List of communities in Alberta - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Province of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, is divided into 10 different types of municipalities – urban municipalities (including cities

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

, town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

s, village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

s and summer village

Summer village

Summer villages in Alberta are incorporated communities that have permanent populations generally less than 300 permanent inhabitants, as well as seasonal inhabitants....

s), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal district

Municipal district

A municipal district is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....

s/counties

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

, improvement districts and special areas), Métis settlements, and Indian reserves. All types of municipalities are governed by local residents and were incorporated under various provincial acts, with the exception of improvement districts (governed by either the provincial or federal government), and Indian reserves (governed by local First Nations people under federal jurisdiction).

Alberta also has numerous unincorporated communities (including urban services areas, hamlets

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

and a townsite) that are not independent municipalities in their own right. However, they are all recognized as sub-municipal entities by Alberta Municipal Affairs

Alberta Municipal Affairs

Alberta Municipal Affairs is a ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta. Its major responsibilities include assisting municipalities in the provision of local government, administering a safety system for the construction and maintenance of buildings and equipment, and managing Alberta's...

under the jurisdiction of specialized municipalities or rural municipalities, with the exception of the lone townsite (its jurisdiction is shared with an Indian reserve that surrounds it).

With the exception of Métis settlements, Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....

recognizes all of Alberta’s municipalities as census subdivisions and groups them into 19 census divisions based on geography. Within census divisions, Statistics Canada groups some of Alberta’s municipalities/census subdivisions into two census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or 12 census agglomerations (CAs) for enumeration purposes. All CMAs include large urban centres and surrounding census subdivisions. All CAs also include large urban centres and in some cases their surrounding census subdivisions.

With the exception of Indian reserves, the administration of municipalities in Alberta is regulated by the Municipal Government Act, the Special Areas Act and the Metis Settlements Act.

As of 2009, the combined unofficial population of all of Alberta’s municipalities was 3,584,648.

Cities

According to Section 82 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), an area may incorporate as a city if:

it has a population of 10,000 people or more; and
the majority of its buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m².

Essentially, cities are formed from urban communities with populations of at least 10,000 people.

Alberta currently has a total of 16 cities with a combined population totalling 2,367,320 as of 2009.

Cities of Alberta

Notes:

Towns

According to Section 81 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), an area may incorporate as a town if:

it has a population of 1,000 people or more; and
the majority of its buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m².

Essentially, towns are formed from urban communities with populations of at least 1,000 people. When a town

Town

's population exceeds 10,000 people, its council may apply to change its status to that of a city, but the change in incorporated status is not mandatory.

Communities with shrinking populations are allowed to retain town status even if the number of residents falls below the 1,000 limit. Some of Alberta's towns have never reached a population of 1,000 people, but were incorporated as towns before the current requirement to have a population of 1,000 or more.

Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

currently has a total of 109 towns, with a combined population totalling 446,791 as of 2009.

Towns of Alberta

Villages

According to Section 80 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), an area may incorporate as a village if:

it has a population of 300 people or more; and
the majority of its buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m².

Essentially, villages are formed from urban communities with populations of at least 300 people. When a village

Village

's population exceeds 1,000 people, its council may apply to change its status to that of a town, but the change in incorporated status is not mandatory.

Communities with shrinking populations are allowed to retain village status even if the number of residents falls below the 300 limit. Some of Alberta's villages have never reached a population of 300 people, but were incorporated as villages before there was a requirement to have a population of 300 or more.

Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

currently has a total of 95 villages, with a combined population totalling 39,347 as of 2009. These numbers reflect the recent dissolution of the villages of Derwent

Derwent, Alberta

Derwent is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within the County of Two Hills No. 21. It is located on Highway 45, approximately north of Vermilion.Derwent dissolved from village status to become a hamlet on September 1, 2010...

and New Sarepta

New Sarepta, Alberta

New Sarepta is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada, within Leduc County. It is located approximately east of the City of Leduc along Highway 21....

to hamlet status on September 1, 2010.

