Community Information

About Wood Buffalo

Fort McMurray is in Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB), in the northeastern corner of Alberta, Canada. Fort McMurray has a population of over 70,000 (RMWB Census 2010). The population of the RMWB is over 100,000. A large portion of the RMWB population lives in work camps—over 20,000 people.

Fort McMurray was established as a Hudson’s Bay Company post in 1870. When the settlement of Fort McMurray first appeared in the Dominion Census, in 1901, there were 16 people counted.

Oilsands development (specifically Suncor) spurred the dramatic growth in the 1960s, and the population doubled between 1964 and 1967. During construction of Syncrude, from 1975 to 1978, population increased from 13,500 to 24,580 people. Decades later, with the development ofAthasbasca Oil Sands Project (Shell) formerly known as Albian Sands Muskeg River Mine, as well as other oilsands plants using in-situ (uner ground) extraction techniques, increased growth is anticipated.

Distance and direction to Fort McMurray	Road	km	mi
From Edmonton (takes about 5 hours to drive)	Highway 63 Paved, all-weather road	439	273
From Calgary	Highway 63 Paved, all-weather road	733	455
From Fort Chipewyan	Winter road	280	175
From Northwest Territories	Winter road	483	300
Saskatchewan border	Winter road	87	54

To see maps of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and Fort McMurray, visit the RMWB’s website.

For information about services, recreation and moving to Fort McMurray visit the Newcomer section of the Reional Municipality of Wood Buffalo website. 

This page will also include a drop down menu with information categories: 

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