Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world’s hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook and Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter.
“Where is Lloydminster?” is a harder question to answer than you’d think.
The short answer is that it’s located in both Saskatchewan and Alberta. It is Canada’s sole “border city,” with the provincial border running through the centre, creating a unique living experience for its residents. They live in either Alberta or Saskatchewan, depending on their address, and pay taxes and medical fees accordingly.
The town was founded in 1903 by British immigrants, near the Fourth Meridian of the Dominion Survey. The founders sensed that provinces (which hardly existed at that point) were inevitable, but assumed that only one would form around their region. When the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created two years later, Lloydminster was halved into separate towns with separate municipalities. It wasn’t until 1930 that the government agreed to fuse the two half-cities, and in 1994 a 100-foot survey marker was erected to commemorate the city’s unique status.
Another unique feature of the city’s placement is its timezones—Saskatchewan doesn’t observe daylight savings time, unlike the rest of the country. In order to keep things even, Lloydminster, including the Saskatchewan side, remains on Alberta time.
Submitted by Atlas Obscura contributor samreeve.
For more on Lloydminster, visit Atlas Obscura!
More wonders to explore:
- Over two centuries old and counting, Madrid’s massive botanical garden contains one of Europe’s only desert environments.
- Rome’s Gladiator School churns out warriors that may very well have had a fighting chance in the city’s pits of the day.
- Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron contains some of the world’s best-preserved shipwrecks.
