The Calgary Metropolitan Region (CMR), also commonly referred to as the Calgary Region, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, the
largest city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...
in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.
With the Government of Alberta's establishment of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) in 2017, the CMR's boundaries were legislated to include the City of Calgary,
Foothills County
Foothills County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada adjacent to the south side of Calgary in Census Division No. 6. Despite sharing a common border with the City of Calgary, it does not form part of the Calgary census metropol ...
to the south,
Rocky View County
Rocky View County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada that is named for its views of the nearby Rocky Mountains to the west. It surrounds most of Calgary, forming the city's northern boundary and most of the city's western and e ...
to the west, north, and east, and a western portion of
Wheatland County further to the east.
Also within these boundaries are the cities of
Airdrie and
Chestermere
Chestermere, originally named Chestermere Lake, is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta, within Rocky View County. It is largely a commuter town of Calgary and is a member municipality of the Calgary Region. The city, which surrounds Chest ...
, eight towns:
Black Diamond,
Cochrane Cochrane may refer to:
Places Australia
*Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line
Canada
* Cochrane, Alberta
* Cochrane Lake, Alberta
* Cochrane District, Ontario
** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...
,
Crossfield,
High River
High River is a town within the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. High River had a population of 14,324 in 2021.
History
The community take ...
,
Irricana
Irricana is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. Surrounded by Rocky View County, it is adjacent to Highway 9, approximately northeast of Calgary.
The name of the town is a contraction of the words "irrigation canals", ...
,
Okotoks
Okotoks (, originally ) is a town in the Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to the 2016 Census, the town has a population ...
,
Strathmore, and
Turner Valley
Turner Valley is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Foothills County. It is on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), west of Black Diamond and approximately southwest of Calgary. It was named after Robert a ...
, two villages:
Beiseker
Beiseker is a village in the Canadian province of Alberta, approximately northeast of Calgary. It is considered to be an outermost part of the Calgary Region, and is included within Calgary's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). The village is surr ...
and
Longview, and two
First Nations communities:
Tsuu T'ina 145 and
Eden Valley 216
Eden Valley 216 is an Indian reserve of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, comprising Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations, located near Longview, Alberta
Longview is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located in the Canadian Ro ...
. Not all of these, however, are administrative members of the CMRB.
The Calgary
census metropolitan area
The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...
(CMA) as delineated by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
is smaller than the CMR. The Calgary CMA includes Calgary, Rocky View County, Airdrie, Beiseker, Chestermere, Cochrane, Crossfield, Irricana, and Tsuu T'ina 145.
The Calgary Metropolitan Region is a major transportation hub for
southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.[Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...](_blank)
, eastern
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, and parts of the northern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is home to the
Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 squa ...
, the fourth busiest airport in Canada in terms of total aircraft movements.
Calgary CMA
The Calgary CMA, as defined by Statistics Canada, includes the following nine municipalities:
*three cities (
Airdrie, Calgary and
Chestermere
Chestermere, originally named Chestermere Lake, is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta, within Rocky View County. It is largely a commuter town of Calgary and is a member municipality of the Calgary Region. The city, which surrounds Chest ...
);
*one municipal district (
Rocky View County
Rocky View County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada that is named for its views of the nearby Rocky Mountains to the west. It surrounds most of Calgary, forming the city's northern boundary and most of the city's western and e ...
, which includes
Langdon – the CMA's
largest hamlet);
*three towns (
Cochrane Cochrane may refer to:
Places Australia
*Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line
Canada
* Cochrane, Alberta
* Cochrane Lake, Alberta
* Cochrane District, Ontario
** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...
,
Crossfield, and
Irricana
Irricana is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. Surrounded by Rocky View County, it is adjacent to Highway 9, approximately northeast of Calgary.
The name of the town is a contraction of the words "irrigation canals", ...
);
*one village (
Beiseker
Beiseker is a village in the Canadian province of Alberta, approximately northeast of Calgary. It is considered to be an outermost part of the Calgary Region, and is included within Calgary's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). The village is surr ...
); and
*one First Nations reserve (
Tsuu T'ina Nation, which includes the Townsite of
Redwood Meadows
Redwood Meadows is a townsite in Alberta, Canada—the only townsite recognized by Alberta Municipal Affairs as of August 2020.
Redwood Meadows is unique in that it is a partially independent townsite, functioning similar to an incorporated Albe ...
).
