A municipal district (MD) is the most common form of all

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipalities in Canada, a type of municipal status in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, ...

statuses used in the Canadian province of

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 ...

. Alberta's municipal districts, most of which are branded as a county (e.g.

Yellowhead County Yellowhead County is a municipal district in west central Alberta, Canada. It is the only municipal district within Alberta census division No. 14. History *1994: Established as a ''Municipal District of Yellowhead No. 94'' on January 1. ...

County of Newell The County of Newell is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 2, its municipal office is located south of the City of Brooks. History It was incorporated as the ''County of Newell No. 4'' on Janu ...

, etc.), are predominantly rural areas that may include either farmland, Crown land or a combination of both depending on their geographic location. They may also include country residential subdivisions and

unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, some of which are recognized as

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

by Alberta Municipal Affairs. Municipal districts are created when predominantly rural areas with populations of at least 1,000 people, where a majority of their residential buildings are on parcels of land greater than 1,850 m², apply to Alberta Municipal Affairs for municipal district status under the authority of the ''Municipal Government Act''. Applications for municipal district status are approved via orders in council made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under recommendation from the Minister of Municipal Affairs. As of the 2011 Census, Alberta's then 64 municipal districts (

Lac La Biche County Lac La Biche County is a List of specialized municipalities in Alberta, specialized municipality within Division No. 12, Alberta, Division No. 12 in northern Alberta, Canada. It was established through the amalgamation of the Lac La Biche, Alberta ...

has since then converted to a specialized municipality) had a cumulative population of 451,979 and an average population of 7,062. Alberta's most populous and least populated municipal districts are

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 ...

and the MD of Ranchland No. 66 with populations of 36,461 and 79 respectively. 437 elected officials (eight

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

s, 56

reeves Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County K ...

and 373

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s) provide municipal district governance throughout the province. __TOC__

Branding

An order in council to incorporate any municipality must give the municipality an official name. Of Alberta's 63 municipal districts, 16 still have ''municipal district'' in their official names, while 47 of them have branded themselves as a ''county'' in their official names. Twenty-five of Alberta's municipal district's retain a numerical designation (e.g. "No. 8") in their official names. The use of the ''county'' term in the official names of 47 municipal districts (and three specialized municipalities) has partially led to a common belief that a ''county'' is its own separate municipal status type, which is not the case. The other major contributor to this common belief is that a ''county'' was once a former municipal status type in Alberta prior to the County Act being repealed in the mid-1990s. Those municipalities that were once officially incorporated as counties were continued under the ''Municipal Government Act'' (MGA) as municipal districts and were permitted to retain the term ''county'' in their official names.

Municipal office locations

More than half of the 63 municipal districts have their main administration offices, including council chambers, in a separate municipality such as a city, town, or village. This municipality (like all other cities, towns, and villages) is not part of the municipal district's jurisdiction. Nine municipal districts have their offices in a hamlet, which is part of the district's jurisdiction. They are

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...

( Acadia Valley),

Bighorn The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

(

Exshaw Exshaw is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Municipal District (MD) of Bighorn No. 8. Located approximately west of downtown Calgary and east of Canmore, Exshaw is situated within the Bow River valley north of the Bow River. The hamlet was ...

), Birch Hills ( Wanham),

Clear Hills Clear Hills County is a municipal district in north western Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 17. In 1950, the massive Chinchaga fire burned through much of the region. On January 1, 2006, the name was changed from ''Municip ...

(

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

), Cypress (

Dunmore Dunmore from the ga, Dún Mór, link=no or gd, Dùn Mòr, link=no, meaning "great fort", may refer to: People * Dunmore (surname) * Earl of Dunmore, a title in the Peerage of Scotland, includes a list of earls * Countess of Dunmore (disambiguat ...

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

( Clairmont), Lac Ste. Anne ( Sangudo),

Opportunity Opportunity may refer to: Places * Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States * ...

( Wabasca), and Thorhild ( Thorhild). One municipal district,

Ranchland A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

, has its offices in a provincial park, Chain Lakes Provincial Park. Thirteen municipal districts have their offices in their jurisdiction, outside the boundaries of a city, town, or village. They are Brazeau (

Drayton Valley Drayton Valley is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), approximately southwest of Edmonton. It is surrounded by Brazeau County, known for its vast oil fields. The town is located between the North Sas ...

Lacombe Lacombe may refer to: Places * Lacombe, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe County, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe, Louisiana, United States * Lacombe, Aude, France People * Albert Lacombe (1827–1916), oblate missionary to the Cree and Blackfoot * Bernard Lac ...

(between Gull Lake and

), Mountain View ( Didsbury), Newell (

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

), Northern Sunrise (

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

), Paintearth ( Castor), Parkland ( Stony Plain),

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

( Berwyn),

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

(

), Saddle Hills ( Spirit River), Wheatland ( Strathmore), Willow Creek (

Claresholm Claresholm is a town located within southern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2, approximately northwest of the City of Lethbridge and south of the City of Calgary. One of the Famous Five involved in the Persons Case, Louise McKinne ...

), and

Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

(

Whitecourt Whitecourt is a town in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Woodlands County. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie at the junction of Highway 43 and Highway 32. It has an elevation of . White ...

List

The below table is a list of only those '' rural municipalities'' in Alberta that are incorporated as ''municipal districts''. Despite their names,

Mackenzie County Mackenzie County is a specialized municipality in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 17, along the Mackenzie Highway. The municipal office is located in the hamlet of Fort Vermilion. History Originally ''Improvement D ...

, and

Strathcona County Strathcona County is a specialized municipality in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region within Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park. It forms part of Census Division No. 11. Strathcona County is both urban and rural in ...

are not listed because they are in fact incorporated as '' specialized municipalities'', not ''municipal districts''. The

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (abbreviated RMWB) is a specialized municipality in northeast Alberta, Canada. It is the second largest municipality in Alberta by area and is home to oil sand deposits known as the Athabasca oil sand ...

is likewise a specialized municipality and is thus not listed here. For more information on ''specialized municipalities'', see

List of specialized municipalities in Alberta A specialized municipality is a unique type of municipal status in the Canadian province of Alberta. These unique local governments are formed without the creation of special legislation, and typically allow for the coexistence of urban and rur ...

. Alberta's eight '' improvement districts'' and three '' special areas'' are also not listed because they are their own separate type of ''rural municipality'' and not subset types of the ''municipal district'' status. For more information on ''special areas'', see ''

Special Areas Board The Special Areas Board is the governing body of Alberta's special areas. Special areas are designated rural municipalities similar to municipal districts; however, the elected advisory councils are overseen by four representatives appointed by ...

''.

Former municipal districts

Changed status

Dissolved

References

External links

Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties
(AAMDC) :
AAMDC - The Members

Alberta Municipal Affairs
{{Topics on Alberta Municipal Districts