since there were not enough Social Credit voters left in

9163-499: The longer they were held, and openly criticized Gesell's theories. The Socreds also passed bills that would have placed the province's banks under government control. However, Lieutenant-Governor John C. Bowen refused to grant Royal Assent to the bills. The Supreme Court of Canada sided with Bowen and struck down the bills because only the federal government can legislate on banking. Thwarted in its attempt to gain control of Alberta's private banks, Aberhart's government gained

9282-489: The mild temperatures brought by winter Chinook winds. Central and parts of northwestern Alberta in the Peace River region are largely aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north. Alberta has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The province is open to cold Arctic weather systems from the north, which often produce cold winter conditions. As

9401-447: The mountains and wooded regions. Smaller carnivores of the canine and feline families include coyotes , red foxes , Canada lynx , and bobcats . Wolverines can also be found in the northwestern areas of the province. Central and northern Alberta and the region farther north are the nesting ground of many migratory birds. Vast numbers of ducks, geese , swans and pelicans arrive in Alberta every spring and nest on or near one of

9520-480: The mountains to over 40 °C (104 °F) in southeastern Alberta. Alberta is a sunny province. Annual bright sunshine totals range between 1,900 up to just under 2,600 hours per year. Northern Alberta gets about 18 hours of daylight in the summer. The average daytime temperatures range from around 21 °C (70 °F) in the Rocky Mountain valleys and far north, up to around 28 °C (82 °F) in

9639-595: The newly formed Canadian Government purchased Rupert's Land. Northern Alberta was included in the North-Western Territory until 1870, when it and Rupert's land became Canada's North-West Territories . First Nations negotiated the Numbered Treaties with the Crown in which the Crown gained title to the land that would later become Alberta, and the Crown committed to the ongoing support of

9758-572: The news media, which are very heavily slanted, as a general rule favorably slanted, to socialist philosophy. This isn't by chance, it's because communism has been smart enough to see... that there are always a goodly number of men in that field who are sympathetic to the socialistic and even communistic philosophy. You even have the same thing, to varying degrees, in the field of education. It isn't by chance that you find these agitations of Marxism and so forth in many of our universities. It isn't by chance." The Manning administration now re-elected with

9877-399: The ocean. Annual precipitation ranges from 300 mm (12 in) in the southeast to 450 mm (18 in) in the north, except in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where total precipitation including snowfall can reach 600 mm (24 in) annually. Northern Alberta is mostly covered by boreal forest and has a subarctic climate . The agricultural area of southern Alberta has

9996-494: The only two landlocked provinces in Canada, with Saskatchewan being the other. The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains , while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains . The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity . Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional Chinook winds . Alberta

10115-552: The parkland region of the province grow in clumps and belts on the hillsides. These are largely deciduous , typically aspen , poplar , and willow . Many species of willow and other shrubs grow in virtually any terrain. North of the North Saskatchewan River, evergreen forests prevail for thousands of square kilometres. Aspen poplar, balsam poplar ( Populus balsamifera ) or in some parts cottonwood ( Populus deltoides ), and paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ) are

10234-678: The party had implemented, using support from the Alberta Federation of Labour to fend off left-wing challenges from the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Labor-Progressive Party . Though other unions, particularly those affiliated with the Canadian Congress of Labour , took issue with the Social Credit Party's workers' protections, divisions within these unions and their leadership prevented any effective endorsement of

10353-414: The party largely abandoned social credit monetary theories, though it did issue prosperity certificates from oil royalties in 1957 and 1958. Manning moved to purge anti-Semites from the party. While anti-Semitism had been part of the party's Christian populist rhetoric for years, it had become far less fashionable after World War II . Several socially conservative laws remained in place for years, such as

10472-400: The party's federal counterparts as well. For example, he let it be known that his province would never accept francophone Catholic Real Caouette , leader of the party's Quebec wing, as the party's leader—even though Caouette headed the party's third-strongest faction (behind the Alberta and British Columbia Socreds ). This led to rumours that Caouette had defeated Robert N. Thompson for

10591-406: The party's initial campaign promises, such as price controls and social dividends , were failing to materialize. Social Credit was elected with a slightly reduced mandate in 1940 . "Bible Bill" Aberhart died in 1943, and was replaced by his Provincial Secretary and Minister of Trade and Industry, Ernest Manning . For the 1944 election , Manning campaigned on the labour protections that

10710-500: The popular vote it had received in 1971. Schmidt failed to win a seat and resigned as party leader, leaving Clark to take the leadership unopposed. Under Clark, the party staved off a total collapse in the 1979 election , holding onto its four seats. Clark returned to the backbench a little more than a year after the election. On 29 November 1980, former Calgary mayor Rod Sykes became the party's new leader, defeating Edmonton alderman Julian Kinisky 538–292. Again without its leader in

