City coordinates: 56.7241058, -111.3589942
Fort McMurray is an urban service area in northern Alberta located at the meeting point of the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers. The community forms part of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and is widely known as the centre of Canada’s oil sands industry. Energy production and related services have played a central role in the development of the local economy.
The rapid expansion of oil sands operations in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries led to significant population growth and infrastructure development. Residential neighbourhoods, commercial areas and transportation routes were expanded to support workers and businesses connected to the energy sector.
Fort McMurray today functions as a major industrial and service hub in northern Alberta, with a population that reflects both permanent residents and a large workforce linked to regional energy projects.