Medicine Hat, Alta, City, pop 56 997 (2006c), 51 249 (2001c), inc 1906. Medicine Hat is Alberta's fifth-largest city. It is located on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line and the Trans-Canada Highway in the southeastern corner of the province, bisected by the South Saskatchewan River. Canada's driest city, Medicine Hat averages 271 days of sunshine annually with little precipitation. The area also enjoys a growing season of 120 days. A council of 8 aldermen and a mayor govern the city.