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City of Lloydminster
Flag Seal
Location of Lloydminster in Alberta and Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 53°17′00″N 110°00′00″W / 53.283333, -110
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta  Saskatchewan
Region	Central Alberta, West Central Saskatchewan
Census division	10 (AB), 17 (SK)
Founded	1903
Incorporated	1930 (Town)
	1958 (City)
Government
- Mayor	Ken Baker
- City Manager	Roger Brekko
- MP	Leon Benoit (AB, Cons.) Gerry Ritz (SK, Cons.)
- MLA	Lloyd Snelgrove (AB, P.C) Tim McMillan (SK, S.P.)
- Governing body	Lloydminster City Council
Area
- Total	41.53 km² (16 sq mi)
Elevation	669 m (2,195 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	24,028
- Density	561.1/km² (1,453.2/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
Postal code span	T9V (AB), S9V (SK)
Area code(s)	780 (AB), 306 (SK)
Website: City of Lloydminster

Lloydminster is a Canadian city which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling a provincial border. Unlike most such cases (such as Texarkana), Lloydminster is not a pair of twin cities on opposite sides of a border which merely share the same name, but is actually incorporated as a single city with a single municipal administration.

The provincial border runs north to south, falling directly on 50th Avenue (Meridian Avenue) in the centre of Lloydminster. Addresses east of 50th Avenue are considered to be in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan and addresses west of 50th Avenue are considered to be in Lloydminster, Alberta.

Lloydminster is not the only city that straddles a Canadian provincial border. The city of Flin Flon, Manitoba has a small section that is actually located within Saskatchewan. In the National Capital Region, Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec form a single metropolitan area, but they do not form a biprovincial city because there are separate municipalities in each province.

Lloydminster's unique situation is reflected in other legal matters, including its time zone. Alberta law requires the use of daylight saving time, while Saskatchewan does not observe daylight saving time. Lloydminster's charter allows it to follow Alberta's use of daylight saving time on both sides of the provincial border; this places the city in the Mountain Standard Time Zone and synchronizes clocks with those of Alberta. Lloydminster, however, was not exempted from recent anti-smoking legislation passed by Saskatchewan's legislature. Lloydminster follows the Saskatchewan schedule when voting in municipal elections.

Barr colonists 1903

Intended to be an exclusively British Utopian settlement centred around the idea of sobriety, the town was founded in 1903 by the Barr Colonists, who came directly from the British Isles. At a time when the area was still part of the Northwest Territories, the town was located astride the Fourth Meridian of the Dominion Land Survey. This meridian was intended to coincide with 110° west longitude although the imperfect surveying methods of the time led to the meridian being placed a few hundred meters west of this longitude.

The town was named for Anglican Bishop George Exton Lloyd, a strong opponent of non-British immigration to Canada. During a nearly disastrous immigration journey, which was badly planned and conducted^[1], he distinguished himself with the colonists and replaced the Barr Colony's leader and namesake Isaac Montgomery Barr during the colonists' journey to the eventual townsite.

When the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905, the Fourth Meridian was selected as the border, bisecting the town. For the next quarter century, Lloydminster remained two separate towns with two separate municipal administrations, but in 1930 the provincial governments agreed to amalgamate the towns into a single town under shared jurisdiction. The provinces, again jointly, reincorporated Lloydminster as a city in 1958.

Commemorating Lloydminster's unique bi-provincial status, a monument consisting of four 100-foot survey markers was erected in 1994 near the city's downtown core.

Although the majority of Lloydminster's population once lived in Saskatchewan, that ratio has long since been reversed. The Alberta side of the border has seen most of the city's recent growth. In 2000, the city hall and municipal offices were re-located from Saskatchewan to Alberta.

Since Lloydminster's founders were attempting to create a utopian, temperate society, alcohol was not available in Lloydminster for the first few years after its founding. A bylaw prohibiting nude entertainment remains on the books.^{[citation needed]}

According to the Canada 2006 Census, the population was 24,028, of which 15,910 (66.0%) live in Alberta^[2] and 8,118 (34.0%) live in Saskatchewan.^[3] According to the 2001 federal census, the total population of the city was 20,988, of which 13,148 (62.6%) resided in Alberta while 7,840 (37.4%) lived in Saskatchewan. From 2001 to 2006, the population rose 21.0% on the Alberta side^[2] while the Saskatchewan side rose by 3.5%.^[3]

The two sides of the city rank 10^th in Alberta and 11^th in Saskatchewan in municipal population. If the city were entirely in one province or the other, Lloydminster's population would rank ninth in Alberta and fifth in Saskatchewan.

There are substantial demographic differences between the populations on each side of the border, with the population on the Saskatchewan side being substantially younger; the median age on the Saskatchewan side is 26.6,^[3] nearly seven years less than the 33.2 found on the Alberta side.^[2] Also, the specific age group of 20-24 is much more concentrated on the Saskatchewan side. The two sides of the city have virtually identical numbers of people in that age group (1,220 in Saskatchewan,^[3] 1,230 in Alberta^[2]) even though the total population on the Alberta side is nearly twice that of the Saskatchewan side.

The local economy is driven primarily by the booming petroleum industry. Agriculture remains an important economic activity, although many farmers in the area have been sustained financially by lease payments resulting from oil wells drilled on their land.^{[citation needed]}

Lloydminster's bi-provincial status has resulted in special provisions regarding provincial taxation within the city limits. The Saskatchewan side of the city is exempt from that province's sales tax, preventing businesses located there from being placed at a disadvantage relative to businesses in Alberta, which has no provincial sales tax. There is no exemption for provincial income tax, which is based solely on the taxpayer's province of residence.

Residents on the Alberta side are served by the electoral district of Vegreville—Wainwright in the federal House of Commons, and Vermilion-Lloydminster in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Residents in Saskatchewan are served by Battlefords—Lloydminster federally, and Lloydminster in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

Elementary and secondary schools on both sides of the border all use Saskatchewan's curriculum. Lloydminster provides post-secondary education through Lakeland College offering one and two year certificate and diploma programs.

Radio

• FM 95.9: CKSA ("Lloyd FM", country)
• FM 97.5: CKUA-FM-15 (variety)
• FM 106.1: CKLM ("The Goat", rock)

Television

• Channel 2: CKSA, CBC
• Channel 4: CITL, CTV

• Twin cities

	Dewberry	Marwayne	Meadow Lake
	Vermilion		Edam
		Lloydminster
	Wainwright	Chauvin	North Battleford

v • d • e Subdivisions of Saskatchewan
Subdivisions	Census divisions · SARM divisions · Rural municipalities · Regions
Communities	Towns · Villages · Hamlets · Ghost towns · Indian reserves
Cities	Estevan · Flin Flon (part) · Humboldt · Lloydminster (part) · Melfort · Melville · Moose Jaw · North Battleford · Prince Albert · Regina · Saskatoon · Swift Current · Weyburn · Yorkton

v • d • e Subdivisions of Alberta
Subdivisions	Regions · Census divisions · Counties and municipal districts · School districts · Regional Health Authorities
Communities	Towns · Villages · Hamlets · Indian reserves · Métis Settlements · Ghost towns
Cities and Special Centres	Airdrie · Brooks · Calgary · Camrose · Cold Lake · Edmonton · Fort McMurray · Fort Saskatchewan · Grande Prairie · Leduc · Lethbridge · Lloydminster · Medicine Hat · Red Deer · Sherwood Park · Spruce Grove · St. Albert · Wetaskiwin