LegalAlberta
It is a town of 1,253 residents in Alberta. It shrank by 8% between the 2016 and 2021 censuses.
Is Legal a good place to live?
Natural hazards are few (A+). Where it falls short is jobs & income (C−). Crime runs high (C). Elsewhere it is close to typical: C+ for cost of living and C+ for health.
An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Legal has its subject grades alone.
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. Safety less sure: no police service names this town, so its crime figure is the nearest police detachment's, shared with a wider area. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
What makes Legal stand out
The 3 things Legal does most differently from other towns.
How Legal grades
Each subject compares Legal with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Canadian towns; Legal has its subject grades alone.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Legal.
Hazard risk in Legal is lower than in almost every Canadian town
The radon tests numbers here cover the Capital Health
Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.009 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Burn scars are few around Legal, with 1.7% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.05% a year). Radon is lower than usual: 1.4% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 1.4% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.009 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
The 2 schools of Legal: 2 schools for every grade
1 of its 2 schools with results sit in the top two fifths in Alberta.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal School CatholicLargest secondary schoolAll grades · Grades K–9 | All grades · Grades K–9 | 163 | English Catholic |
| École Citadelle FrenchTeaches in FrenchAll grades · Grades K–10 | All grades · Grades K–10 | 86 | French public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Trips to work from Legal take longer than from Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 35 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 35 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Legal earns a C for safety
No police detachment reports under Legal’s name, so these are the nearest detachment’s figures, not the town’s own · Area-wide: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000, counted over the Morinville detachment area
The index for the force that serves it came to 85, lower than Alberta’s towns (110) yet higher than Canadian towns (67). For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 34.2 property crimes are reported each year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 85 | 110 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 34.2 | 45 | 31.2 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 81 | 109 | 86 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
A town of families: 22% of people in Legal are under 15, more than in Alberta’s towns and across Canadian towns
Both official languages: 21% of residents, above Alberta’s towns (5.7%) and Canadian towns (7.5%) alike. Over-65s are 15% of the population.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 47.0% of Legal
Women numbered 580 and men 655 in 2021, next to a 50.9% share of women for Canada.
| Legal | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 62% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 15% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 23% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 43% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Winter nights bite in Legal: January lows of −17.8°C, colder than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns
January is the snowiest month, with 30 cm on average. There are 199 days of frost in a typical year, about level with Alberta’s towns (193) and above Canadian towns (159). In July, daytime highs in Legal average 23.6°C.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −17.8°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 473 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 199 | 193 | 159 |
| July afternoon high | 23.6°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Fort Saskatchewan)
Legal earns a C+ for cost of living
18% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, lower than Alberta’s towns (21%) and near Canadian towns (18%). Home ownership covers 76% of households.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 76% | 74% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020. · Rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom published for the Edmonton metro area, not by town
Legal sits a long way from hospital care: 28 km for the average resident
Health survey and life expectancy for the Edmonton Zone
In the health survey, just over half of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, fewer than Alberta’s 53%. Across the region, life runs to 81.2 years on average: women 83.6, men 78.8, in 2022/2024. Chronic conditions run at 18% of adults, age-standardised, close to both Alberta’s towns (18%) and Canadian towns (17%).
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 51% | 51% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
What November brings in Legal: −10°C at night, 1°C by day
Snowfall in a normal November: 27 cm. A normal December brings highs of −5°C, lows of −15°C. Precipitation in November averages 29 mm. Also worth knowing: the year peaks in July (24°C) and bottoms out in January (−18°C).
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −5°C | −16°C | 68 mm |
| Spring | 10°C | −2°C | 98 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 10°C | 216 mm |
| Autumn | 10°C | −2°C | 92 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Fort Saskatchewan); the forecast is on the Weather page
Legal sends Michael Cooper (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from St. Albert—Sturgeon River
Locally, Legal is run as a town.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library stands in Legal: the closest, Gibbons Public Library, is 22 km away
After it comes Entwistle Public Library (Redwater), 31 km away.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Legal is 52 km from Elk Island National Park
One protected area is close by. The protected share within 10 km is 0.1%, where a typical Canadian town has 2.3%. For a provincial park, Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park lies 35 km off.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Legal | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0.1% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Legal
Famous people from around Legal
One notable person was born in Legal; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
Randy Boissonnault: Moirakelly1846, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jason Holland: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0 · Bryce Van Brabant: Resolute, CC BY-SA 3.0
Legal’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | 1,253 | — | — | C+ | C | C+ |
| Morinville | 10,763 | 17 | C+ | B− | B− | B− |
| Bon Accord | 1,457 | 17 | — | B | C | B− |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Legal
Who are the people of Legal?
Visible minorities are 1% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 3%, and Indigenous people 8%.
Has Legal grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 1,345 to 1,232 residents (8.4% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 1,253.
What kind of homes are in Legal?
Mostly 87% single-detached houses (the median of Canadian towns: 64%), with 0% of homes in buildings of five or more storeys. Households hold 2.7 people on average, and 23% have just one.
About Legal
Town in Alberta
Legal is a municipality in Alberta, read by TownRatings as Statistics Canada draws it: one census subdivision, so its figures cover the whole municipality.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,253 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 11
- Metro area
- Edmonton
- Census subdivision
- 4811069
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).