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Alberta's 115th birthday

Premier declares Sept. 1 as Alberta Day

Sep 1, 2020 | 3:12 PM

On the 115th anniversary of Alberta officially becoming a province, Premier Jason Kenney is declaring Sept. 1 to be Alberta Day.

In a statement today, Kenney says the day “to celebrate our great province and all that makes us, as our provincial motto says, strong and free.”

He says the province has celebrated years of growth and economic prosperity since Sept. 1, 1905 and also many challenges from which it always emerges stronger.

Kenney’s full statement is below.

“On this day 115 years ago, Alberta came into existence.

“Alberta’s history of human habitation dates back more than 10,000 years when the first Indigenous people migrated to Alberta to find a land rich in bounty. To this day, as millions more people have made Alberta home, it remains a land rich in resources, culture and human endeavour.

“Albertans have celebrated years of growth and economic prosperity, but also the challenges of the Spanish Flu pandemic, drought, global depression and the loss of young lives defending freedom in two world wars, Korea and Afghanistan. This past year, we have faced the challenges of the COVID pandemic, collapse in oil prices and a global recession.

“Yet, as Albertans have always done – from the protracted fight to wrestle ownership of our own natural resources from the federal government in 1930 to our responsible civic response to slowing the spread of COVID today – we will once again emerge stronger.

“This is why I’m proud that our government has officially declared September 1st as Alberta Day to celebrate our great province and all that makes us, as our provincial motto says, strong and free.”