Balzac
Hamlet
Balzac, Alberta is located in Alberta
Balzac, Alberta
Location of Balzac in Alberta
Coordinates: 51°12′47″N 114°00′29″W / 51.213°N 114.008°W / 51.213; -114.008
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
Census divisionNo. 6
Municipal districtRocky View County
Government
 • TypeUnincorporated
 • ReeveGreg Boehlke
 • Governing body
  • Jerry Arshinoff
  • Rolly Ashdown
  • Margaret Bahcheli
  • Greg Boehlke
  • Liz Breakey
  • Lois Habberfield
  • Bruce Kendall
  • Eric Lowther
  • Earl Solberg
Elevation
1,080 m (3,540 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total40,000 people
Time zoneUTC−7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)

Balzac is a hamlet in Rocky View County, which is in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of the Canadian province of Alberta.[2] It is located immediately west of Queen Elizabeth II Highway, at the intersection with Highway 566, 24 km (15 mi) north of Calgary city centre and 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Airdrie.

The hamlet is located in census division No. 6 and in the Alberta federal electoral district of Banff—Airdrie (formerly in the federal electoral district of Wild Rose).

As of July 31, 2007, Balzac is immediately adjacent to Calgary's northern city limits.[3] Balzac is also directly west of the CrossIron Mills shopping mall.

History

A Canadian Pacific Railway station began operating at Balzac in 1910. It was named by William Cornelius Van Horne, then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, after one of his favourite authors, Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) a noted French novelist.[4] The post office here was opened on April 1, 1912 under the name "Beddington" and was changed on July 1, 1925. The first warehouse was built in 1916, mostly for coal.[5] Canadian Senator and senate reform advocate Bert Brown hails from Balzac.

Demographics

The population of Balzac according to the 2006 municipal census conducted by Rocky View County is 1.[1]

Economy

Media

Due to its close proximity to both Calgary and Airdrie, Balzac receives most media (television, radio, newspapers) from those two cities.

Balzac Billy, a Groundhog Day prognosticator, resides in the town, and is considered one of Canada's most prominent forecasting groundhogs (Shubenacadie Sam and Wiarton Willie being among the others).[8][unreliable source?]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Alberta Population Summary: Alberta's Hamlets Alphabetically, 2010" (PDF). Alberta Population. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Specialized and Rural Municipalities and Their Communities" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  3. ^ City of Calgary. Annexation map Archived September 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 14.
  5. ^ Read, Tracy (1983). Acres and Empires : a history of the Municipal District of Rocky View no. 44. p. 57. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  6. ^ Canadian Press 'October 26, 2017',Financial Post, retrieved from http://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/amazon-com-to-add-750-full-time-jobs-at-calgary-area-fulfillment-centre, retrieved on Oct 26, 2017.
  7. ^ Stephenson, S.(August 23, 2018) ' $30M insect farm planned for Balzac; company says bugs are 'the future of food', Calgary Herald retrieved from https://calgaryherald.com/business/local-business/30m-insect-farm-planned-for-balzac-company-says-bugs-are-the-future-of-food, retrieved on August 23, 2018
  8. ^ "Balzac Billy". Retrieved September 10, 2009.

External links

51°12′47″N 114°00′28″W / 51.21298°N 114.00783°W / 51.21298; -114.00783 (Balzac)

Places adjacent to Balzac, Alberta
Subdivisions of Alberta
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