Life Insurance Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada, within the southern part of an area referred to as the Peace River Country. It lies at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), around 456 km northwest of Edmonton.

Grande Prairie was the seventh-largest city in Alberta, with a population of 63,200 and was among Canada’s fastest-growing cities between 2001 and 2006.

The city embraced the trumpeter swan as an official sign due to its distance to the migration route and summer season nesting grounds of this bird. Because of that, Grande Prairie is, in some cases, nicknamed the “Swan City”. The dinosaur has become an informal sign of the city due to paleontology discoveries in the areas north and west of the Grande Prairie.

Grande Prairie possesses a varied economy. Significant markets include oil and gas, agriculture, food, and forestry services.

Agriculture was the very first financial pillar of Grande Prairie since settlement started in the early 20th century. A range of crops such as barley, wheat, canola, and oats are grown in the area. Animals such as livestock and buffalo (bison) are likewise raised in the location.

It was in the mid to late-1970s that the Elmworth gas field was discovered and developed, causing the city to grow rapidly until the oil boom ended in 1981. Today Grande Prairie’s area atop both the Montney and Duvernay geological developments have seen regional extraction activities focused on the natural-gas condensate and shale gas.

Forestry is a significant part of Grande Prairie’s economy, for large systems of the forest lie to the south in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. International Paper (formerly Weyerhaeuser Canada) kraft pulp mill, opened in 1972 by Procter & Gamble, is among Grande Prairie’s largest companies. Canfor runs a sawmill and lumber backyard operation on the west side of the city. Norbord (formerly Ainsworth) oriented strand board plant opened in late 1995.

Grande Prairie serves as the financial and transportation hub for a trading location of nearly 250,000 people. Grande Prairie is likewise on the CANAMEX trade path connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

For that reason, Grande Prairie is, in some cases, nicknamed the “Swan City”. The dinosaur has emerged as an unofficial symbol of the city due to paleontology discoveries in the areas north and west of the Grande Prairie.

Today Grande Prairie’s place atop both the Montney and Duvernay geological formations have seen local extraction activities focused on the natural-gas condensate and shale gas. International Paper (previously Weyerhaeuser Canada) kraft pulp mill, opened in 1972 by Procter & Gamble, is one of Grande Prairie’s biggest companies.