In the
2011 Census, the Calgary CMA had a population of 1,214,839 living in 464,001 of its 488,451 total dwellings, a 12.6% change from its 2006 population of 1,079,310, making it the largest CMA in Alberta and the
fourth largest in Canada. With a land area of , it had a population density of 237.9 people per square kilometre in 2011.
Also in terms of area, the Calgary CMA makes up approximately 40% of Statistics Canada's
Division No. 6 in Alberta.
The balance of Division No. 6 includes the
census consolidated subdivision
The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...
s of the MD of Foothills No. 31 to the south and
Mountain View County
Mountain View County is a municipal district in Division No. 6 in central Alberta, Canada. Located between the cities of Calgary and Red Deer within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor, its municipal office is located north of the Town of Didsbury. ...
to the north.
Foothills County
Foothills County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada adjacent to the south side of Calgary in Census Division No. 6. Despite sharing a common border with the City of Calgary, it does not form part of the Calgary census metropol ...
and the municipalities within are often considered as part of Calgary's metropolitan area due to, among other things, the MDs shared boundary with the City of Calgary and the bedroom community nature of towns like Okotoks, High River,
Black Diamond and
Turner Valley
Turner Valley is a town in the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Foothills County. It is on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), west of Black Diamond and approximately southwest of Calgary. It was named after Robert a ...
.
Demographics
Ethnicity
*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.
Language
The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the
2021 Canadian Census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...
, and lists languages that were selected by at least 1,000 respondents.
Calgary Metropolitan Region Board
The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) was legislated through the enactment of the CMRB Regulation in 2017, and will be officially established on its effective date of January 1, 2018.
[ Municipalities that will be participating as members of the CMRB include the cities of Airdrie, Calgary, and Chestermere, the towns of Cochrane, Okotoks, High River and Strathmore, the MD of Foothills No. 31, Rocky View County, and Wheatland County.]
Calgary Regional Partnership
Founded in 1999, the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) is a cooperative between 15 urban municipalities in the greater Calgary area that deals with regional growth and planning issues.[ The CRP's motto is ''Thinking regionally... acting locally...''][
]
Membership
The CRP's current membership includes three cities (Airdrie, Calgary, and Chestermere), nine towns ( Banff, Black Diamond, Canmore, Cochrane, Irricana, Nanton, Okotoks, Strathmore, and Turner Valley), and one townsite (Redwood Meadows).[ Of these thirteen municipalities, four of the ten towns (Banff, Canmore, Nanton, and Strathmore) are outside, but in proximity to, the Calgary Region's boundaries as defined in this article. Of the remaining six towns, three of them (Black Diamond, Okotoks, and Turner Valley) are outside the Calgary CMA boundaries as defined by Statistics Canada.
]
Past members
Membership in the CRP once consisted of the four municipal districts and two additional towns. These included the MD of Bighorn No. 8, the MD of Foothills No. 31, Rocky View County, Wheatland County and the towns of Crossfield and High River. The MD of Bighorn No. 8 pulled out of the CRP in March 2009 due to the lack of opportunity for infrastructure connectivity to the balance of the Calgary Region. In June 2009, the latter three opposed the Calgary Metropolitan Plan that was being considered for approval by the CRP's member municipalities. All three subsequently withdrew from the CRP in September 2009. Crossfield and High River withdrew from the CRP in December 2011 and April 2013 respectively citing concerns that the CRP was becoming another layer of government.
In an attempt to bring the MD of Foothills No. 31 and Rocky View County back to the CRP, Alberta's Minister of Municipal Affairs, Doug Griffiths
Douglas Gordon Griffiths (born October 26, 1972) is the president and chief executive officer of 13 Ways, Inc., a company he founded to provide consultation to struggling North American communities. He is a public speaker and co-author of the ...
, requested that the two municipal districts and the CRP engage in mediation. All parties agreed to participate and the mediation process has since concluded with a report delivered to Minister Griffiths for review and decision.
List of municipalities
The following is a list of municipalities that are included as part of the Calgary CMA, or they are recognized administrative members of the CMR or they are enveloped within the established boundaries of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board as defined in provincial statute.
See also
* Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
* Calgary-Edmonton Corridor
* Edmonton metropolitan region
The Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR), also commonly referred to as Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Alberta's provincial capital of Edmonton.
The EMR's commonly known boundaries are coincide ...
* Census Metropolitan Area
The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...
* https://www.calgarymetroregion.ca/
References
External links
*
{{Census metropolitan areas by size
Metropolitan areas of Alberta