Lloydminster

Lloydminster, Alberta-Saskatchewan, incorporated as a city in 1958, population 18 032 in Alberta (2011c) and 9772 in Saskatchewan (2011c); 15 910 in Alberta and 8118 in Saskatchewan (2006c). The City of Lloydminster is known as the "Border City" since it is located on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border 275 km west of Saskatoon and 252 km east of Edmonton. It is the only single community in Canada split by a provincial boundary.

It came into being with the arrival of the BARR COLONISTS in 1903. "Britannia Settlement" was the name in common usage before it was changed to Lloydminster in 1903 to honour Reverend George Exton Lloyd, an Anglican minister who guided the destiny of the colonists after the departure of Reverend Isaac Barr.

When the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created in 1905, the Fourth Meridian was selected as the provincial boundary and the townsite, sitting astride it, was divided between the 2 provinces. For the next 25 years there was a town of Lloydminster on the Saskatchewan side and a village of the same name on the Alberta side. In 1929 a major fire caused over $1million in damage, destroying most of downtown. The following year the 2 communities were amalgamated as the town of Lloydminster by order-in-council in both provinces. The town became the tenth city of both provinces in 1958.

Lloydminster is in the heart of a rich agricultural region where a variety of crops are grown in addition to ranching. Other natural resources include oil, natural gas, salt, gravel and coal. To take advantage of the extensive heavy oil fields in the area, the Bi-Provincial Upgrader petrochemical facility was constructed and officially opened in 1992. Manufacturing related to the petroleum industry and manufactured homes are also important.

Author DON HERPERGER

Links to Other Sites
Lloydminster
The official website of the City of Lloydminster. Features links to municipal offices and a brief history of the city.

OTS Heavy Oil Science Center
A detailed information source about producing, transporting, and refining heavy oil products. From the Lloydminster Oilfield Technical Society.

Main Street, Saskatchewan
Take a stroll down Main Street, Saskatchewan. This extensive compilation of photographs and other archival material highlights more than a century of Saskatchewan history. Search the Saskatchewan Archival Information Network or browse the Virtual Displays and the Town List. Produced by the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists.

A Scientific and Historical Background Regarding the Time System in Saskatchewan
A report on the history of local and regional time zone policies in the Province of Saskatchewan. From the website for the City of Saskatoon.

Barr colony
View vintage photographs depicting inhabitants at work in the Barr Colony, near present day Lloydminster, Alberta. A Government of Alberta website.