Villages of Alberta

Summer villages

According to former Section 79 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), a summer village is an area that:

has at least 60 parcels of land developed with dwelling buildings; and
has a population of less than 300 persons where the majority of the persons who would be electors do not permanently reside in that area.

As a result of Section 79 being repealed, summer villages can no longer be formed in Alberta.

Essentially, summer villages were once formed from urban communities with populations of less than 300 people and significant non-permanent populations. When a summer village

Summer village

Summer villages in Alberta are incorporated communities that have permanent populations generally less than 300 permanent inhabitants, as well as seasonal inhabitants....

's population exceeds 300 people, its council may apply to change its status to that of a village

Village

, but the change in incorporated status is not mandatory.

Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

currently has a total of 51 summer villages, with a combined population totalling 6,152 as of 2009.

Summer Villages of Alberta

Specialized municipalities

According to Section 83 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), a municipality may incorporate as a specialized municipality under one of the following three scenarios:

where the Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs (AMA) is satisfied that the other incorporated statuses under the MGA do not meet the needs of the municipality's residents;
to form a local government that, in the opinion of the Minister of AMA, will provide for the orderly development of the municipality in a similar fashion to the other incorporated statuses within the MGA; or
for any other circumstances that are deemed appropriate by the Minister of AMA.

Essentially, specialized municipalities are municipalities that are unconventional in nature compared to other municipalities in Alberta, and they are incorporated under the authority of the existing MGA instead of relying on the creation of their own separate acts (i.e., the Special Areas Act allowed the incorporation of Alberta's three special areas and the Metis Settlements Act allowed the incorporation of Alberta's eight Métis settlements).

Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

's five specialized municipalities have a combined population totalling 198,444 as of 2009.

Specialized municipalities of Alberta

Municipal districts (a.k.a counties)

According to Section 78 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), a municipal district

Municipal district

A municipal district is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....

is an area in which:

the majority of the buildings used as dwellings are on parcels of land with an area of at least 1,850 m²; and
there is a population of 1,000 or more.

Essentially, municipal districts are large rural areas in which their citizens reside on farms, country residential subdivisions or unincorporated communities (i.e., hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

, localities and other settlements).

In Alberta, the term county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

is synonymous with the term municipal district – it is not its own incorporated municipal status that is different than that of a municipal district. As such, Alberta Municipal Affairs provides municipal districts with the opportunity to brand themselves either as municipal districts or counties in their official names.

Of Alberta's 64 municipal districts, 46 of them brand themselves as counties. Over the past decade, Alberta has observed a trend of numerous municipal districts rebranding themselves as counties through official name changes. Some of the reasons why a municipal district would rebrand itself as a county include that the term county is: more recognizable by the general public; has a more modern and progressive appeal; and is more marketable from an economic development perspective.

The last municipal district (M.D.) to rebrand itself as a county was the M.D. of Northern Lights No. 22, which was renamed as the County of Northern Lights on February 3, 2010.

Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

's 64 municipal districts have a combined population totalling 446,848 as of 2009.

Municipal Districts of Alberta

Improvement districts

According to Section 581 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), Alberta's Lieutenant Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Municipal Affairs, may form an improvement district. Section 582 of the MGA requires that the order to form an improvement district must describe its boundaries and give it an official name.

Alberta currently has seven improvement districts. Five of them are located within national parks, while the remaining two are within provincial parks. The official names of the seven improvements districts, and the national or provincial parks they are within, are as follows:

Improvement District No. 4 Waterton within Waterton Lakes National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada, and borders Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. Waterton was Canada's fourth national park, formed in 1895 and named after Waterton Lake, in turn after the Victorian naturalist and conservationist...

;
Improvement District No. 9 Banff within Banff National Park
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110–180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine...

;
Improvement District No. 12 Jasper within Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km² . It is located in the province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of the City of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and...

