Alberta, which is in western Canada, is bordered by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north and by the US state of Montana to the south.
Alberta is one of three provinces and territories (the others being New Brunswick and Yukon) that only have a border with one US state. It is also one of two provinces that are landlocked (the other being Saskatchewan).
The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province.
Calgary is a major distribution and transportation hub as well as being one of Canada's major commercial centres.
Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource-based industries.
According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas now both have populations in excess of one million, Calgary being slightly more populous than Edmonton.
Alberta's population is around three and a half million, with more than 70% living in the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. It is a busy, entrepreneurial place with a primarily natural resource-based economy.
Proven oil reserves in the Alberta oil sands are about 175 billion barrels, second only to Saudi Arabia's reserves.
Our mineral leases are right in the centre of the oil sands, with over two billion barrels of recoverable resources found to date.
