List of cities in Alberta

Airdrie

Brooks

Calgary

Camrose

Cold Lake

Edmonton

Fort Saskatchewan

Grande Prairie

Lacombe

Leduc

Lethbridge

Lloydminster

Medicine Hat

Red Deer

Spruce Grove

St. Albert

Wetaskiwin

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Distribution of cities in Alberta

A city is the highest form of all incorporated urban municipality statuses used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. Alberta cities are created when communities with populations of at least 10,000 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m², apply to Alberta Municipal Affairs for city status under the authority of the Municipal Government Act.^[1] Applications for city status are approved via orders in council made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under recommendation from the Minister of Municipal Affairs.^[1]

Alberta has 17 cities with a cumulative population of 2,394,041 (not including the population in the Saskatchewan portion of Lloydminster) and an average population of 140,826.^[2] Alberta's largest and smallest cities are Calgary and Lacombe with populations of 1,071,515 and 11,733 respectively.^[2]

Alberta welcomed Lacombe as its 17th city on September 5, 2010.^[3]

143 elected city officials (17 mayors and 126 councillors) ensure city governance throughout the province.^[4]

The highest density of cities in Alberta is found in the Edmonton Capital Region (Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Spruce Grove and St. Albert) with another two just outside the region to the southeast (Camrose and Wetaskiwin). The Calgary Region has two cities (Airdrie and Calgary).

Administration

Pursuant to Part 5, Division 1 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), each municipality created under the authority of the MGA is governed by a council. As a requirement of the MGA, a city council consists of an odd number of councillors, one of which is the city's chief elected official (CEO) or mayor. A city council consists of seven councillors by default, but it can consist of a higher or lower odd number if council passes a bylaw altering its size (so long as it does not consist of fewer than three councillors).^[1]

City councils are governed by a mayor that is elected at large and an even number of councillors, resulting in a total odd number of councillors to avoid tie votes on council matters. For the councillors, a city council may establish ward systems with the same amount of councillors per ward. In order to be elected as a councillor of a ward, the candidate must be a resident of that ward. If no ward system is in place, councillors are elected at large like the mayor.^[1][5]

All city councillors are elected by popular vote under the provisions of the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA).^[6] Mayoral or councillor candidates are required to be residents of their municipality for a minimum of six consecutive months prior to nomination day. The last municipal election for all cities, with the exception of the border city of Lloydminster, was held October 18, 2010. Lloydminster's elections are aligned with Saskatchewan's municipal election schedule.

Alberta Municipal Affairs, a ministry of the Cabinet of Alberta, is charged with coordination of all levels of local government.

Administrative duties of cities include public safety, local transit, roads, water service, drainage and waste collection, as well as coordination of infrastructure with provincial and regional authorities (including road construction, education, and health).

List of cities

Calgary

Edmonton

Red Deer

Lethbridge

City	Incorporation Date (city)	Council Size[4]	Region	Area (km², 2008)[4]	Population[2]	Census Year[2]
Airdrie	1985-01-01 !January 1, 1985	7	Calgary Region	34	39,822	2010
Brooks	2005-09-01 !September 1, 2005	7	Southern Alberta	38	13,581	2007
Calgary	1894-01-01 !January 1, 1894	15	Calgary Region [N 1]	848	1,071,515	2010
Camrose	1955-01-01 !January 1, 1955	9	Central Alberta	32	16,543	2008
Cold Lake	2000-10-01 !October 1, 2000	7	Central Alberta	60	13,924	2009
Edmonton	1904-10-08 !October 8, 1904	13	Edmonton Capital Region [N 1]	700	782,439	2009
Fort Saskatchewan	1985-07-01 !July 1, 1985	7	Edmonton Capital Region	48	18,653	2010
Grande Prairie	1958-01-01 !January 1, 1958	9	Northern Alberta	73	50,227	2007
Lacombe	2010-09-05 !September 5, 2010	7	Central Alberta	18	11,733	2009
Leduc	1983-09-01 !September 1, 1983	7	Edmonton Capital Region	38	23,293	2010
Lethbridge	1906-05-09 !May 9, 1906	9	Southern Alberta	124	86,659	2010
Lloydminster	1958-01-01 !January 1, 1958	7	Central Alberta	42	26,502 [N 2]	2009
Medicine Hat	1906-05-09 !May 9, 1906	9	Southern Alberta	120	61,097	2009
Red Deer	1913-03-25 !March 25, 1913	9	Central Alberta	76	90,084	2010
Spruce Grove	1986-03-01 !March 1, 1986	7	Edmonton Capital Region	32	24,646	2010
St. Albert	1977-01-01 !January 1, 1977	7	Edmonton Capital Region	50	60,138	2010
Wetaskiwin	1906-05-09 !May 9, 1906	7	Central Alberta	17	12,285	2009

Notes:

1. ^ ^{a b} Census metropolitan areas are formed around Calgary and Edmonton; census agglomerations are formed around Brooks,^[7] Camrose,^[8] Cold Lake,^[9] Grande Prairie,^[10] Lethbridge,^[11] Lloydminster,^[12] Medicine Hat,^[13] Red Deer,^[14] and Wetaskiwin.^[15]
2. ^ Includes 9,100 in the Saskatchewan portion of Lloydminster.