;
Improvement District No. 13 Elk Island within Elk Island National Park
Elk Island National Park
Elk Island National Park , is one of 43 national parks and park reserves administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This “island of conservation” is located 35 km east of Edmonton, Alberta along the Yellowhead Highway, which nearly bisects the park...

;
Improvement District No. 24 Wood Buffalo within the Alberta portion of Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park, located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, is the largest national park in Canada at . The park was established in 1922 to protect the world's largest herd of free roaming Wood Bison, currently estimated at more than 5,000...

;
Improvement District No. 25 Willmore Wilderness within Willmore Wilderness Park
Willmore Wilderness Park
Willmore Wilderness Park, located in Alberta, Canada, is a 4,600 square kilometre wilderness area adjacent to the world famous Jasper National Park...

; and
Kananaskis Improvement District
Kananaskis Improvement District
Kananaskis Improvement District is an improvement district in Alberta, Canada. It is located within Alberta's Rockies, sharing much of its boundaries with Kananaskis Country.The administrative centre of the improvement district is Kananaskis Village....

(No. 5) mostly consisting of the Kananaskis Country park system.

Alberta's seven improvement districts have a combined population totalling 1,994 as of 2009.

In September 2011, the Province of Alberta approved the future formation of a new improvement district named Improvement District No. 349

Improvement District No. 349, Alberta

Improvement District No. 349 is a future improvement district in northeast Alberta, Canada. It was created through the approval of Order in Council 419/2011 passed by Alberta's Lieutenant Governor in Council on September 9, 2011. The effective date of the improvement district's formation will be...

. It will be located north of the City of Cold Lake and will include the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range

CFB Cold Lake

Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , commonly referred to as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base located within the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet fighter/interceptor...

from Lac La Biche County and some adjacent lands further to the north from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

Wood Buffalo, Alberta

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is a specialized municipality located in northeastern Alberta. Formed as a result of the amalgamation of the City of Fort McMurray and Improvement District No. 143 on April 1, 1995, it is the second largest municipality in Alberta by area...

. The effective incorporation date of Improvement District No. 349 will be January 1, 2012.

Special areas

Special areas are rural municipalities created in 1938 under the authority of the Special Areas Act. A special area is not to be confused with a specialized municipality, which is a completely different municipal status.

Alberta's three special areas had a combined population totalling 4,729 in 2006.

Urban service areas

An urban service area is a type of hamlet

Hamlet (place)

that is not officially defined under the Municipal Government Act (MGA). However, the Province of Alberta recognizes it as equivalent to a city for the purposes of program delivery and grant eligibility according to the Orders in Council that established the Regional Municipality (R.M.) of Wood Buffalo

Wood Buffalo, Alberta

and Strathcona County

Strathcona County, Alberta

Strathcona County is a specialized municipality in central Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park.It is located in Division No. 11 and is also part of the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area. More than half of the population lives in Sherwood Park, a large community east of...

as specialized municipalities.

These Orders in Council (see Schedule 1, Section 7 and Schedule 1, Section 3 respectively) also state that:

the specialized municipalities shall provide to the Province of Alberta any information required to administer programs or to determine the amount of grants which would have been paid if the urban service areas were incorporated cities; and
for the purposes of enactments affecting roads, culverts, ditches, drains, and highways, the urban service areas are deemed to be cities.

Essentially, urban services areas meet the eligibility requirements of the MGA to incorporate as a city. As such, they are Alberta's largest hamlets.

There are currently two urban services areas in Alberta:

Fort McMurray; and
Sherwood Park.

Fort McMurray, within the jurisdiction of the R.M. of Wood Buffalo, was formerly a city prior its amalgamation with Improvement District No. 143 on April 1, 1995. It was designated an urban service area at the time of the amalgamation.

Sherwood Park has always been an unincorporated community under the jurisdiction of Strathcona County. It became an urban service area when Strathcona County changed its status from a municipal district to a specialized municipality on January 1, 1996.

