Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River, west of the Saskatchewan border. It is approximately 169 kilometres (105 mi) east of Lethbridge, and 295 km (183 mi) southeast of Calgary. The city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within Cypress County. Medicine Hat was the eighth-largest city in Alberta in 2021 with a population of 63,271. It is also the sunniest place in Canada according to Environment and Climate Change Canada, averaging 2,544 hours of sunshine a year. Started as a railway town, today, Medicine Hat is served by the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) and the eastern terminus of the Crowsnest Highway (Highway 3). Nearby communities considered part of the Medicine Hat area include the Town of Redcliff (abutting the city's northwest boundary) and the hamlets of Desert Blume, Dunmore, Irvine, Seven Persons, and Veinerville. The Cypress Hills (including Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park) are a relatively short distance (by car) to the southeast of the city. Historically, Medicine Hat has been known for its large natural gas fields, being immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as having "all hell for a basement". Because of these reserves, the city is known as "The Gas City". In 2021, Medicine Hat became the first city in Canada to achieve "functional zero" chronic homelessness, defined as three consecutive months where three or fewer individuals experienced chronic homelessness. They were able to achieve this due to their adoption of a Housing First policy to combat homelessness beginning in 2009.