Leduc

City in central Alberta, Canada, 30 km/19 mi south of Edmonton; population (1996 est) 14,300. Although there is some light industry here connected with oil production, Leduc has recently become a largely residential community. Edmonton International Airport is just north of the city.

Founded in 1890 as a telegraph station and stop on the Calgary and Edmonton Railway, it became an agricultural centre named after a pioneer priest. It was incorporated as a village in 1899, as a town in 1906, and as a city in 1983. In 1947 the Leduc No 1 well was sunk and an enormous oilfield discovered, launching an economic boom for the city, for Edmonton, and for the province.