A rural municipality, often abbreviated RM, is a
type of
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
status in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
provinces of
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
,
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 ...
,
''The Municipalities Act'', SS 2005, c M-36.1, s 49.
and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
.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 ...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, the term refers to municipal districts that are not explicitly urban, rather than being a distinct type of municipality.
History
The Municipal Ordinance of 1883 was enacted by the then North-West Territories to provide services to a rural area and provide some means of municipal governing. Saskatchewan and Alberta became provinces in 1905. The Government of the North-West Territories issued Statute Labour Ordinance (1897) and sets of fire districts, statute labour and fire (SLF) districts or statute labour districts. Community residents could pay taxes or supply a couple days per quarter section labour constructing roads, bridges, fireguards instead of paying taxes. Prairie fires in the 19th century were devastating affairs. Fire districts were later called local improvement districts that were later reformed into rural municipalities.
In Saskatchewan, local improvement districts (1898) were the precursors of rural municipalities. Discontinuance of local improvement districts in favour of smaller rural municipalities began on December 13, 1909. Typically, a rural municipality consists of about nine townships, each six miles by six miles in area. Settled areas of denser populations could form urban municipalities such as villages, towns and cities. In northern Saskatchewan, the large Northern Local Improvement District was replaced by the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District
The Northern Saskatchewan Administration District (NSAD) is the unincorporated area, unorganized area of the Canadian, Canada province of Saskatchewan. Overwhelmingly larger than the province's other communities, it encompasses approximately half ...
in 1972, and was not subdivided into smaller rural municipalities.
Rural municipalities by province
File:Alberta's Rural Municipalities.png, In Alberta (gold, green, and grey)
File:Saskatchewan Municipalities.png, In Saskatchewan (gold)
File:Manitoba municipalities 2015.png, In Manitoba (gold)
File:Prince Edward Island municipalities.png, In Prince Edward Island (green)
File:Nova Scotia municipalities 2020.png, In Nova Scotia (lime green and mint green)
See also
* Municipal government in Canada
References
External links
History: The Beginning of Municipal Government in Saskatchewan
– Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities
{{Terms for types of country subdivisions
Census divisions of Canada
Subdivisions of Canada
Local government in Canada
Municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...