Redwater, Alberta Real Estate

The Oil Boom Town That Kept Going

The Leduc No. 1 discovery in February 1947 is the one everybody knows — the well that transformed Alberta's economy and launched the modern petroleum era. What fewer people know is that just a year later, Imperial Oil struck the Redwater Oil Field north of Edmonton — at the time one of the largest oil discoveries in Canadian history. The Redwater field triggered another wave of rapid growth: workers arrived, the town expanded, and Imperial Oil built a refinery that would operate for decades. The refinery closed in 1994, but Redwater's connection to Alberta's energy industry never did. The Sturgeon Refinery, nearby, continues the regional industrial story in the 21st century.

Redwater's name predates the oil. It comes from the reddish-coloured surface water found in the area — iron compounds leaching from the soil into creeks and drainage, giving the water a distinctive tint that early settlers and travellers noted and remembered. It's a purely descriptive name in the plainest Alberta tradition, connecting the town to the land's actual physical character before any industrial history arrived to complicate things.

For buyers, Redwater offers one of the north Edmonton corridor's more interesting combinations: genuine oil-era history, Sturgeon County agricultural surroundings, affordable home prices averaging around $360,000, and practical proximity to the Alberta Industrial Heartland's major employers in Fort Saskatchewan and the Sturgeon corridor. Edmonton is 55 kilometres south. The highway is paved, the drive is manageable, and the homes cost meaningfully less than the city.

Redwater Neighbourhoods & Price Ranges

Luxury & Waterfront Properties Near Redwater