Balzac, Alberta
Encyclopedia
Balzac is a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in the southern portion of the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, in Rocky View County. It is located immediately west of Queen Elizabeth II Highway, at the intersection with Highway 566
Alberta Highway 566
Alberta Provincial Highway No. 566 is a highway in the province of Alberta, Canada. It runs west-east between Calgary and Airdrie, from Highway 772 to Highway 9 between the hamlets of Kathyrn and Keoma....
, 24 km (14.9 mi) north of Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
city centre and 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Airdrie
Airdrie, Alberta
Airdrie is a city in Alberta, Canada, located just north of Calgary within the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The City of Airdrie is part of Calgary's Census Metropolitan Area and a member community of the Calgary Regional Partnership . Due to its proximity to Calgary, Airdrie's population has been...
.
The hamlet is located in census division
Census division
Census division is an official term in Canada and the United States. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic unit, below provinces and territories, and above "census subdivisions" and "dissemination areas". In provinces where they exist, the census division may correspond...
No. 6
Division No. 6, Alberta
Division No. 6 is a census division in Alberta, Canada. Surrounding the City of Calgary, the majority of the division comprises Alberta's Calgary Region, while the northern portion of the division is located within central Alberta. The division also forms the southern segment of the...
and in the federal riding
Alberta federal electoral districts
As of 2006, the province of Alberta has 28 electoral districts represented in the Canadian House of Commons.*Calgary Centre*Calgary Centre-North*Calgary East*Calgary Northeast*Calgary Southeast*Calgary Southwest*Calgary West*Calgary—Nose Hill*Crowfoot...
of Wild Rose
Wild Rose (electoral district)
Wild Rose is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. It had been called a safe seat for the Conservative Party of Canada.- Geography :...
. It is administered by Rocky View County.
As of July 31, 2007, Balzac is now located immediately adjacent to Calgary's newly expanded northern city limits. Balzac is also directly west of the Crossiron Mills
Crossiron Mills
CrossIron Mills is a fully enclosed shopping centre development just outside the northern city limits of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and immediately east of the hamlet of Balzac in Rocky View County. It was developed by Ivanhoe Cambridge, a major Canadian real estate company...
shopping mall.
History
A Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
station began operating at Balzac in 1910. It was named by William Cornelius Van Horne
William Cornelius Van Horne
Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, KCMG was a pioneering Canadian railway executive.-Life and career:Born in 1843 in rural Illinois, he moved with his family to Joliet, Illinois when he was eight years old...
, then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, after one of his favourite authors, Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
(1799–1850) a noted French novelist. The post office here was opened on April 1, 1912 under the name “Beddington” and was changed on July 1, 1925. Canadian Senator and senate reform advocate Bert Brown
Bert Brown
For the English footballer Bert Brown, see Sailor BrownBert Brown is a Canadian Senator and retired farmer and development consultant currently residing in Balzac, Alberta.-Early life:...
hails from Balzac.
Services
- Balzac General Store (with restaurant and gas station)
- Recent announcements include a horse racing facility, an equestrian college campus and the multi-million dollar Crossiron MillsCrossiron MillsCrossIron Mills is a fully enclosed shopping centre development just outside the northern city limits of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and immediately east of the hamlet of Balzac in Rocky View County. It was developed by Ivanhoe Cambridge, a major Canadian real estate company...
regional shopping centre - this shopping centre is now the largest in the Calgary RegionCalgary RegionThe Calgary Region is an area centred around Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It consists of the City of Calgary, Rocky View County and the municipalities it encloses, and the Municipal District of Foothills No. 31 and the municipalities it encloses. The Calgary Census Metropolitan Area and Calgary...
. - In early 2009, Wal-mart announced plans to spend C$115 million ($104.4 US million) to build a 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) distribution center. The facility is expected to open in late 2010 and act as a distribution hub for fresh food in Western Canada.
Media
Due to its close proximity to both Calgary and Airdrie, Balzac receives most media (television, radio, newspapers) from those two cities.Balzac Billy
Balzac Billy
Balzac Billy, the "Prairie Prognosticator", is a "groundhog" mascot who prognosticates weather on Groundhog Day. He lives in Balzac, Alberta, 8 km north of Calgary, Alberta....
, a Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end...
prognosticator, resides in the town, and is considered one of Canada's most prominent forecasting groundhogs (Shubenacadie Sam
Shubenacadie Sam
Shubenacadie Sam is a famous Canadian groundhog who lives at the Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park in the town of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Sam's shadow is closely observed at sunrise to make the traditional prediction whether there will be an early spring...
and Wiarton Willie
Wiarton Willie
Wiarton Willie is a famous albino Canadian groundhog who lived in the community of Wiarton in Bruce County, Ontario. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Willie took part in the local Wiarton Willie Festival. His role is to predict whether there will be an early spring...
being among the others).
Demographics
Statistics Canada has not recently published a population for Balzac.However, Industry Canada shows that Balzac's greater rural area had a total population of 450 living in 149 dwellings in 2001. With a land area of 73.1 km² (28.2 sq mi), its greater rural area has a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 6 /km2.