| CITIES |
Definition of a City |
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| According to Section 82 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), a City is an area that has a population of 10,000 or more persons and has the majority of its buildings on parcels of lands smaller than 1,850 m˛. See Alberta’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs website for a further description of a City. | ||
| Quick facts on Cities in Alberta |
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| There are currently 16 Cities in Alberta. Fort McMurray and Drumheller were formerly incorporated as Cities, but changed status due to amalgamations in 1995 and 1998 respectively. According to current population figures, two Urban Service Areas (Fort McMurray and Sherwood Park) and nine towns (Canmore, Chestermere, Cochrane, High River, Lacombe, Okotoks, Stony Plain, Strathmore, and Sylvan Lake) are eligible to acquire City status. | ||
| TOWNS |
Definition of a Town |
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| According to Section 81 of the MGA, a Town is an area that has a population of 1,000 or more persons and has the majority of its buildings on parcels of lands smaller than 1,850 m˛. See Alberta’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs website for a further description of a Town. | ||
| Quick facts on Towns in Alberta |
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| There are currently 109 Towns in Alberta. Of these Towns, nine of them are eligible for City status (as described above), while 10 of them have a population of less than 1,000 persons. The Towns of Castor, Falher, McLennan, and Onoway all had populations greater than 1,000 persons at one time. Meanwhile, the Towns of Bashaw, Daysland, Granum, Hardisty, Milk River, Mundare, Sedgewick, and Stavely were incorporated before the current municipal status requirements in the MGA were adopted. Alberta has had many other Towns during the past century that are no longer recognized due to dissolution, amalgamation, or incorporation to a different status. According to current population figures, many Unincorporated Places may be eligible for Town status. | ||
| VILLAGES |
Definition of a Village |
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| According to Section 80 of the MGA, a Village is an area that has a population of 300 or more persons and has the majority of its buildings on parcels of lands smaller than 1,850 m˛. See Alberta’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs website for a further description of a Village. | ||
| Quick facts on Villages in Alberta |
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| There are currently 97 Villages in Alberta. Of these Villages, 44 of them have a population of less than 300 persons. Many of these Villages had populations greater than 300 persons at one time, while the remainder acquired their status before the current municipal status requirements in the MGA were adopted. Like Towns, Alberta was home to many other Villages during the past century that are no longer recognized due to dissolution, amalgamation, or incorporation to different status. In recent history, Alberta has seen the dissolution of many of its Villages into Hamlets, which are under the jurisdiction of Rural Municpalities. According to current population figures, the Summer Village of Island Lake and many Unincorporated Places are eligible for Village status. | ||
| SUMMER VILLAGES |
Definition of a Summer Village |
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| According to former Section 79 of the MGA (repealed in 1995), 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. See Alberta’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs website for a further description of a Summer Village. | ||
| Quick facts on Summer Villages in Alberta |
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| There are currently 51 Summer Villages in Alberta. Of these Summer Villages, Island Lake is eligible for Village status. Note that no other settlements in Alberta are eligible for Summer Village status as Section 79 of the MGA was repealed in 1995. Alberta has also had other Summer Villages over the past years that are no longer recognized due to dissolution, amalgamation, or incorporation to different status. The most notable settlements that were Summer Villages in the past include the Town of Chestermere (formerly named Chestermere Lake), the Village of Alberta Beach, and the Village of Spring Lake (formerly named Edmonton Beach). | ||
| TOWNSITES |
Definition of a Townsite |
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| A formal definition of a Townsite has neither been published on the Alberta Municipal Affairs website nor has it been researched by AltaPop to this date. However, since there is only one instance of a Townsite in Alberta at the moment, a generalized unofficial definition that describes its uniqueness has been provided by AltaPop in the interim. A Townsite is an unincorporated settlement on a Reserve that has its own governing Council and is recognized as an equivalent to a Town by the Government of Alberta. It has a population, services, and other characteristics comparable to those experienced by Alberta’s incorporated Towns. | ||
| Quick facts on Townsites |
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| Redwood Meadows, which is situated on the Tsuu T’ina Nation west of the City of Calgary, is the only community in Alberta that is recognized as a Townsite to date. It is a community that was planned and developed by the Tsuu T’ina Nation and has a Council consisting of a Mayor and six Councillors. For more information about the Townsite of Redwood Meadows, visit its Official website. |
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