A municipal district (MD) is the most common form of all rural municipality statuses used 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 ...

of Alberta. 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, etc.), are predominantly rural areas that may include either farmland,

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

or a combination of both depending on their geographic location. They may also include country residential subdivisions and unincorporated communities, some of which are recognized as hamlets by

Alberta Municipal Affairs Alberta Municipal Affairs is a ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta. Its major responsibilities include assisting municipalities in the provision of local government, administering the assessment of linear property in Alberta, administeri ...

. 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 has since then converted to a

specialized municipality 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 ru ...

) 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 and the MD of Ranchland No. 66 with populations of 36,461 and 79 respectively. 437 elected officials (eight mayors, 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 councillors) 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 Valley), Bighorn ( Exshaw),

Birch Hills Birch Hills is a town located in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located southeast of Prince Albert and the reserve of Muskoday First Nation. Directly to the west is the village of St. Louis, and to the east is Kinistino. It is surrounded by, b ...

( Wanham), Clear Hills ( Worsley),

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

( Dunmore), Grande Prairie ( Clairmont), Lac Ste. Anne (

Sangudo Sangudo is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Lac Ste. Anne County. It is located on Highway 43 and the Pembina River, approximately northwest of Edmonton. Sangudo was formerly incorporated as a village on April 12, 1937, but dissolved and rev ...

), Opportunity ( 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 Chain Lakes Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains west of Nanton, Alberta, Canada. It was established along the Chain Lakes Reservoir. The Cowboy Trail runs along the eastern boundary of the park. T ...

. Thirteen municipal districts have their offices in their jurisdiction, outside the boundaries of a city, town, or village. They are Brazeau ( Drayton Valley),

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 * Bernar ...

(between

Gull Lake Gull Lake may refer to: Native American entities *Gull Lake Indian Reservation, located near Brainerd, Minnesota, surrounding Gull Lake *Gull Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa, whose descendants are located on the White Earth Indian Reservation L ...

and

), Mountain View (

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

), Newell ( Brooks), 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 ( Berwyn), Red Deer ( Red Deer), Saddle Hills ( Spirit River), Wheatland ( Strathmore), Willow Creek ( Claresholm), and Woodlands ( Whitecourt).

List

The below table is a list of only those '' rural municipalities'' in Alberta that are incorporated as ''municipal districts''. Despite their names, Lac La Biche County, Mackenzie County, and Strathcona County are not listed because they are in fact incorporated as '' specialized municipalities'', not ''municipal districts''. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is likewise a

and is thus not listed here. For more information on ''specialized municipalities'', see List of specialized municipalities in Alberta. 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''.

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 A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It can refer to a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area. Brazil In Brazil, municipal districts are, in genera ...