About Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie is the main city in the northwestern part of the province of Alberta in Western Canada. It is located on the southern edge of the Peace River Country (part of the Peace Region or simply "The Peace", as is often locally known, which encompasses much of northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia). The city is surrounded by Grande Prairie County. The city of Grande Prairie is one of Canada's fastest growing cities and as of its 2007 civic census, its population was 50,227, up 6.9% from the Canada 2006 Census figure of 47,076. As of 2006, the population of the Grande Prairie Census Agglomeration was at 71,868.

Grande Prairie was named for the large prairie which lies to the north, east and west of it. In the 18th century, the paririe was occupied by bands of the Beaver First Nation who began trading with the North West Company at Dunvegan in the early 1800s.

Agriculture was the first economic mainstay of Grande Prairie since settlement began in the early 20th Century, and is still an essential part of the local economy today. A variety of crops such as barley, wheat, canola and oats is widely grown in the Peace region, as well as livestock such as cattle, and even buffalo (bison). Despite the latitude (north of 55°N), the climate is mild enough to allow for farming on a large scale to prosper. Daylight hours also tend to be quite long during the summer at this latitude, aiding in crop production. The Peace Region is the northernmost major farming region in North America, and land there is still being cleared for new farmland.