It’s Independence Day in the US, so today’s Owl highlights some interesting facts about Alberta and the United States.

• The first thing you might notice is that the US has a lot more people than we do. As of April 2022, Alberta’s population was just over 4.5 million compared to about 333 million in the US.
• With that said, 24 states have smaller populations than Alberta. Kentucky’s population is about the same as Alberta’s.
• Only two US states have a larger area than Alberta’s 661,848 square kilometres: Alaska (1.7 million) and Texas (695,662).
• At $93.2 billion in 2021, Alberta’s number one export to the US is crude oil and natural gas followed by refined petroleum ($4.7 billion).
• Our largest import from the US is refined petroleum ($7 billion in 2021) followed by aerospace products and parts ($749.3 million).
• As of the 2016 Census, there were 30,455 people born in the US living in Alberta.
• Calgary’s sister city in the US is Phoenix while Edmonton’s is Nashville.

Answer to the previous trivia question: A 50th star was added to the American flag on July 4, 1960 to symbolize Hawaii's admission as the 50th state.

Today’s trivia question: Who is the month of July named for?