# Calgary–Edmonton Corridor

The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is a geographical region of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is the most urbanized area in Alberta and is one of Canada's four most populated urban regions. It consists of Statistics Canada Alberta census divisions No. 11, No. 8, and No. 6. Measured from north to south, the region covers a distance of approximately 400 km (250 mi). As of the designations in the Canada 2021 Census of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and census agglomerations (CAs) in Alberta, the corridor includes three of the province's four CMAs (Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer) and two CAs (Lacombe and Sylvan Lake), in addition to four other CAs already included in the Calgary and Edmonton CMAs.
The corridor is bordered by Edmonton and the surrounding area to the north, Red Deer in the middle, and Calgary and the surrounding area to the south.

## Transportation

Alberta Highway 2, also known as the Queen Elizabeth II Highway or QE2, is the busiest highway in Alberta and forms the central spine of the corridor.
A Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line, originally built by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway in 1891, roughly parallels the highway. The line has been used exclusively by freight trains since 1985, when Via Rail discontinued its Calgary–South Edmonton train service. There have been several proposal and studies for high-speed rail through the region.
The corridor has two of Canada's five busiest airports: Calgary International and Edmonton International. The number of daily flights between these two airports number into the dozens, making it one of Canada's busiest commuter flight routes.

## Demographics

In the Canada 2001 Census, the population of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor was 2,149,586, representing 72.3% of Alberta's population. In the Canada 2011 Census, the corridor's population had increased to 2,703,380 or 74.2% of the province's population. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 3,230,150.
The following presents the historic population growth of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor between 1996 and 2021 by its three census divisions.
| Census division | Area (km$^2$) | Pop. (2021) | Pop. (2016) | Pop. (2011) | Pop. (2006) | Pop. (2001) | Pop. (1996) |
| Division No. 6 | 12,645.88 | 1,590,639 | 1,498,778 | 1,311,022 | 1,160,936 | 1,021,060 | 880,859 |
| Division No. 8 | 9,909.31 | 213,470 | 209,395 | 189,243 | 175,337 | 153,049 | 133,592 |
| Division No. 11 | 15,767.99 | 1,426,041 | 1,366,050 | 1,203,115 | 1,076,103 | 975,477 | 898,888 |
| Calgary–Edmonton Corridor | 38,323.18 | 3,230,150 | 3,074,223 | 2,703,380 | 2,412,376 | 2,149,586 | 1,913,339 |
| Province of Alberta | 640,081.87 | 4,262,635 | 4,067,175 | 3,645,257 | 3,290,350 | 2,974,807 | 2,696,826 |
| Provincial proportion | 6.0% | 75.8% | 75.6% | 74.2% | 73.3% | 72.3% | 70.9% |

## Growth

The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is one of the fastest growing regions and wealthiest regions in Canada. A 2003 study by TD Bank Financial Group found the GDP per capita in the corridor is 10% above average compared to U.S. metropolitan areas and 40% above average compared to other Canadian cities. Much of this is because of large oil revenues due to the growing cost of oil since 2003.

## Census subdivisions

The following are lists of the census subdivisions within the Calgary Metropolitan Region and Edmonton Metropolitan Region portions of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The Edmonton Metropolitan Region's eight summer villages are not listed.

## Gallery

* Calgary, the largest city in Alberta
* Edmonton, the capital and the second largest city in Alberta
* The Red Deer River flows through the city of Red Deer, AB, situated south of Edmonton and north of Calgary, approx. 150 km (93 miles, or 90 minutes‘ drive) each way.