Alberta

Sprawling Calgary, Alberta, may have the biggest ecological footprint of any city in Canada -- and no municipal recycling program -- but will soon supply 75% of its energy needs through wind power.

A Canadian city suspicious about the low population count reported in the national census decided to do its own count. The city found 2,000 more people than the census -- a figure that would have equated to $600,000 more in federal grant money.

The homeless population of a government-sanctioned tent city has slowly dwindled to less than half its original size as officials in the Canadian city of Edmonton move forward with plans to close the impromptu squatter settlement.

In the Alberta Province of Canada, a loophole in a law meant to protect tenants from being evicted for condo conversions has been discovered that allows landlords to legally raise the rents as high as they want, effectively pricing tenants out.

An oil boom is bringing news jobs and strengthening the economy but also harming the environment.

Despite a booming oil economy and a population of almost a million people, Alberta's capital city of Edmonton finds "place branding" a struggle.

The pace of construction in oil-soaked Alberta is so intense that projects dogged by labour shortages are drawing inexperienced workers from across the country -- and complaints about shoddy construction.

Researchers at the University of Calgary are investigating whether the costs of physical inactivity and obesity could justify stronger regulation to halt sprawl.

A new survey has named Calgary the cleanest and most sanitary city in the world.

The Municipality of Wood Buffalo is looking to fill 49 new positions in its planning and development department to cope with the area's incredible growth -- a result of the tar sands boom in northern Alberta.

Alberta's inability to provide the necessary municipal and social infrastructure to keep pace with oil sand developments is beginning to make life in the north "intolerable."

In an unprecedented move, the Province of Alberta's energy regulator has issued a warning that time is running out to put in place the infrastructure -- including roads, schools and health care -- needed to keep pace with oil sands development.

Despite its booming growth and the recent announcement of a world-class office tower, downtown Calgary is suffering from a lack of human-scale planning, writes Lisa Rochon.

Canadian energy giant EnCana and the City of Calgary hope that the corporation's new headquarters, scheduled for completion in 2011, will put Calgary on the "architectural map."

The fallout from a local oil boom has Calgary scrambling to address shortages of labor, housing, office space, and just about everything else.

Alberta's surging oil economy is growing so quickly that service industries can't compete, budgets for infrastructure projects can't keep up with rising labour and material costs, and oil companies are building their own housing projects.

With a footprint as big as New York City but with a tenth of the population, and with no natural limits on growth, Calgary struggles to rein in suburban sprawl.

A new report from three Canadian think tanks points out that Canada is not only without a national energy policy, it is risking its own social, environmental, and energy security to mine and sell tar sands oil to the United States at rock-bottom prices.

Comprehensive watershed planning is needed to prevent a water crisis in Alberta, which a new study shows is facing significant reductions in water supply due to climate change and tar sands development.

Surging oil wealth, a huge provincial surplus, and a booming real estate market make Calgary the new "centre of the universe" in Canada.