Devon is a town in the province of Alberta, Canada, situated 26km southwest of Edmonton, the provincial capital, and located along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.HistoryDevon owes its existence to one of the largest oil discoveries in the world. On 1947 February 13, the Imperial Leduc #1 well struck oil, and the new town of Devon was constructed shortly thereafter by Imperial Oil to accommodate its workers. The company was determined that the town would be well-planned, and Devon holds the distinction of being the first Canadian community to be approved by a regional planning commission. The oil industry remains a major player in the town's business sector, though the economy has diversified to include tourism, manufacturing, and research.Devon is named after the Devonian formation (the strata tapped in the Leduc #1 oil well), which in turn is named for Devon county, England.DemographicsIn the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Devon recorded a population of 6,578 living in 2,415 of its 2,493 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 6,515. With a land area of 14.3km2, it had a population density of in 2016.