Hamlets

According to Section 59 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), hamlets

Hamlet (place)

are unincorporated communities

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

that:

consist of five or more buildings used as dwellings, a majority of which are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m²;
have a generally accepted boundary and name; and
contain parcels of land that are used for non‑residential purposes.

Further, Section 59 of the MGA provides the councils of municipal district

Municipal district

A municipal district is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....

s (or counties

County

) and specialized municipalities the authority to designate unincorporated communities within its boundaries as hamlets. Hamlets may also be designated within improvement districts and special areas by the Minister of Municipal Affairs pursuant to Section 590 of the MGA and Section 10 of the Special Areas Act respectively.

When a hamlet's population reaches 300, it becomes eligible to incorporate as a village under Section 80 of the MGA, so long as the majority of the buildings are still on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m². However, it is a modern-day rarity for a hamlet to incorporate as a village – Barnwell and Wabamun were the last two to do so both on January 1, 1980. It is much more common these days for villages to revert to hamlet status through the dissolution process instead.

There are currently 386 hamlets in Alberta, two of which are the urban services areas presented above.

Hamlets of Alberta

Townsites

A townsite is a type of unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

that is not officially defined under the Municipal Government Act (MGA), but it is generally regarded as an independent urban area within an Indian reserve that is comparable in population, land area, services, and built form, to that of Alberta's incorporated towns. Essentially, townsites would meet the eligibility requirements of the MGA to incorporate as a town if they were not located on Indian reserve lands under federal jurisdiction.

Redwood Meadows

Redwood Meadows, Alberta

Redwood Meadows is a unique community known as a townsite in Alberta, Canada – the only townsite recognized by Alberta Municipal Affairs at this time....

is Alberta's only townsite at this time and is located within the Tsuu T'ina Nation

Tsuu T'ina Nation

The Tsuu T'ina Nation is a First Nation in Canada. Their territory is located on the Indian reserve Tsuu T'ina Nation 145, whose east side is adjacent to the southwest city limits of Calgary, Alberta...

Métis settlements

Métis settlements are rural areas inhabited by members of Alberta's Métis Nation that were established in 1936 under the Métis Population Betterment Act

Métis Population Betterment Act

The Métis Population Betterment Act was an Act of the Government of Alberta in Canada, which created a committee of members of the Métis and the government to plot out lands for allocation to the Métis...

. The settlements provide an autonomous land base, allow better access to education, health and other social services, and provide economic development opportunities for Alberta's Métis Nation. Métis settlements now operate under the authority of the Metis Settlements Act.

Alberta currently has eight Métis settlements, all of which are located in the northern half of the province. The official names of the eight settlements, and the municipal districts they are within, are as follows:

Métis Settlements of Alberta

*Areas generated from provincial Métis settlement boundary data.

Very small portions of the Gift Lake Métis Settlement and the Kikino Métis Settlement are also located within Northern Sunrise County

Northern Sunrise County, Alberta

Northern Sunrise County is a municipal district in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 17.On July 10, 2002, the name changed from Municipal District of East Peace No. 131 to Northern Sunrise County...

and Lac La Biche County respectively.

Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

's eight Métis settlements have a combined population totalling 7,990 as of 2009.

Indian reserves

Reserves in Alberta cover a total area of 1622630 acre (6,566.6 km²) and range from 1089 acre (4.4 km²) to 354667 acre (1,435.3 km²) in size. Under the British North America Act, legislative authority over Indian reserves is placed exclusively with the national parliament, specifically Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies relating to Aboriginal peoples...

. Local administration is placed with local native governments.

Indian Reserves of Alberta

External links

Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties
Alberta First - Alberta communities (information and statistics)
Alberta Municipal Affairs
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association
Association of Summer Villages of Alberta

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Cities

Towns

Villages

Summer villages

Specialized municipalities

Municipal districts (a.k.a counties)

Improvement districts

Special areas

Urban service areas

Hamlets

Townsites

Métis settlements

Indian reserves

See also

External links