Leduc ( ) is a city in the province of
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
, Canada. It is south of the provincial capital of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
and is part of the
Edmonton Metropolitan Region.
History
Leduc was established in 1891, when
Robert Telford, a settler, who had bought land, in 1889, near a lake which would later bear his name. It was on that piece of land where the new settlement would take root. Telford established a stopping place for the stagecoach line that in 1889 connected Calgary to Edmonton. It became known as Telford's Place. Telford previously served as an officer for the
North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territo ...
, and later became Leduc's first postmaster, first general merchantman, and first justice of the peace. He was also elected to serve as Leduc's first Member of the Alberta legislature (MLA)in 1905.
The establishment of the
Calgary and Edmonton Railway, later acquired by the
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...
, opened the region to settlement. The first train stopped at Leduc in July 1891.
Originally there were two versions to describe how Leduc got its name. In fact both accounts are true. In April 1886 when a settler (McKinley) setting up a
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
office needed a name for the new station and decided that it would be named after the first person who came through the door of the telegraph office. That person was Father Hippolyte Leduc, a priest who had served the area since 1867. Five years later, in 1891, the Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, who had been
Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories,
Edgar Dewdney
Edgar Dewdney, (November 5, 1835 – August 8, 1916) was a Canadian surveyor, road builder, Indian commissioner and politician born in Devonshire, England. He emigrated to British Columbia in 1859 in order to act as surveyor for the Dewdney ...
(1835–1916), was given a list of names, that had been provided to the railroad by Father Lacombe, decided that Telford Place should be renamed at the time the railway terminal was being established. Father Leduc's name was on the list and since the telegraph station was already called Leduc Dewdney saw no reason why not to use Leduc's name for the new railroad station and the hamlet that was growing alongside.
Leduc was incorporated as a village in 1899, and became a town in 1906. It became a city in 1983; by that time its population had reached 12,000.
The town continued to grow quietly over the decades and Alberta's historical oil strike on February 13, 1947, occurred near the town at the
Leduc No. 1
Leduc No. 1 was a major crude oil discovery made near Leduc, Alberta, Canada on February 13, 1947. It provided the geological key to Alberta's most prolific conventional oil reserves and resulted in a boom in petroleum exploration and development a ...
oil well.
Geography
Leduc has a wide variety of parks and sports amenities, and has more than of multiuse pathways.
On the east end of the city lies Telford Lake, and just to the east is Saunders Lake.
*Alexandra Park Ponds
*Coady Lake
*Leduc Reservoir
*Telford Lake
*West Point Lake
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
, the City of Leduc had a population of 34,094 living in 12,964 of its 13,507 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 29,993. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
The population of the City of Leduc according to its
2019 municipal census is 33,032,
a change of from its
2018 municipal census population of 32,448.
In the
2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Leduc had a population of 29,993 living in 11,319 of its 12,264 total private dwellings, an increase of from its 2011 population of 24,304. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
Results from the 2017 Leduc Census revealed a new population count of 31,130 - a growth rate of two percent over 2016.
Economy
The City of Leduc is a founding member of the
Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Association, an economic development partnership that markets
Alberta's International Region in proximity to the
Edmonton International Airport.
The city forms part of this international transportation and economic region. It is on the
CANAMEX Trade Corridor at the intersection of two
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...
lines and is adjacent to the Edmonton International Airport. These transportation links support the petrochemical activities in
Alberta's Industrial Heartland
Alberta's Industrial Heartland (also known as Upgrader Alley or the Heartland) is the largest industrial area in Western Canada and a joint land-use planning and development initiative between five municipalities in the Edmonton Capital Region to ...
, the
Fort McMurray area, and other economic hubs.
The oil and gas industry has long been the base of Leduc's economy. The Leduc Business Park, in the northern portion of the city, contains more than 1,400 businesses. The
Nisku Industrial Park
Nisku is a hamlet and an industrial/business park in Alberta, Canada within Leduc County. It has an elevation of .
The hamlet and industrial/business park are located in census division No. 11 and in the federal riding of Edmonton—Wetaskiwin.
...
, located to the north within Leduc County, also contains many businesses.
Arts and culture
Leduc is home to the Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts, a preeminent performing arts facility with a 460-seat theatre.
In fall 2009, the Leduc Recreation Centre was opened. The facility includes three NHL-sized arenas, an aquatic centre, an 8 sheet curling rink, twin multi use field houses, a 9000 sq/ft fitness center and 4 lane running track, restaurants, child care facilities, several conference rooms, and the outreach learning centre. In 2022, Curling Stadium Leduc opened inside the Leduc Curling Club, offering live broadcasts from all games played.
Adjacent to the LRC is William F. Lede park. The 200 acre park has a variety of amenities including; 7 baseball diamonds, beach volleyball courts, a soccer pitch, twin rugby fields and clubhouse, 2 U-12 soccer fields, community gardens, a 40 acre off-leash dog park as well as access to 8 km of multi-way trails looping around Telford Lake. Neighbouring the rugby house is the Leduc Boat Club, in 2004 the club developed Telford Lake for rowing sports as it hosted the 2005 World Masters Games.
Media
Local newspaper, the ''Leduc Representative'' (the ''Leduc Rep''), and the regional newspaper, the ''Leduc-Wetaskiwin Pipestone Flyer'', serve Leduc.
Leduc's first FM radio station,
CJLD-FM, began in 2013 and is known on-air as "93.1 The One".
An internet-based community radio station, branded "Leduc Radio" since 2008, also serves the city.
Due to its proximity to Edmonton, all
major Edmonton media (print, radio and television) also serve Leduc and its surrounding area.
Emergency services
The City of Leduc has its own fire services and
emergency management
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actual ...
departments. Led currently by fire chief and director of emergency management Bryan Singleto
the Fire Services Department comprises full and part-time members providing fire, ambulance and patient transportation services to the city and portions of
Leduc County to the west, south and east.
The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
(RCMP) provide police services, supported by the city's Enforcement Services Department, which consists of Peace Officers appointed by the
Alberta Solicitor General.
Climate
Leduc experiences a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(
Köppen Dfb) closely bordering on a
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...
(Dfc).
Summers are typically warm and rainy with cool nights. Winters are typically long, very cold, and very dry with moderate snowfall. Precipitation usually peaks during July, which is also the sunniest month.
See also
*
Leduc Public Library
*
List of communities in Alberta
The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal districts ...
*
List of cities in Alberta
A city is the highest form of all incorporated urban municipality statuses used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. Alberta cities are created when communities with populations of at least 10,000 people, where a majority of their buildings are ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1899 establishments in the Northwest Territories
Cities in Alberta
Edmonton Metropolitan Region