Balzac is a hamlet in Rocky View County, which is in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is located immediately west of Queen Elizabeth II Highway, at the intersection with Highway 566, 24 km north of Calgary city centre and 12 km south of Airdrie. The hamlet is located in census division No. 6 and in the Alberta federal electoral district of Banff—Airdrie (formerly in the federal electoral district of Wild Rose). As of July 31, 2007, Balzac is immediately adjacent to Calgary's northern city limits. Balzac is also directly west of the CrossIron Mills shopping mall.

History

A Canadian Pacific Railway station began operating at Balzac in 1910. It was named by William Cornelius Van Horne, then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, after one of his favourite authors, Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) a noted French novelist. The post office here was opened on April 1, 1912 under the name "Beddington" and was changed on July 1, 1925. The first warehouse was built in 1916, mostly for coal. Canadian Senator and senate reform advocate Bert Brown hails from Balzac.

Demographics

The population of Balzac according to the 2006 municipal census conducted by Rocky View County is 1.

Economy

Media

Due to its close proximity to both Calgary and Airdrie, Balzac receives most media (television, radio, newspapers) from those two cities. Balzac Billy, a Groundhog Day prognosticator, resides in the town.