The Rural Municipality of Edenwold No. 158 ( 2016 population: ) is a

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

(RM) in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

within Census Division No. 6 and Division No. 2. It is located in the southeast portion of the province, east of the City of Regina.

History

Indigenous peoples of the prairies inhabited the area for many years before any European settlement. Aboriginal people, who camped near Boggy Creek, used the Butte in Pilot Butte as a lookout and signal point. European settlement in the area can be traced back to the 1840s. With the construction of the railway through the region in 1882, the towns of Pilot Butte and

Balgonie Balgonie is a town in southeast Saskatchewan. Situated at the intersection of Highways 10, 46, and the Trans-Canada Highway, the town is part of the White Butte region and neighbours Pilot Butte, White City, and McLean. As well, it is locat ...

were founded. In the following years, settlers began farming in the district and the two towns developed. The RM of Edenwold No. 158 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 9, 1912. In the late 1950s, the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

was completed and living outside of Regina began to become a popular option for those who wanted to commute to work in the city. Since then, the RM has seen significant population growth.

Geography

In this area, the

loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike (''Lanius ludovicianus'') is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (''L. borealis'') occurs north of its range, however it ...

(''Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides'') and

Sprague's pipit Sprague's pipit (''Anthus spragueii'') is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America. Migratory, it spends the winters in the southwestern United States and norther ...

(''Anthus spragueii'') are both threatened species that are being monitored by conservationists.

Climate

The RM of Edenwold experiences a dry

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

( Köppen: ''Dfb'') in the NRC

Plant Hardiness Zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

3b. The RM of Edenwold has warm summers and cold, dry winters, prone to extremes at all times of the year.

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

is heaviest from June through August in the form of rain, while snow is common in the winter. An average summer day has a high of , although temperatures can reach as high as , while the average winter day has a low of , with temperatures reaching below .

Communities and localities

In addition to the following list, the RM also neighbours six

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

and six other RMs. ;Urban municipalities The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM: *

* Pilot Butte *

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

Edenwold Edenwold ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Edenwold No. 158 and Census Division No. 6. It is located north of the City of Regina. History Edenwold incorporated as ...

;Organized hamlets The following organized hamlets are within the RM: *

Crawford Estates Crawford Estates is an organized hamlet in the rural municipality of Edenwold No. 158 in Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, o ...

;Localities The following localities are also within the RM. * Coppersands *

Dreghorn Dreghorn is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland, east of Irvine town centre, on the old main road from Irvine to Kilmarnock. It is sited on a ridge between two rivers. As archaeological excavations near the village centre have found a signifi ...

Emerald Park Emerald Park (), known from 2010 to 2022 as Tayto Park, is an amusement park in Ireland, originally themed based on the Irish potato crisp brand Tayto. It is located in the townland of Kilbrew, in County Meath and was founded by farmer-turne ...

* Franksburg * Frankslake * Jameson * Kathrintal Colony * Milaty * Poplar Park *

Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Cap ...

* Seitzville *

Zehner Zehner is an unincorporated community in the rural municipality of Edenwold No. 158, Saskatchewan in Saskatchewan. This community is approximately 19 km (12 miles) northeast of Regina. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Pia ...

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population 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 sli ...

conducted 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 ...

, the RM of Edenwold No. 158 had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Edenwold No. 158 recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The RM of Edenwold No. 158 is the second largest rural municipality by population in Saskatchewan and is the 19th largest municipality in the province overall.

Government

The RM of Edenwold No. 158 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. The

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

of the RM is Mitchell Huber while its administrator is Kim McIvor. The RM's office is located in Emerald Park.

Municipal district planning

In 2020, the Village of Edenwold and the RM initiated a process to establish Saskatchewan's first municipal district. Not specifically urban nor rural, a municipal district is a municipality that combines both types of municipalities, similar to

specialized municipalities in Alberta Specialization or Specialized may refer to: Academia * Academic specialization, may be a course of study or major at an academic institution or may refer to the field in which a specialist practices * Specialty (medicine), a branch of medical ...

such as

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 n ...

or 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 ...

. Public engagement of residents in both affected municipalities occurred in September 2021, which was followed by a survey in late November/early December. An open house is planned for January 2022. If an application to amalgamate the two municipalities is approved, the proposed name of the municipality is the Municipal District of Edenwold.