Hi! Here are some answers to your questions!

The pop of Edmonton is 730,372

Gas runs about 96.4-104.4 (a litre)
1 litre= 33.823 oz - 2.1134 pint - 0.2642 gallon

Average temps (F)- Dec - 9.9 Jan - 4.5 June - 57.4 July - 60.6 Snow/freezing can start anywhere from Oct to May.

We pay into Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan: $44 mo. for one person, $88 for family or more than one.
This plan covers most needs except:
Some services are NOT covered by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP).
These include but are not limited to:

cosmetic surgery
experimental procedures
transportation costs (call your Regional Health Authority (RHA) about exceptions)
medical advice by telephone
medical-legal services
anesthetic charges for services not covered by the AHCIP
hospital charges not covered by the plan, e.g. private room
routine eye exams for residents ages 19 to 64 years of age
routine dental care, dentures and eyeglasses
hearing aids, medical and surgical appliances/supplies
clinical psychologist services
prescription drugs
third-party medical services (e.g. for employment, insurance or sports purposes; and for driver’s licenses for individuals under the age of 74.5 years)
immunizations (call your RHA about exceptions)
services provided by an acupuncturist, licensed massage therapist, midwife, homeopath, social worker or nutritionist

Doctor referalls are req'd for specialty serv's. (x-ray, mri, etc.) Some wait lists are long for some surgery and specialty serv's.

Edmonton is known to have excellent Hospitals. It is under the "Capital Health" region for Edmonton and area.

Apartment rent can run anywhere from around $800 for 1 bedroom and up. The average home price is around $300,000.

Utilities: around $4078/year, including municipal/school taxes, telephone, power, water, sewer, garbage pick up. Natural gas I am not sure of, probably around $100/mo.
(I am not sure how accurate all these costs are, just did a quick search!)

The whole province of Alberta is having problems keeping up with rental units for people. The landlords and owners of rental property can basically charge what they want for rents and get it! Depending where the construction of the plants are, rents and availability could be a huge problem.
The newspapers are, The Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun.

Hope this helps!
Hippy