10829-417: The popular vote—its lowest share of the popular vote since 1940. This was a significant drop from 1963 , when it took all but six seats. More importantly, the once-moribund Progressive Conservatives , led by young lawyer Peter Lougheed , won six seats, mostly in Calgary and Edmonton . Despite having long-standing support in Calgary and Edmonton (Manning himself represented an Edmonton riding), Social Credit

10948-410: The population lives in urban areas and only about 19% in rural areas. The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in the province and is one of the most densely populated areas of Canada. Many of Alberta's cities and towns have experienced very high rates of growth in recent history. Alberta's population rose from 73,022 in 1901 to 3,290,350 according to the 2006 census . According to

11067-538: The premise embodied in your proposed resolution, namely, that there is such a thing as democratic socialism , contradicts itself in that it attempts to associate two concepts of life which are diametrically opposed and opposite."" And that socialists were trying to "enslave the ordinary people of the world, whose only real salvation lay in the issuance of Social Credit." Censoring films sympathetic to international cooperation due to allegations of communism, greatly weakening workers' protections, and seeking to create

11186-405: The primary large deciduous species. Conifers include jack pine ( Pinus banksiana ), Rocky Mountain pine, lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ), both white and black spruce , and the deciduous conifer tamarack ( Larix laricina ). The four climatic regions ( alpine , boreal forest , parkland , and prairie ) of Alberta are home to many different species of animals. The south and central prairie

11305-401: The province is prairie , ranging from shortgrass prairie in the southeastern corner to mixed grass prairie in an arc to the west and north of it. The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton, and then east to Lloydminster , contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population. Much of

11424-595: The province is the Athabasca River , which travels 1,538 km (956 mi) from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca. The largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2,100 m /s (74,000 cu ft/s). The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River,

11543-441: The province that had no interest in social credit monetary policies. The Alberta Social Credit party won a majority government in 1935, in the first election it contested, barely months after its formation. During its first years, when led by William Aberhart , it was a radical monetary reform party, at least in theory if not in effect. After Aberhart's death in 1943 and the rise to leadership of Ernest Manning , followed quickly by

11662-575: The province's population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor . The land grant policy to the railways served as a means to populate the province in its early years. Most of the northern half of the province is boreal forest , while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are largely temperate coniferous forests of the Alberta Mountain forests and Alberta–British Columbia foothills forests . The southern quarter of

11781-407: The province, the bull trout , is the provincial fish and an official symbol of Alberta . Turtles are found in some water bodies in the southern part of the province. Frogs and salamanders are a few of the amphibians that make their homes in Alberta. Alberta is the only province in Canada — as well as one of the few places in the world — that is free from Norwegian rats . Since the early 1950s,

11900-400: The province. The Social Credit Party council quickly distanced itself from Speaker's statement. There was wide speculation at the time that Speaker would cross the floor to Western Canada Concept. Unable to attract a new leader, the Social Credit membership held an emergency meeting 18 September 1982. A resolution was put forward that would have dissolved the party. This was soundly rejected by

12019-623: The province. The Foremost Formation , Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Formations collectively comprise the Judith River Group and are the most thoroughly studied dinosaur-bearing strata in Alberta. Dinosaur-bearing strata are distributed widely throughout Alberta. The Dinosaur Provincial Park area contains outcrops of the Dinosaur Park Formation and Oldman Formation. In Alberta's central and southern regions are intermittent Scollard Formation outcrops. In

12138-601: The region, such as the first Fort Edmonton (in present-day Fort Saskatchewan). After the British arrival in Canada , approximately half of the province of Alberta, south of the Athabasca River drainage, became part of Rupert's Land which consisted of all land drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay . This area was granted by Charles II of England to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1670, and rival fur trading companies were not allowed to trade in it. The Athabasca River and

12257-495: The right to organize, although labour leaders viewed these protections as too weak to be meaningful. In 1937, the administration created the Board of Industrial Relations, which was tasked with enforcing maximum working hours, minimum wages , and certifying workers' bargaining agents. The creation of the board, and its enforcement, won the praise of the Alberta Federation of Labour . The Alberta Federation of Labour also praised

12376-654: The rise of militant unionism in Alberta, as it did in other areas like Quebec and the rust belt . In 1945 the Wetaskiwin MP Norman Jaques "spoke for most of the party establishment when he charged... that communists had infiltrated the CBC 'as they have every other organization.'" In 1951, the province's Minister of Municipal Affairs, C.F. Gerhart, claimed that there were hundreds of communist spies among Albertan workers. Manning prided his administration's good relations with oil investors, which

12495-581: The rivers north of it were not in HBC territory because they drained into the Arctic Ocean instead of Hudson Bay, and they were prime habitats for fur-bearing animals. The first European explorer of the Athabasca region was Peter Pond , who learned of the Methye Portage , which allowed travel from southern rivers into the rivers north of Rupert's Land. Other North American fur traders formed

