The Municipal District of Greenview No. 16 is a

municipal district 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 g ...

(MD) in northwest Alberta, Canada. It covers the full extent of Census Division 18, and with an area of , it is the largest municipal district in Alberta. Its administrative office is located in the Town of Valleyview.

History

Human settlement of the area now forming Greenview occurred millennia ago with archaeological evidence of native peoples in the Grande Cache area dating back over 10,000 years. Modern settlement occurred predominantly in the early twentieth century throughout the municipal district. Settlers and homesteaders followed various trails to found homesteads and early communities including DeBolt, Ridgevalley, and Grovedale. During the initial influx, the Edson to Grande Prairie Trail was a common route for many settlers reaching the north and east sections of Greenview. In 1968 three improvement districts, formerly 110,111 and 126, were conglomerated to establish Improvement District 16. As an Improvement District it was initially administered under Alberta's Department of Municipal Affairs. In 1996 Improvement District 16 became the MD of Greenview No. 16 and was fully self-governed. In January 2019, the former Town of

Grande Cache Grande Cache is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within and administered by the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16. It is located on Highway 40 approximately northwest of Hinton and west of Edmonton. Grande Cache overlooks the Sm ...

was dissolved, becoming a hamlet under the jurisdiction of Greenview.

Geography

Greenview covers a landmass with an area of 32,984.24 square kilometres and contains several geographic formations. Its westernmost portion runs along the Alberta –

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, for ...

border and is part of the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

. Its northern portion is located in

Peace Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; french: Région de la Rivière-de-la-paix) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, ...

while most of the south and interior is boreal forest. The Wapiti River makes up a portion of the boundary between the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 and Greenview which also includes the Simmonette, Smoky and Little Smoky River valleys. Numerous lakes are located in Greenview. Some of the most notable are Sturgeon, Musreau, and Swan Lake as well as a portion of Snipe Lake in its northeasternmost corner. The MD encompasses two other municipalities: the towns of Valleyview and Fox Creek as well as three reserves administered by the

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation ( cr, ᓇᒣᐢ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, namês sâkahikan) is a First Nations band government or "band", part of the Cree ethnic group, a member of the Western Cree Tribal Council, and a party to Treaty 8. The band con ...

. Greenview, in turn, is immediately neighboured by six municipalities, Wilmore Wilderness Park in the southwest and British Columbia.

was formerly a third town within the MD until its dissolution. The town became a hamlet within Greenview on January 1, 2019. Lying on part of the

Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...

which includes some of the largest coal and oil deposits in the world, Greenview is well known for its oil and gas-rich geology. The Hamlet of DeBolt gives its name to the Debolt Formation. Geothermal reservoirs are also abundant in certain parts of the municipal district.

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the MD of Greenview No. 16. ;

Cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

*none ;

Towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

* Fox Creek * Valleyview ;

Villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

*none ; Summer villages *none The following hamlets are located within the MD of Greenview No. 16. ; Hamlets *

* DeBolt * Grovedale * Landry Heights * Little Smoky * Ridgevalley The following localities are located within the MD of Greenview No. 16. ;Localities *Amundson *Aspen Grove *Botten *Braaten *

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

*Clarkson Valley *Cosy Cove * Crooked Creek *Denard *Dorscheid *East Grove * Goodwin *Grande Cache Lake *Grey *Grizzly *Hilltop *Kaybob *Latornell *Little Smoky River *

Muskeg River Muskeg (Ojibwe: mashkiig; cr, maskīk; french: fondrière de mousse, lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or p ...

*The Narrows * New Fish Creek *Owen *Pass Creek * Sturgeon Heights *Sturgeon Lake Settlement * Sunset House *Susa Creek *Sweathouse Creek *Thordarson *Tolstad *Two Creeks *Wapiti *Winniandy ;Other places * Wanyandie Flats

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 cultu ...

, the MD of Greenview No. 16 had a population of 8,584 living in 3,230 of its 3,955 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 9,154. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the MD of Greenview No. 16 had a population of 5,583 living in 2,067 of its 2,473 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 5,299. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The MD of Greenview No. 16's 2013 municipal census counted a population of 5,242, a change from its 2000 municipal census population of 5,516.

Economy

Oil and gas is the main economic driver in the MD, along with forestry and agriculture.

Attractions

* DeBolt and District Pioneer Museum *

Kakwa Wildlands Park Kakwa Wildland Park is a provincial park in the Rocky Mountain Foothills just east of the northern Canadian Rockies, in Alberta, Canada, immediately east of the border with British Columbia at the 120th meridian west. The park is home to Albert ...

* Musreau Lake * O'Brien Provincial Park * Pierre Grey's Lakes Provincial Park * Sturgeon Lake *

Willmore Wilderness Park Willmore Wilderness Park, located in Alberta, Canada, is a wilderness area adjacent to Jasper National Park. It is lesser known and less visited than Jasper National Park. There are no public roads, bridges or buildings. There are, however, seve ...

Government

Municipal politics

The MD of Greenview No. 16 is governed in accordance with Alberta's ''Municipal Government Act''. Residents elect 8 ward

councillors 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 ...

every four years.

Provincial politics

Greenview is served by the provincial electoral divisions of Grande Prairie – Smoky, Grande Prairie – Wapiti and, West Yellowhead. Following the

2015 Alberta general election The 2015 Alberta general election was held on May 5, 2015, following a request of Premier Jim Prentice to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Donald Ethell to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on April 7, 2015. This election elected members to th ...

the major provincial parties had one representative each.

Federal politics

Greenview is served by the federal electoral divisions of Grande Prairie Mackenzie, Peace River- Westlock and Yellowhead. All three are currently represented by members of the Conservative Party.

Infrastructure

As part of the

CANAMEX Corridor The CANAMEX corridor is a series of improvements to freeways and other transportation infrastructure linking Canada to Mexico through the United States. The corridor was established under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Currently the corr ...

, the presence of Highway 43 within the MD makes Greenview an important industry travel route. The Bighorn Highway (Highway 40) as well as Highway 49 also play a large role in making the area a major transportation route for the north of the province. Several small airports and heliports are in the area including the Valleyview Airport, Fox Creek Airport and DeBolt Aerodrome. They predominantly serve industry and medical facilities in the area with light aircraft.

References

External links

* {{Alberta, RM=yes Greenview