Edson

EDSON, ALBERTA A RESOURCEFUL TOWN E dson is a town in west-central Alberta, about 120 miles due west of Edmonton, and about an hour and a half’s drive east of the Canadian Rockies, which according to Mike Derricott, the town’s Chief Admin- istrative Officer, has “some of the greatest scenery in the entire world.” The town was originally named Heatherwood, but the name was changed around 1911 in honor of Edson Joseph Chamberlin, vice-president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. That same year, the community was incorporated as a village, then a town in 1912. The main indus- tries that drive Ed- son’s economy are resource-based - forestry products, coal, oil, and natu- ral gas. “We’re very fortunate to have some diversity in that regard,” says Derricott. “We have an OSB (Oriented Strand Board) lumber mill, just outside of town.We also have coal mines in close proximity that employ some of our people. Then there’s the oil and gas sec- tor; natural gas exploration is a significant part of the economy of the region. Edson also produces a sizable support economy.We have the doctors and dentists and schools and all of those pieces that support the ALBERTA AT A GLANCE EDSON, ALBERTA WHAT: A town of 8,500 WHERE: Midway between Edmonton and the Canadian Rockies WEBSITE: www.edson.ca