In the early 1900s the Canadian government was advertising in Europe the availabiltiy of land in Canada. Immigrants were attracted to the sparcely popluated province of Alberta mainly because they were able to get homesteads, (a quarter section or 160 acres of prime farm land), for $10.00. This promotion also attracted settlers from Eastern Canada and the USA.
In the Great Lakes County of Alberta page at;
http://www.rootsweb.com/~abbiglak/biglakes.htmlone can find many links to all sorts of genealogical information.