According to the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which was enacted in 2000, a municipality in Alberta is "a city, town, village, summer village, municipal district or specialized municipality, a town under the Parks Towns Act, or a municipality formed by special Act".[6] The MGA also recognizes improvement districts and special areas as municipal authorities while Metis settlements are recognized as municipalities by the Government of Alberta's Ministry of Municipal Affairs.[6][7] Cities, towns, villages, summer villages, municipal districts, specialized municipalities and improvement districts are formed under the provincial authority of the MGA.[6] Special areas and Metis settlements are formed under the provincial authority of the Special Areas Act (SAA) and the Metis Settlements Act (MSA) respectively, of which both were enacted in 2000.[8][9] As provincial law, the MGA, the SAA and the MSA were passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta with royal assent granted by the Lieutenant Governor.[10]
Of Alberta's 344 municipalities, 257 of them are urban municipalities (19 cities, 106 towns, 81 villages and 51 summer villages), 6 are specialized municipalities, 73 are rural municipalities (63 municipal districts, 7 improvement districts and 3 special areas) and 8 are Metis settlements.[2] The MGA, the SAA and the MSA stipulate governance of these municipalities.[6][8][9] Alberta's Ministry of Municipal Affairs is responsible for providing provincial services to municipalities.[11]
Over half of Alberta's population resides in its two largest cities. Calgary, the largest city, is home to 30.7% of the province's population (1,306,784 residents), while Edmonton, Alberta's capital city, is home to 23.7% (1,010,899 residents).[3]Improvement District No. 13 (Elk Island). Improvement District No. 12 (Jasper National Park) and Improvement District No. 25 (Willmore Wilderness) are Alberta's smallest municipalities by population; they are unpopulated according to the 2021 Census of Population.[3][b] The largest municipality by land area is Mackenzie County at 79,629.26 km2 (30,745.03 sq mi), while the smallest by land area is the Summer Village of Castle Island at 0.05 km2 (0.019 sq mi).[3]
Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), enacted in 2000, defines urban municipality as a "city, town, village or summer village."[6] For federal census purposes, Statistics Canada recognizes all four urban municipality types as census subdivisions.[13]
Combined, Alberta has 257 urban municipalities comprising 19 cities, 106 towns, 81 villages and 51 summer villages.[2] The 257 urban municipalities have a total population of 3,533,377, a total land area of 4,052.34 km2 (1,564.62 sq mi). These totals represent 83% of Alberta's population yet only 0.6% of its land area.
The MGA stipulates that 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 (19,900 sq ft).[6] Alberta has 19 cities that had a cumulative population of 3,023,641 in the 2021 Census of Population.[2][3] These 19 cities include Lloydminster, of which a portion is located within the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan.[14] Alberta's largest city by population and land area is Calgary with 1,306,784 and 820.62 km2 (316.84 sq mi), while Wetaskiwin is its smallest city by population with 12,594 and land area at 18.75 km2 (7.24 sq mi).[3]Beaumont is Alberta's newest city; it became Alberta's 19th city on January 1, 2019.[15]
The MGA stipulates that 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 (19,900 sq ft).[6] Alberta has 105 towns that had a cumulative population of 471,028 in the 2021 Census of Population.[2][3][16] The province's largest and smallest towns by population are Cochrane and Rainbow Lake with 32,199 and 495 respectively, while its largest and smallest by land area are Drumheller and Eckville with 107.56 km2 (41.53 sq mi) and 1.61 km2 (0.62 sq mi) respectively.[3]Diamond Valley is Alberta's newest town, formed by the amalgamation of Black Diamond and Turner Valley on January 1, 2023.[17]
The MGA stipulates that 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 (19,900 sq ft).[6] Alberta has 81 villages that had a cumulative population of 32,753 in the 2021 Census of Population.[2][3] The province's largest and smallest villages by population are Stirling and Halkirk with 1,164 and 92 respectively, while its largest and smallest by land area are Chipman and Edberg with 9.60 km2 (3.71 sq mi) and 0.35 km2 (0.14 sq mi) respectively.[3] The last communities to incorporate as villages were Alberta Beach and Spring Lake, which both changed from summer villages to villages on January 1, 1999.[18]
Under previous legislation, a community could incorporate as a summer village if it had "a minimum of 50 separate buildings occupied as dwellings at any time during a six-month period".[19] A community can no longer incorporate as a summer village under the MGA.[6][20]
Alberta has 51 summer villages that had a cumulative population of 5,955 in the 2021 Census of Population.[2][3] The province's largest summer village by population is Norglenwold with 306, while Castle Island is Alberta's smallest summer village with a population of 15.[3] The province's largest and smallest summer villages by land area are Silver Sands and Castle Island with 2.51 km2 (0.97 sq mi) and 0.05 km2 (0.019 sq mi) respectively.[3]Gull Lake and Kapasiwin were the last communities in Alberta to incorporate as summer villages. Both were incorporated on September 1, 1993.[21] Since then, two summer villages have incorporated as villages (Alberta Beach and Edmonton Beach, now named Spring Lake) and one has dissolved (White Gull).[18][22]
Specialized municipalities in Alberta are unique local governments.[25] Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), enacted in 2000, provides the authority to form a specialized municipality under the following scenarios:[6]
where the Minister of Municipal Affairs is satisfied that the other incorporated statuses under the MGA do not meet the needs of the proposed municipality's residents;
to form a local government that, in the opinion of the Minister of Municipal Affairs, will provide for the orderly development of the municipality in a similar fashion to the other incorporated statuses within the MGA, including other previously incorporated specialized municipalities; or
for any other circumstances that are deemed appropriate by the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Alberta has six specialized municipalities, which are recognized as census subdivisions by Statistics Canada.[2][13] In the 2021 Census of Population, they had a cumulative population of 202,461, a total land area of 155,463.32 km2 (60,024.72 sq mi).[3] These totals represent 5% of Alberta's population yet 24.5% of its land area.
