Edmonton

I am a proud Edmontonian! I was born, raised and educated in Edmonton. I grew up on the west end in Callingwood before moving to the southside in Millwoods on Black Friday in 1987. I graduated from J. Percy Paige high school and then continued my education at the University of Alberta, where I achieved a Master of Science degree. Before becoming a REALTOR®, I worked as a Forensic Technologist at the RCMP Forensic Lab and then as the Head Chemist and Safety Officer at a local chemical manufacturing plant.

Edmonton is still the City of Champions! It is not just a slogan referring to the past glories of the Edmonton Oilers hockey and Eskimos (now the Elks!) football teams. Edmonton is known for its industry, refineries and hard-working, blue-collar Edmontonians – and we are proud of it! If you ever attend an Oilers game, an Elks game or a rock concert in Edmonton, you will be amongst the loudest, fun-loving fans nationwide!

Edmonton is the Capital City of the Province of Alberta, with the Alberta Legislature Building overlooking the river valley of the North Saskatchewan River. It is the 5th largest population centre in Canada with nearly one million people in the City of Edmonton, and the most northern city in North America for a population of this size! Edmonton is surrounded by a number of smaller urban centres including Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc and Beaumont.

Its very northern geographic location gives Edmonton four distinct seasons: spring (March-May), summer (June-August), autumn (September-October) and winter (November-February). Summer months can be very warm with temperatures exceeding 30°C and daylight until nearly 11 pm around the summer solstice! Edmonton has a fairly dry climate, with not very much rain in typical years. Winter months can get very cold, with temperatures plummeting to below -30°C in January and February, and often have a fair amount of snow. Edmontonians are a hearty bunch and persevere winter months with toques and gloves, warm winter jackets and snow tires! Fortunately, the Canadian Rocky Mountains are 220km to the southwest and lend themselves to world-class skiing and snowboarding in winter months and excellent camping and hiking in summer months! 4 local ski hills have ski clubs and cross country skiing is a fun activity in the winter too!

Edmonton is known as “Canada’s Festival City”. Summer months are host to the Folk Music Festival, the Jazz Festival, the Heritage Festival, the Fringe Festival, the Street Performers’ Festival, a Taste of Edmonton, and a number of other great events! 

Edmonton’s river valley boasts the largest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America, with the highest parkland per capita in Canada! It has 22X more green space than New York’s Central Park! Growing up, my friends and I spent countless hours mountain biking in Mill Creek ravine and throughout the River Valley. Others enjoy walking, hiking and road-biking on these endless trails. The river valley is also home to several golf courses and the Edmonton Valley Zoo. In the winter months, Edmontonians enjoy cross country ski trails and skating. There are also 2 downhill ski clubs in Edmonton and 2 on the outskirts.

Whyte Avenue in Old Strathcona’s Theatre District near the University of Alberta is home to excellent restaurants, nightlife, retail stores, music, and theatres. Jasper Avenue and 104 Avenue near MacEwan University also offers these attractions. The Ice District around the new world-class arena, Rogers Place – home of the Edmonton Oilers – is revitalizing the downtown core and attracting several new restaurants, and shops, and bringing musicians to Edmonton for concerts!  

There is no shortage of Arts and Culture in Edmonton! The Arts District around downtown’s Churchill Square has many world-class venues for arts and culture. The Francis Winspear Centre for Music is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and is acclaimed to be one of the most acoustically perfect concert halls in Canada! The Citadel Theatre is excellent for theatre and live productions. Near the University of Alberta, the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is another excellent venue for concerts and live productions. The new Art Gallery of Alberta is an architectural spectacle itself and has excellent exhibitions! Spend the day at the Royal Alberta Museum enjoying over 10 million articles of interest and learning about indigenous culture. Enjoy the diverse plant flora of Edmonton’s iconic glass pyramids – the Mutart Conservatory. Take a walk through the past at Fort Edmonton Park, Canada’s largest living history museum! The Aviation Museum and Railway museum display transport of the past. The Telus World of Science is exhilarating for curious kids, with a massive IMAX Theatre, planetarium and observatory. Or walk amongst 1500 kilogram bison (if you are so brave!) in Elk Island National Park, a short drive from Edmonton!

