Nestled in the foothills of southwest Alberta, Cardston sits approximately 25 kilometres north of the United States border with Montana. The Rocky Mountains of Waterton Lakes National Park rise just 40 kilometres to the west, while the city of Lethbridge lies 77 kilometres to the northeast and Calgary is roughly 234 kilometres to the north. The town borders the Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe) Reserve on its north side, one of the largest reserves in North America. Like much of southern Alberta, Cardston experiences a humid continental climate marked by chinook winds that can push winter temperatures well above 10 degrees Celsius, and the town records more than 200 days of wind annually. Weather extremes on record include a high of 39.0 degrees Celsius on July 23, 2007, and a low of -41.7 degrees Celsius on January 28, 1929.
Cardston was founded in 1887 by Charles Ora Card, who led a group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints northward from Utah along the Macleod-Benton Trail in one of the final wagon migrations of that century. A combined church and school building was completed by January 29 of the following year. By 1951, approximately 75 percent of the town’s 3,500 residents belonged to the LDS Church, a proportion that had risen to around 80 percent by 2014. For over a century after the 1915 Alberta liquor plebiscite, Cardston operated as a dry community. That changed in 2023 when, following a narrow vote in favour by residents, town council voted 5-2 to permit alcohol service in restaurants and recreation facilities such as the local golf course, though liquor stores, lounges, and similar businesses remain prohibited. The town was granted a coat of arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority on August 15, 2019. According to the 2021 Census, Cardston had a population of 3,724 spread across a land area of 8.58 square kilometres, giving a population density of 434.0 people per square kilometre.