Former cities

Alberta has recognized three other cities in its history. The Town of Strathcona incorporated as a city on March 15, 1907, and subsequently amalgamated with Edmonton on February 1, 1912. Fort McMurray was incorporated as a city on September 1, 1980, but reverted to its current urban service area form as a result of its amalgamation with Improvement District (I.D.) No. 143 on April 1, 1995.^[16] The Town of Drumheller was incorporated as a city on April 3, 1930 (well before the current requirement to have a population in excess of 10,000 people), and reverted to town status on January 1, 1998, when it amalgamated with the surrounding Municipal District of Badlands No. 7.^[17]

Community	Date of City Incorporation	Previous Municipal Status	Date of Subsequent Status Change	Subsequent Municipal Status
Drumheller	1930-04-03 !April 3, 1930	Town	1998-01-01 !January 1, 1998	Town
Fort McMurray	1980-09-01 !September 1, 1980	New town	1995-04-01 !April 1, 1995	Urban service area
Strathcona	1907-03-15 !March 15, 1907	Town	1912-02-01 !February 1, 1912	City amalgamation

City status eligibility

There are currently nine towns – Beaumont, Canmore, Chestermere, Cochrane, High River, Okotoks, Stony Plain, Strathmore, and Sylvan Lake – that are eligible for city status having populations in excess of 10,000.

Strathmore surveyed its residents on becoming a city in its 2010 municipal census.^[18] Of a total of 4,912 dwelling units surveyed, 1,784 (36%) expressed support for changing to city status during the town's centennial, while 1,434 (29%) expressed opposition.^[19] Its town council approved initiation of extensive public consultation on changing to city status in July 2011.^[20]

The Town of Hinton has recently expressed interest in incorporating as a city once it surpasses 10,000 people.^[21]

Alberta's two urban service areas – Fort McMurray and Sherwood Park – are also eligible for city status. As noted above, Fort McMurray was previously incorporated as a city until it amalgamated with I.D. No. 143 on April 1, 1995.^[16] Meanwhile, Sherwood Park has remained a hamlet since its first residents arrived in 1955^[22] and, in 1987, 89% of Strathcona County residents voted in favour of maintaining a single municipal government for Sherwood Park and the rural portion of the county.^[23] If they were to incorporate as cities, Fort McMurray and Sherwood Park would rank fifth and sixth respectively among Alberta's largest cities by population.^[2][24]

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of towns in Alberta
• List of villages in Alberta
• List of summer villages in Alberta
• List of hamlets in Alberta
• List of census divisions of Alberta
• List of urban areas in Alberta
• List of municipal districts in Alberta
• List of mayors in Alberta

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Municipal Government Act". Alberta Queen's Printer. http://www.qp.alberta.ca/574.cfm?page=m26.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779745739. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "2010 Official Population List". Alberta Municipal Affairs. 2010-09-15. http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/msb/2010pop.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-18. 
3. ^ "Order in Council (O.C.) 223/2010". Alberta Queen's Printer. http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/orders/orders_in_council/2010/710/2010_223.html. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Municipal Profiles (Cities)". Alberta Municipal Affairs. 2010-03-12. http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/cfml/MunicipalProfiles/basicReport/CITY.PDF. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
5. ^ "Types of Municipalities". Alberta Municipal Affairs. http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/am_types_of_municipalities_in_alberta.cfm. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
6. ^ "Local Authorities Election Act". Alberta Queen's Printer. http://www.qp.alberta.ca/574.cfm?page=L21.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779747795. Retrieved 2010-03-21. 
7. ^ Brooks CA^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Camrose CA^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Cold Lake CA^{[dead link]}
10. ^ Grande Prairie CA^{[dead link]}
11. ^ Lethbridge CA^{[dead link]}
12. ^ Lloydminster CA^{[dead link]}
13. ^ Medicine Hat CA^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Red Deer CA^{[dead link]}
15. ^ Wetaskiwin CA^{[dead link]}
16. ^ ^{a b} "Location and History Profile – Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo". Alberta Municipal Affairs. 2009-12-25. http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/cfml/MunicipalProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=BasicReport&MunicipalityType=SMUN&stakeholder=508&profileType=HIST. Retrieved 2010-01-01. 
17. ^ "Location and History Profile – Town of Drumheller". Alberta Municipal Affairs. 2009-12-25. http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/cfml/MunicipalProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=BasicReport&MunicipalityType=TOWN&stakeholder=532&profileType=HIST. Retrieved 2010-01-01. 
18. ^ "The benefits of being a city". Strathmore Standard. 2010-06-09. http://www.strathmorestandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2615658. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
19. ^ "2010 Census Responses". Town of Strathmore. 2010-08-30. http://www.strathmore.ca/news.php?viewStoryPrinter=541. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
20. ^ Mundy, Kirsten (2011-07-28). "City status question set for public consultation". Strathmore Standard. http://www.strathmorestandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=3235165. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
21. ^ "Town of Hinton Regular Meeting of Council Agenda (see page 113 of 157)". Town of Hinton. 2009-04-21. http://hinton.fileprosite.com/contentengine/browseview.asp?URL=documentframe%2Easp%3FResult%3D40&ID=5222&Action=Search. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
22. ^ "Sherwood Park's history". Strathcona County. http://www.strathcona.ab.ca/local_government/About_Strathcona_County/Strathcona_County_history/sherwood-parks-history.aspx. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
23. ^ "Sherwood Park history – Local government". Strathcona County. http://www.strathcona.ab.ca/local_government/About_Strathcona_County/Strathcona_County_history/our-history-local-government.aspx. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
24. ^ "Alberta Population Summary – Alberta’s Cities by Size, 2009". Alberta Population. http://www.altapop.ca/popsums/2009/2009citiesbysize.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 

External links

• Alberta Municipal Affairs
• Alberta Urban Municipalities Association