Edmonton is home to several professional sports teams: the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, Edmonton Elks football club, FC Edmonton soccer club and the Edmonton Stingers basketball team all provide superb entertainment for sports fans! We have a strong rivalry with our southern neighbours in Calgary, and matchups between the two cities are fondly referred to as “The Battle of Alberta”! We are fortunate to have excellent facilities to host these sporting events: Rogers Place for hockey, Commonwealth Stadium for football, RE/MAX Field for baseball, the Edmonton Expo Centre for basketball and Clarke Stadium for soccer. These venues are also used to host concerts and attract famous musicians from all over the world! Edmonton also has several amateur sports teams and varsity teams, so there is no shortage of fun for sports fans!

Edmonton has always been famous for shopping since West Edmonton Mall is North America’s largest shopping mall! There are several other excellent shopping Centres throughout the neighbourhoods as well as large outlet malls scattered around the outskirts of the city along the ring road Anthony Henday Drive.

South of Edmonton off Highway 2, the newly renovated and expanded Edmonton International Airport is a hub for domestic and international flights. It also has a new outlet mall for shopping, Castrol Raceway for motorsports and racing, and the Century Mile Racetrack & Casino for horse racing and gambling!

Edmonton Transit Service offers an extensive public transportation system with buses running throughout the city. The Light Rail Transit train runs from the northside, through downtown and the University and is currently being expanded all the way to the south side. This is very handy for daily commuting as well as for attending events at Rogers Place and Commonwealth Place or attending shows in the downtown Arts District.

Edmonton has is fortunate to have world class health care and emergency services. Edmonton Police Service, Fire Rescue Services and Ambulance and Emergency Health Services are well established. The Capital City has 4 main hospitals: the University of Alberta Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Misericordia Community Hospital and the Grey Nuns Community Hospital. Alberta Hospital is responsible for psychiatric care. The University of Alberta Hospital is a world-class facility with specialized centres (the Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Mazankowski Heart Institute, and the Cross Cancer Institute), top doctors and cutting edge treatments for local and Canadian patients. The University of Alberta Hospital is also home to major research institutes: the Heritage Medical Research Centre (where I researched and achieved my Master of Science degree), the Medical Science Building and the Katz Group Centre for Pharmaceutical Health and Research. The Royal Alexandra Hospital also has the specialized Lois Hole Hospital for Women and the Orthopaedic Surgery Centre.

Edmonton’s surrounding communities also have their own hospitals: Sturgeon Community Hospital (St. Albert), Leduc Community Hospital (Leduc), Westview Health Centre (Stony Plain) and Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital (Ft. Sask).  

All of these health services are overseen by Alberta Health Services.

We are also very fortunate to be serviced by STARS Air Ambulance – the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service – a charitable foundation that provides helicopter ambulance services for emergency transport from remote locations.

Edmonton has 3 school boards for educating children from Kindergarten to Grade 12: Edmonton Public Schools, Edmonton Catholic School District and the francophone Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord. There are several private schools too.

There are several top-notch post-secondary universities and colleges to choose from in Edmonton: the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Concordia University, Kings University, NorQuest College and Athabasca University. The University of Alberta (founded in 1908) is situated along the south side of the North Saskatchewan river and is home to the river valley and nearby William Hawrelak and Emily Murphy parks. It is walking distance from Old Strathcona’s gambit of restaurants and shopping. MacEwan University City Centre Campus is a modern facility in the heart of downtown, near the Ice District and all the amenities. NAIT offers a variety of business and applied science and technology degrees, diploma and certificate programs, and hands-on apprenticeship training for skilled trades and technology professionals.

Edmonton is a great city to live in, work and raise a family! Edmonton has one of the nation’s highest employment rates. There is a lot to do, whether you are seeking outdoor adventure or fine dining and entertainment.  

If you are looking to move to the City of Edmonton, or are already a proud Edmontonian looking to buy or sell, please do not hesitate to contact me! I would love to work with you!