Edmonton /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region.The city had a population of 812,201 in the 2011 census, making it Alberta's second-largest city and Canada's fifth-largest municipality. This population represents 70 percent of the total 2011 population of 1,159,869 within the Edmonton census metropolitan area, Canada's sixth-largest CMA by population. Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.Edmonton's historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities, including Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton, Beverly and Jasper Place, and a series of annexations of surrounding rural lands until 1982. Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Known as the "Gateway to the North", the city is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname "The Festival City". It is home to North America's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall, and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum.
