Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan

Lloydminster (2001 pop. 20,988) is a Canadian city which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling a provincial border.

The town was founded in 1903, when the area was still part of the Northwest Territories, and was located astride the Fourth Meridian of the Dominion Land Survey, or 110° west longitude. However, when the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905, that meridian was selected as the border, bisecting the town.

Until 1930, Lloydminster remained two separate towns with two separate municipal administrations, but in that year the provincial governments agreed to amalgamate the towns into a single town under shared jurisdiction. The provinces, again jointly, reincorporated Lloydminster as a city in 1958.

The provincial border runs north to south, falling directly on Main Street in the centre of Lloydminster. Addresses east of Main Street are considered "Lloydminster, Saskatchewan", and addresses west of Main Street are considered "Lloydminster, Alberta".

However, as the municipal offices are on the Alberta side of the border, the city is better known to most Canadians as Lloydminster, Alberta.

Commemorating Lloydminster's unique biprovincial status, a monument consisting of four 100-foot survey markers was erected in 1994 near the city's downtown core.

Lloydminster's biprovincial status is reflected in its time zone. Alberta has a law requiring the use of daylight saving time throughout the province; Saskatchewan has a law prohibiting the same. However, Lloydminster's charter allows it to use daylight saving time on both sides of the provincial border; this synchronizes its clocks with those of Alberta.