Leduc was established in 1899, when Robert Telford, a settler, bought land near a lake which would later bear his name. It was on that piece of land where the new settlement would take root. Telford previously served as an officer for the North-West Mounted Police, and later became Leduc's first postmaster, first general merchantman, and first justice of the peace. The establishment of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway, later acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway, opened the region to settlement. The first train stopped at Leduc in July 1891. Originally there were two versions to describe how Leduc got its name. In fact both accounts are true. In April 1886 when a settler setting up a telegraph office needed a name for the new station and decided that it would be named after the first person who came through the door of the telegraph office. That person was Father Hippolyte Leduc, a priest who had served the area since 1867. Five years later, in 1891, the Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, who had been Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, Edgar Dewdney, was given a list of names, that had been provided to the railroad by Father Lacombe, decided that Telford Place should be renamed at the time the railway terminal was being established. Father Leduc's name was on the list and since the telegraph station was all ready called Leduc Dewdney saw no reason why not to use Leduc's name for the new railroad station and the hamlet that was growing alongside. Leduc was incorporated as a village in 1899, and became a town in 1906. It became a city in 1983; by that time its population had reached 12,000. The town continued to grow quietly over the decades and Alberta's historical oil strike on February 13, 1947, occurred near the town at the Leduc No. 1 oil well.
Geography
Leduc has a wide variety of parks and sports amenities, and has more than of multiuse pathways. On the east end of the city lies Telford Lake, and just to the east is Saunders Lake.
Alexandra Park Ponds
Coady Lake
Leduc Reservoir
Telford Lake
West Point Lake
Demographics
The population of the City of Leduc according to its 2019 municipal census is 33,032, a change of from its 2018 municipal census population of 32,448. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Leduc recorded a population of 29,993 living in 11,319 of its 12,264 total private dwellings, an increase of from its 2011 population of 24,304. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2016. Results from the 2017 Leduc Census revealed a new population count of 31,130 - a growth rate of two percent over 2016. In the 2011 Census, the City of Leduc had a population of 24,279 living in 9,290 of its 9,789 total dwellings, a 43.1% increase from its 2006 population of 16,967. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2011. The 2011 census also indicated that Leduc was ranked as the municipality with the ninth-highest population growth between 2006 and 2011. Following its 2014 annexation, Statistics Canada adjusted Leduc's 2011 population by an additional 25 people to 24,304.
Leduc is home to the Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts, a preeminent performing arts facility with a 460-seat theatre. In fall 2009, the Leduc Recreation Centre was opened. The facility includes three NHL-sized arenas, an aquatic centre, and a curling rink.
Media
Local newspaper, the Leduc Representative, and the regional newspaper, the Leduc-Wetaskiwin Pipestone Flyer, serve Leduc. Leduc's first FM radio station, CJLD-FM, began in 2013 and is known on-air as "93.1 The One". An internet based community radio station, branded "Leduc Radio" since 2008, also serves the city. Due to its proximity to Edmonton, all major Edmonton media also serve Leduc and its surrounding area.
Emergency services
The City of Leduc has its own fire services and emergency management departments. Led by a fire chief, the Fire Services Department comprises full and part-time members providing fire, ambulance and patient transportation services to the city and portions of Leduc County to the west, south and east. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police provide police services, supported by the city's Enforcement Services Department, which consists of Peace Officers appointed by the Alberta Solicitor General.
