Medicine Hat.
The Gas City.
Compared to the rest of Alberta, the Gas City is comprised of older people, who tend to be lesser paid and have lower levels of university education. Employees work most often in healthcare and retail, and there is little ethnic diversity. Although the Indigenous population is also small, it comprises a number of diverse groups, including Cree, Blackfoot, Ojibway, Iroquois, and Métis.
(metro pop. 75,310)
Medicine Hat is a much older, less diverse and lower-paid population than others in Alberta. The 62% of people under 50 years old are on par with the rest of Canada, but 8% less than the rest of the province. Households making over $100k per year are only marginally higher than the Canadian average and 12% less than the provincial average.
Education rates in Medicine Hat are one of the lowest in the province, with 13% fewer people having a university education. Industry employment is also on the lower end, with retail and healthcare each making up 13% of all jobs followed by construction and hotel and food sectors.
Immigration since 2011 in Medicine Hat is unique for Alberta. Filipinos account for 27% of new Canadians—on par with the rest of the country but low for other Alberta cities—followed by those coming from India, the UK and Syria at 8% each. The UK and Syrian rates for Medicine Hat are over 5% higher than elsewhere in the country.
The only notable visible minority rates in Medicine Hat include Black, First Nations and Métis persons—all representing very small numbers. Among those Indigenous and Métis persons who speak an Indigenous language, there is a significant diversity: Cree accounting for 40% of all speakers, with Blackfoot, Ojibway, Iroquoian and Michif following behind. Combined, however, this amounts to only 75 Indigenous language speakers in Medicine Hat out of 3,600 Indigenous-identifying individuals.
