I’d like to take a moment to share with you some figures, statistics, and other information about the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As most of you reading this are probably aware, I live in Edmonton. I was born here, moved away for most of my youth, and have been back since 1998. I love the city, and while it is not without its faults, there are much worse places to live.

• Edmonton is the capital city of the province of Alberta.
• Edmonton is the sixth largest metropolitan region in Canada according to the 2006 Census, with a population of 1,034,945. (Source)
• It is also the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over 1 million. (Source)
• The population density of the Edmonton region is just 109.9 persions per square km. This is half the population density of the Calgary region, 1/7 of the Vancouver region, 1/8th of the Montreal region, 1/2 the Ottawa region, and 1/8th of the Toronto region. (Source)
• Edmonton is home to West Edmonton Mall, North America’s largest shopping mall, and the third largest in the world. (Source)
• WEM also holds the world record for the largest car park. (Source)
• Edmonton receives 2,289 hours of sunlight each year, making it one of Canada’s sunniest cities. (Source)
• There are more than 60,000 full time post-secondary students studying at schools in the Edmonton area. (Source)
• A very impressive 66,000 new jobs are projected to be created in the Edmonton region between 2006 and 2010. (Source)
• Edmonton did not make the 2006 list of most expensive cities in which to live (the list contained 150 cities). Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal all made the list. (Source)
• Edmonton was named the Cultural Capital of Canada for the year 2007. (Source)
• The annual Fringe festival is the largest alternative theatre event in North America. (Source)
• Edmonton’s 60,000-plus elm trees make up the largest concentration of disease-free elm trees in the world. (Source)
• Alberta is North America’s only rat free area (not including the territories). (Source)
• Edmonton has 225 kilometers of designated bikeways, and 41 off-leash parks to walk with your dog. (Source)
• The River Valley park system is the longest urban park in North America, 21.7 times larger than New York’s Central Park. (Source)
• Edmonton is home to five professional sports franchises, including the very successful Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos. (Source)
• Air quality in Edmonton is rated as good (the best level) at least 90% of the time for any given year. (Source)
• Edmonton leads the nation in effective waste management. For example, the city’s curbside recycling program has reduced by 60% the waste sent to landfills. (Source)
• Edmonton is down right beautiful at times, as you can see in the thousands and thousands of photos available at Flickr. (Source)

I could go on, but that’s a good start.

I look at #4, the population density, as a good thing. It may be a negative thing for hockey players and other celebrities seeking anonymity, however. One other negative that comes to mind is that we have a relatively high homicide rate, though it’s not as bad as rural regions of Alberta. Aside from that, what’s so bad about Edmonton?

Why do the wives of hockey players not want to live here? Is it just that Chris Pronger and Michael Nylander married nutcases, or is there more to it?

I don’t get it. However, unlike a lot of folks out there, I don’t think the blame falls entirely on Kevin Lowe’s shoulders. There’s got to be more to it. I’ll have more on this at SportsGuru this weekend, and I suspect my Dad might too.

What’s missing?