page_title: Medicine Hat
section_title: Progress and growth
hierarchical_section_title: Medicine Hat / History / Progress and growth
caption_attribution_description: English: Racing at the Medicine Hat Speedway Derby, Alberta, Canada
context_page_description: Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately 169 km east of Lethbridge and 295 km southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within Cypress County. Medicine Hat was the sixth-largest city in Alberta in 2016 with a population of 63,230.
  Started as a railway town, today Medicine Hat is served by the Trans-Canada Highway and the eastern terminus of the Crowsnest Highway. Nearby communities considered part of the Medicine Hat area include the Town of Redcliff and the hamlets of Desert Blume, Dunmore, Irvine, Seven Persons, and Veinerville. The Cypress Hills is a relatively short distance to the southeast of the city.
  Historically, Medicine Hat has been known for its large natural gas fields, being immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as having "all hell for a basement". Because of these reserves, the city is known as "The Gas City".
context_section_description: Rich in natural resources including natural gas, coal, clay, and farmland, the town became industrialized and was known in its early days as "the Pittsburgh of the West", referring to the industrial city in western Pennsylvania of the United States. A number of large industries located here, attracted by the cheap and plentiful energy resources. Coal mines, brick works, pottery and glass bottle manufacturing plants, flour mills, etc. became established. With transportation access via the railway and river, the town became a service and trade center for the agriculture and its products, both commodity crops and livestock, of the surrounding area. Between 1909–1914 the town had an economic boom that increased the population to more than 10,000. Little growth occurred between the World Wars.
  During World War II, one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps (P.O.W.) in Canada was established here in the mid-1940s, used primarily to hold German and Italian prisoners. It was not until the 1950s of the post-war period that the town again had commercial growth.
  In the 21st century, Medicine Hat promotes its quality of life and affordable cost of living, enjoying the savings of a city-owned gas utility and power generation plant. Major industries have included chemical plants, a Goodyear tire and rubber plant, greenhouses, numerous oil and gas related companies, a foundry, I-XL Industries (a brickworks dating from the 1880s), to name a few. Friends of Medalta is a non-profit that has been formed to preserve some of the city's industrial heritage.
caption: Medicine Hat Speedway Derby
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