Alberta History

1670  Today’s Alberta was a part of the territory given to the Hudson’s Bay Company.

1777–1778  First trading post on Lake Athabasca was established.

1778  Fort Chipewyan was founded.

1794  Fort Augustus was founded near the present site of Edmonton.

1869  Rupert’s Land bought from the Hudson’s Bay Company and organized into the Northwest Territories.

1874–1875  North West Mounted Police established Fort Macleod and Fort Calgary.

1876–1877  Territorial rights acquired from the Indians by treaty.

1882  The southern region of the Northwest Territories was divided into four districts; one was named Alberta.

1883  Canadian Pacific Railway’s main line was completed across Alberta.

1885  Northwest Rebellion outbreak.

1905  The Province of Alberta was formed.

1908  The University of Alberta was founded.

About half of Alberta’s population is of British origin. Other nationalities include Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Scandinavian, Ukrainian, and Indian (18,000 American Indians reside on 90 reservations). Most migrations were from eastern Canada, Europe, and the United States in the early 1900s.