The province's largest and smallest specialized municipalities by population are Strathcona County and the Municipality of Jasper with 99,225 and 4,738 respectively, while its largest and smallest by land area are Mackenzie County and the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass with 79,629.26 km2 (30,745.03 sq mi) and 370.15 km2 (142.92 sq mi) respectively.[3]Lac La Biche County is Alberta's newest specialized municipality, which was formed on January 1, 2018.[26] Alberta's first specialized municipality was the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which formed on April 1, 1995.[26]
Strathcona County and the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo are home to the unincorporated hamlets of Sherwood Park and Fort McMurray respectively.[27] These communities are designated urban service areas, which are deemed equivalents of cities.[28][29] Excluding Sherwood Park and Fort McMurray, 18 other unincorporated communities, also recognized as hamlets by Alberta Municipal Affairs, are distributed among Mackenzie County, Strathcona County and the RM of Wood Buffalo.[27]
Rural municipalities in Alberta include municipal districts, improvement districts and special areas.[32] For federal census purposes, Statistics Canada recognizes all three rural municipality types as census subdivisions.[13] However, Statistics Canada embeds Alberta's eight Metis settlements, a separate type of municipality, into the census subdivisions for six municipal districts.[33]
Combined, Alberta has 73 rural municipalities comprising 63 municipal districts, 7 improvement districts and 3 special areas.[2] The 73 rural municipalities have a total population of 481,120, a total land area of 468,246.83 km2 (180,791.11 sq mi).[3][f] These totals represent 11% of Alberta's population yet 73.8% of its land area.
In Alberta, a municipal district, typically branded as a county, is a type of rural municipality.[32] The MGA, enacted in 2000, stipulates that an area may incorporate as a municipal district if it has a population of 1,000 people or more and the majority of its buildings are on parcels of land larger than 1,850 m2 (19,900 sq ft).[6]
Alberta has 63 municipal districts that had a cumulative population of 470,620 in the 2021 Census of Population.[2][3] The province's largest and smallest municipal districts by population are Rocky View County and the Municipal District (MD) of Ranchland No. 66 with 41,028 and 110 respectively, while its largest and smallest by land area are the MD of Greenview No. 16 and the MD of Spirit River No. 133 with 32,925.53 km2 (12,712.62 sq mi) and 679.86 km2 (262.50 sq mi) respectively.[3] Unincorporated communities recognized as hamlets by Alberta Municipal Affairs are located within every municipal district with the exception of Mountain View County, the MD of Ranchland No. 66 and the MD of Spirit River No. 133.[27]
Improvement districts
In Alberta, an improvement district is a type of rural municipality that can be incorporated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the recommendation of Alberta's Minister of Municipal Affairs under the authority of the MGA.[6][32] Improvement districts are administered by the Province of Alberta through its Ministry of Municipal Affairs.[32]
Alberta had eight improvement districts that had a cumulative population of 2,024 in the 2021 Census of Population.[2][3] The number of improvement districts was reduced to seven on May 1, 2021 when Improvement District (ID) No. 349 dissolved by way of annexation to the MD of Bonnyville No. 87.[34] Five of Alberta's improvement districts are within national parks while two are within provincial parks.[32] Alberta's largest improvement district by population is ID No. 9, located within Banff National Park, with 1,004, while its largest by land area is ID No. 24, located within Wood Buffalo National Park, at 33,053.78 km2 (12,762.14 sq mi).[3][32] ID No. 13 (Elk Island), ID No. 12 (Jasper National Park) and ID No. 25 (Willmore Wilderness) are unpopulated,[b] while its smallest by land area is ID No. 13 (Elk Island) at 165.00 km2 (63.71 sq mi).[3] Alberta Municipal Affairs recognizes two unincorporated communities within improvement districts as hamlets – Lake Louise within ID No. 9 (Banff National Park) and Waterton Park within ID No. 4 (Waterton Lakes National Park).[27]
