Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region, and is in Treaty 6 territory. It anchors the northern end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor".

The area that later became the city of Edmonton was first inhabited by First Nations peoples and was also a historic site for the Métis. By 1795, many trading posts had been established around the area that later became the Edmonton census metropolitan area. "Fort Edmonton", as it was known, became the main centre for trade in the area after the 1821 merger of the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. It remained sparsely populated until the Canadian acquisition of Rupert's Land in 1870, followed eventually by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1891, its inauguration as a city in 1904, and its designation as the capital of the new province of Alberta in 1905. Its growth was facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities (Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton, Beverly and Jasper Place) in addition to a series of annexations through 1982, and the annexation of 8,260 ha (82.6 km²; 31.9 sq mi) of land from Leduc County and the City of Beaumont on January 1, 2019.

As of 2021, Edmonton had a city population of 1,010,899 and a metropolitan population of 1,418,118, making it the fifth-largest city and sixth-largest metropolitan area (CMA) in Canada. It is the northernmost city and metropolitan area in North America to have a population of over one million. Residents are called Edmontonians.

Known as the "Gateway to the North" outside of Ontario, Edmonton has become a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories. It is a cultural, governmental and educational centre that hosts festivals year-round, reflected in the nickname "Canada's Festival City". It is home to Canada's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest mall from 1981 until 2004); and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum.

Established as the first permanent settlement in the area of what is now Edmonton, the Hudson's Bay Company trading post of Fort Edmonton (also known as Edmonton House) was named after Edmonton, Middlesex, England. The fort's name was chosen by William Tomison, who was in charge of its construction, taking the fort's name from the hometown of the Lake family – at least five of whom were influential members of the Hudson's Bay Company between 1696 and 1807. In turn, the name of Edmonton derives from Adelmetone, meaning 'farmstead/estate of Ēadhelm' (from Ēadhelm, an Old English personal name, and tūn); this earlier form of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. Fort Edmonton was also called Fort-des-Prairies by French-Canadians, trappers, and coureurs des bois.

Indigenous languages refer to the Edmonton area by multiple names which reference the presence of fur trading posts. In Cree, the area is known as ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ amiskwacîwâskahikan, which translates to "Beaver Hills House" and references the location's proximity to the Beaver Hills east of Edmonton. In Blackfoot, the area is known as Omahkoyis; in Nakota Sioux, the area is known as Titâga; in Tsuutʼina, the area is known as Nââsʔágháàchú (anglicised as Nasagachoo). The Blackfoot name translates to 'big lodge', while the Nakota Sioux and Tsuutʼina names translate to 'big house'. In Denesuline, the area is known as Kuę́ Nedhé, a metonymic toponym which also generally means 'city'.

The earliest known inhabitants arrived in the area that is now Edmonton around 3,000 BC and perhaps as early as 12,000 BC when an ice-free corridor opened as the last glacial period ended and timber, water, and wildlife became available in the region.

The site of present-day Edmonton was home to several First Nations peoples, including the Cree, Nakota Sioux, Blackfoot, Tsuut'ina, Ojibwe, and Denesuline. The valley of the North Saskatchewan River, in particular the area of Edmonton, was settled to varying degrees for thousands of years, and provided many essential resources, including fish, medicine, and materials for tool making, such as chert or quartzite, which are abundant in the area around the modern city and which can be easily knapped into tools such as axes, knives, and arrowheads.