12614-405: The social credit monetary reform road. After election he hired an orthodox financial expert named Magor, much to Douglas's displeasure, thus forestalling radical monetary reform. In March 1937 many Socred MLAs revolted against Aberhart's leadership , refusing to pass the provincial budget until Aberhart promised serious reform of the banking system. Following the 1937 revolt, the government made

12733-426: The summer months between July and September. The southern and east central parts of Alberta are covered by short prairie grass, which dries up as summer lengthens, to be replaced by hardy perennials such as the prairie coneflower ( Ratibida ), fleabane , and sage ( Artemisia ). Both yellow and white sweet clover ( Melilotus ) can be found throughout the southern and central areas of the province. The trees in

12852-481: The summer, especially in central and southern Alberta. The region surrounding the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is notable for having the highest frequency of hail in Canada, which is caused by orographic lifting from the nearby Rocky Mountains, enhancing the updraft/downdraft cycle necessary for the formation of hail. In central and northern Alberta the arrival of spring is marked by the early flowering of

12971-412: The support of half of the party's MLAs, led Schmidt on the first ballot, 583 votes to 512 votes. But in an upset victory, Schmidt won on the second ballot with 814 votes, defeating Clark by 39 votes. First ballot (Ludwig eliminated, Taylor withdraws) Second ballot Social Credit sank into near-paralysis in opposition. Having spent all but a few months of its history before the 1971 government, it

13090-439: The two cities . English is the official language of the province. In 2016, 76.0% of Albertans were anglophone, 1.8% were francophone and 22.2% were allophone . Alberta's economy is based on hydrocarbons , petrochemical industries , livestock and agriculture. The oil and gas industry has been a pillar of Alberta's economy since 1947, when substantial oil deposits were discovered at Leduc No. 1 well. It has also become

13209-504: The unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain farming or cattle ranching, with mixed farming more common in the north and centre, while ranching and irrigated agriculture predominate in the south. The Alberta badlands are in southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland, and features deep canyons and striking landforms. Dinosaur Provincial Park , near Brooks , showcases

13328-489: The wooded regions, and pronghorn can be found in the prairies of southern Alberta. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats live in the Rocky Mountains. Rabbits, porcupines , skunks , squirrels, and many species of rodents and reptiles live in every corner of the province. Alberta is home to only one venomous snake species, the prairie rattlesnake . Alberta is home to many large carnivores such as wolves , grizzly bears , black bears , and mountain lions , which are found in

13447-455: Was also a territory used by fur traders of the rival companies Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company . The Dominion of Canada bought the lands that would become Alberta as part of the NWT in 1870. From the late 1800s to early 1900s, many immigrants arrived to prevent the prairies from being annexed by the United States. Growing wheat and cattle ranching also became very profitable. In 1905,

13566-426: Was at bottom an agrarian-based party, and never really lost this character. The party didn't react nearly fast enough to the changes in Alberta as Calgary and Edmonton gained more influence. Manning retired in 1968 and was replaced by Agriculture Minister Harry Strom at the party's first leadership election . However, Strom soon was eclipsed by Lougheed, whose modern and urbane image contrasted sharply with that of

13685-484: Was largely an out-growth of Alberta Social Credit. The Social Credit Party of Canada was strongest in Alberta, before developing a base in Quebec when Réal Caouette agreed to merge his Ralliement créditiste movement into the federal party. The British Columbia Social Credit Party formed the government for many years in neighbouring British Columbia , although this was effectively a coalition of centre-right forces in

13804-576: Was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria . Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne , Governor General of Canada (1878–83). Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour. The name "Alberta" is a feminine Latinized form of Albert , the name of Princess Louise's father, the Prince Consort ( cf. Medieval Latin : Albertus , masculine) and its Germanic cognates, ultimately derived from

13923-653: Was part of the French (and Spanish) territory of Louisiana and was sold to the United States in 1803. In the Treaty of 1818 , the portion of Louisiana north of the Forty-Ninth Parallel was ceded to Great Britain. Fur trade expanded in the north, but bloody battles occurred between the rival HBC and NWC, and in 1821 the British government forced them to merge to stop the hostilities. The amalgamated Hudson's Bay Company dominated trade in Alberta until 1870 when

14042-470: Was the homeland of the American bison , also known as buffalo, with its grasses providing pasture and breeding ground for millions of buffalo. The buffalo population was decimated during early settlement, but since then, buffalo have made a comeback, living on farms and in parks all over Alberta. Herbivores are found throughout the province. Moose , mule deer , elk , and white-tailed deer are found in

14161-413: Was unable to get the better of the Tories. It didn't help matters that Schmidt was never able to get into the legislature; he lost a by-election shortly after taking the leadership. Henderson remained parliamentary leader until September when Clark succeeded him. The party's support collapsed in the 1975 election , when it fell to four seats—just barely holding onto official party status —and lost half of

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