In Alberta, a special area is a type of rural municipality that can be incorporated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under the authority of the Special Areas Act, which was enacted in 2000.[8][32] They were originally created in 1938 as a result of hardship brought upon a particular area in southeastern Alberta during the drought of the 1930s.[32]
Alberta has three special areas that had a cumulative population of 4,238 in the 2021 Census of Populations.[2][3] The province's largest by population and land area is Special Area (SA) No. 2 with 1,860 and 9,195.06 km2 (3,550.23 sq mi) respectively. Alberta's smallest by population is SA No. 3 with 1,142, while its smallest by land area is SA No. 4 with 4,299.80 km2 (1,660.16 sq mi).[3] The last special area to form was SA No. 4, which incorporated on January 1, 1969 through the removal of certain lands from SA No. 3.[35] The three special areas are administered as a single unit by the Special Areas Board, and are home to 16 unincorporated communities recognized as hamlets by Alberta Municipal Affairs.[32][35]
Metis settlements are unique local governments dedicated to Alberta's Metis people.[38][m] The settlements were originally created in 1938 under the authority of the Metis Population Betterment Act with land and governance being transferred to the settlements in 1989.[38] Metis settlements are presently under the jurisdiction of the Metis Settlements Act, which was enacted in 2000.[9]
Alberta has eight Metis settlements.[2] Unlike the other types of municipalities, Metis settlements are not recognized as census subdivisions by Statistics Canada for federal census purposes.[13] Rather, Statistics Canada recognizes them as designated places embedded within six municipal districts.[33]
Alberta's eight Metis settlements had a cumulative population of 4,238 in the 2021 Census of Population.[31][39] The province's largest and smallest Metis settlements by population are Kikino and East Prairie with 978 and 310 respectively, while the largest and smallest by land area are Paddle Prairie and Elizabeth at 1,726.45 km2 (666.59 sq mi) and 246.45 km2 (95.15 sq mi) respectively.[31]
^The remaining 1% of Alberta's population resides on Indian reserves or Indian settlements, which occupy the remaining 0.3% of the province's land mass.[3]
^ abActual population may not be 0 as Statistics Canada, to protect privacy, rounds population to the nearest 5 in the event a geographic area's actual population is less than 15.[12]
^Jasper's 2011 municipal census also counted a shadow (non-permanent resident) population of 652 for a combined population of 5,236.
^Excludes the unpopulated land area of the portion of the Kikino Metis Settlement that is within Lac La Biche County.
^Wood Buffalo's 2015 municipal census also counted a shadow population of 43,084 for a combined population of 125,032.
^Statistics presented for six municipal districts (the Big Lakes County, the MD of Bonnyville No. 87, Lac La Biche County, the County of Northern Lights, Northern Sunrise County and Smoky Lake County) differ from statistics for their corresponding census subdivisions published by Statistics Canada to recognize that Alberta's eight Metis settlements, which are designated places located within these six municipal districts, are separate municipalities.[33] The statistics presented for total municipal districts and total rural municipalities therefore exclude the statistics associated with the eight Metis settlements.
^Includes the population and land area of the former Improvement District No. 349 that dissolved by way of annexation to the MD of Bonnyville No. 87 on May 1, 2021.[34]
^Excludes the populations and land areas of the Elizabeth and Fishing Lake Metis settlements that are within the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87.
^Gift Lake comprises two parts. The majority is located within Big Lakes County, while the balance is located within Northern Sunrise County. The Big Lakes County portion (part "A") had a population of 625 living on 802.46 km2 (309.83 sq mi) in 2021, while the Northern Sunrise County portion (part "B") had a population of 0 living on 0.83 km2 (0.32 sq mi).[31]
^Kikino comprises two parts. The majority is located within Smoky Lake County, while the balance is located within Lac La Biche County. The Smoky Lake County portion (part "A") had a population of 978 living on 440.92 km2 (170.24 sq mi) in 2021, while the Lac La Biche County portion (part "B") had a population of 0 living on 0.77 km2 (0.30 sq mi).[31]
