Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie (55°11′N 118°53′W MST) is the chief city in the northwestern part of the province of Alberta. It is located on the southern edge of the Peace River Country (The Peace Region or simply as "The Peace", as is often locally known), which encompasses much of northwestern Alberta and northeastern BC. The city of Grande Prairie is one of Canada's fastest growing cities and in 2005, its population was 44,631 (the population of the entire Census Agglomeration is the same). It is currently Alberta's 7th largest city. Grande Prairie is the largest city between Edmonton and Fairbanks, Alaska along the Highway 43 and Alaska Highway routes.

The city has adopted the endangered Trumpeter swan as an official symbol because it is near the migration route and summer nesting grounds of this large and graceful swan. For that reason, Grande Prairie is sometimes nicknamed the "Swan City".