Specialized Municipalities
According to Section 83 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), a municipality may incorporate as a specialized municipality under one of the following three scenarios:
- where the Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs (AMA) is satisfied that the other incorporated statuses under the MGA do not meet the needs of the municipality's residents;
- to form a local government that, in the opinion of the Minister of AMA, will provide for the orderly development of the municipality in a similar fashion to the other incorporated statuses within the MGA; or
- for any other circumstances that are deemed appropriate by the Minister of AMA.
Essentially, specialized municipalities are municipalities that are unconventional in nature compared to other municipalities in Alberta, and they are incorporated under the authority of the existing MGA instead of relying on the creation of their own separate acts (i.e., the Special Areas Act allowed the incorporation of Alberta's three special areas and the Metis Settlements Act allowed the incorporation of Alberta's eight Métis settlements).
Alberta's five specialized municipalities have a combined population totalling 198,444 as of 2009.
| Specialized municipalities of Alberta | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Incorporation date |
Council size |
Region | Area (km², 2011) |
Population (2011) |
Reason for incorporation | ||
| Crowsnest Pass, Municipality of | 2008-01-16 !January 16, 2008 | 7 | Southern Alberta | 373.07 | 5,565 | No specific reason provided in order in council that changed its status. | ||
| Jasper, Municipality of | 2001-07-20 !July 20, 2001 | 7 | Alberta's Rockies | 925.52 | 4,051 | To provide for the unique needs of residents living within the municipality. | ||
| Mackenzie County | 1999-06-23 !June 23, 1999 | 10 | Northern Alberta | 80,478.12 | 10,927 | To address concerns about municipal government and management in a municipality that serves a number of unique communities within a very large territory. | ||
| Strathcona County | 1996-01-01 !January 1, 1996 | 9 | Edmonton Capital Region | 1,180.56 | 92,490 | To provide for the unique needs of a municipality that includes both a large urban centre and a significant rural territory and population. | ||
| Wood Buffalo, Regional Municipality of | 1995-04-01 !April 1, 1995 | 11 | Northern Alberta | 63,637.47 | 65,565 | To provide for the unique needs of a municipality including a large urban centre and a large rural territory with a small population. | ||
Read more about this topic: List Of Communities In Alberta
Famous quotes containing the word specialized:
“Fathers and mothers have lost the idea that the highest aspiration they might have for their children is for them to be wise ... specialized competence and success are all that they can imagine.”
—Allan Bloom (1930–1992)