Scouting in Alberta

Scouting and Guiding in Alberta has a long history, from the 1900s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Alberta Scouting is administered by two Councils within Scouts Canada: Northern Lights Council in the north (also responsible for the Northwest Territories), and Chinook Council in the south. In general, each council's territory is divided into Areas, and each Area contains sponsored Scouting Groups.

Francophone Scouting groups exist in Calgary and in Edmonton. They are part of the Association des Scouts du Canada.

In 1983, the 15th World Scout Jamboree was held at Kananaskis Country, an area of Provincial Park 4,000 feet in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 80 miles west of Calgary, Alberta. The Spirit Lives On was the theme of the World Jamboree, with a total attendance of over 15,000 Scouts from nearly 100 countries. In 2010 Northern Lights Council introduced a centennial badge commemorating 100 years of scouting in the area.

Among Alberta's varied Scouting groups and sections are Adventure Scouting Groups, Ismaili Scouts, and Rover Crews with romantic names like Knights of Dionysus and Knights of the Crimson Cross. In 2009 a Special Needs group, the 88th Polaris, was formed in the Northern Lights Council serving youth with neurological impairments.

In 1981, the 5th Canadian Scout Jamboree was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, with 19,000 in attendance.

In 1993, the 8th Canadian Scout Jamboree was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, with 12,000 in attendance.

In 2005, Northern Lights Council hosted a jamboree at Camp Woods. Chinook Council hosted a joint Alberta-Saskatchewan Brotherhood Jamboree at Camp Impeesa, celebrating the common centennial of the two provinces.

On June 19, 2010 it was announced at the Northern Lights Council Annual Honours and Awards ceremonies, that Camp Woods, near Sylan Lake, Alberta, would be the location for the 12th Canadian Scout Jamboree to be held in the summer of 2013. Plans currently call for an attendance of 6,000.

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