Leduc, Alberta
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Leduc ( ) is a city in the province of
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada. It is south of the provincial capital of
Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
and is part of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region.


History

Leduc was established in 1891 by Robert Telford, a settler who had bought land 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 paramilitary 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 Territory to ...
, 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 () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
, 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 (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 oil well. In summer 2023, the city settled a
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
lawsuit filed against it by 155 former female employees for $9,527,500 for alleged workplace sexual and physical assaults, harassment, and bullying since 2002. In January 2024, mayor Bob Young made a public apology as part of the settlement agreement. After losing a fight to keep details on the number of women and payment amount secret, those figures were revealed to the public in May 2025.


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


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 cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
Dfb) closely bordering on a
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...
(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.


Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, 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.


Ethnicity


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 Edmonton International Airport , officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport since 2022, is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pro ...
. 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 Kansas City lines and is adjacent to the Edmonton International Airport. These transportation links support the petrochemical activities in Alberta's Industrial Heartland, the
Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significa ...
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, 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 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 (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...
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; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
(RCMP) provide police services, supported by the city's Enforcement Services Department, which consists of Peace Officers appointed by the Alberta Solicitor General.


See also

* Leduc Public Library *
List of communities in Alberta The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of Local government in Canada, local governments – urban municipalities (including List of cities in Alberta, cities, List of towns in Alberta, towns, List of villages in Alberta, vil ...
*
List of cities in Alberta A city is the highest form of all incorporated List of communities in Alberta#Urban municipalities, urban municipality statuses used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. Alberta cities are created when communities with populations of at least 10 ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1899 establishments in the Northwest Territories Cities in Alberta Edmonton Metropolitan Region