List of municipal amalgamations in Alberta

Municipal amalgamation is one of five forms of municipal restructuring in the Province of Alberta.[1] Under current legislation, the authority to amalgamate two or more municipalities is provided under Division 5 of the Municipal Government Act.[2]

The first amalgamation in Alberta involving one or more urban municipalities occurred on February 1, 1912 when the cities of Strathcona and Edmonton merged to form a single municipal government under the name of the City of Edmonton.[3] The most recent amalgamation occurred on August 1, 2007 when the Town of Lac La Biche merged with Lakeland County to form a municipal district named Lac La Biche County.[4]

List of urban municipality amalgamations

The following is a chronological list of historic municipal amalgamations in Alberta involving at least one or more urban municipalities.

Amalgamating municipalities Previous statuses Effective date Formed municipality Status of formed
municipality		 Remarks
Edmonton
Strathcona 		City
City 		February 1, 1912[3] Edmonton City  
Edmonton
North Edmonton 		City
Village 		July 18, 1912[3] Edmonton City  
Edmonton
West Edmonton 		City
Village 		April 17, 1917[3] Edmonton City  
Lloydminster (AB)
Lloydminster (SK) 		Village (AB)
Town (SK) 		May 22, 1930[5] Lloydminster (AB/SK) Town Lloydminster subsequently changed to city status on January 1, 1958.[5]
Drinnan
Hinton 		Village
New town 		April 1, 1957[6][7] Hinton New town Hinton subsequently changed to town status on December 29, 1958.[8]
Calgary
Forest Lawn 		City
Town 		December 30, 1961[9][10] Calgary City  
Beverly
Edmonton 		Town
City 		December 31, 1961[3] Edmonton City  
Calgary
Montgomery 		City
Village 		August 15, 1963[11][12] Calgary City  
Bowness
Calgary 		Town
City 		August 15, 1964[13][14] Calgary City  
Edmonton
Jasper Place 		City
Town 		December 17, 1964[3] Edmonton City  
Bellevue
Blairmore
Coleman
Frank
Improvement District No. 5 		Village
Town
Town
Village
Improvement district 		January 1, 1979[15] Crowsnest Pass Town Official legal name of the formed municipality became Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. The town subsequently changed to specialized municipality status on January 16, 2008.[15]
Fort McMurray
Improvement District No. 143 		City
Improvement district 		April 1, 1995[16] Wood Buffalo Specialized municipality Official legal name of the formed municipality became Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which changed its official legal name to Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo on August 14, 1996.[16]
Crowsnest Pass
Improvement District No. 6 		Town
Improvement district 		January 1, 1996[15] Crowsnest Pass Town The town subsequently changed to specialized municipality status on January 16, 2008.[15]
Cold Lake
Grand Centre 		Town
Town 		October 1, 1996[17] Cold Lake Town Amalgamation included the simultaneous annexation of Medley (CFB Cold Lake/4 Wing) from the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87.[17] The amalgamated town subsequently changed to city status on October 1, 2000.[17]
Drumheller
Municipal District of Badlands No. 7 		City
Municipal district 		January 1, 1998[18] Drumheller Town  
Lac La Biche
Lakeland County 		Town
Municipal district 		August 1, 2007[4] Lac La Biche County Municipal district  

Amalgamation proposals

Black Diamond and Turner Valley

The thought of amalgamating the towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley first surfaced in the mid-1980s. Turner Valley withdrew from the discussions after Alberta Municipal Affairs completed a feasibility report on the amalgamation in 1986.[19]

The possibility resurfaced in 2006 when the towns initiated discussions on a possible amalgamation of the two municipalities.[20] The discussions culminated in a plebiscite held on October 15, 2007, concurrently with their municipal elections, where the question asked of voters was "Do you support an amalgamation of the Town of Black Diamond and the Town of Turner Valley to form one municipality?"[21] The results of the plebiscite were 66% of Turner Valley voters were in favour of amalgamation, while 71% of Black Diamond voters were against amalgamation.[21]

A third amalgamation investigation began in early 2016 through a joint request of Black Diamond and Turner Valley for a provincial grant to undertake a feasibility study.[22] If successful, the two towns could potentially amalgamate prior to the scheduled 2017 municipal election so that the electorate could vote for one municipal council.[23]

Edmonton, St. Albert and Strathcona County

The City of Edmonton applied for a significant annexation in early 1979 that included significant portions of Parkland County and Sturgeon County as well as the entireties of City of St. Albert and Strathcona County, which included the unincorporated hamlet of Sherwood Park.[19] The annexation would have effectively amalgamated St. Albert and Strathcona County with Edmonton. Alberta's Local Authorities Board (LAB), a predecessor to the Municipal Government Board, granted the annexation in 1980 but excluded St. Albert, Sherwood Park and lands in Strathcona County to the east of Sherwood Park, thereby preventing any form of amalgamation.[19] The lesser annexation granted by the LAB was subsequently tossed out by Alberta's provincial cabinet.[19]

Entwistle and Evansburg

The former villages of Entwistle and Evansburg investigated amalgamation in 1986.[19] The two villages subsequently dissolved into hamlets under the jurisdictions of Parkland County and Yellowhead County respectively.

Medicine Hat and Redcliff

The amalgamation of the Town of Redcliff with the neighbouring City of Medicine Hat was investigated or considered to various degrees in 1962, 1968, 1972, 1979, 1980, and 1985.[19]

Spruce Grove and Stony Plain

Amalgamation of the towns of Spruce Grove and Stony Plain was investigated in the mid-1980s after Stony Plain had incurred a high debt. Despite a recommendation in favour of amalgamation from Alberta Municipal Affairs, residents of Spruce Grove were not supportive of the amalgamation as it would have resulted in a significant increase in their property taxes.[19]

The City of Spruce Grove initiated a growth study in 2014 in which expansion via amalgamation was to be explored as an alternative to annexation.[24] Potential partners for the amalgamation included the Town of Stony Plain, Parkland County or both.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Amalgamation Process for Alberta Municipalities" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Municipal Government Act – Office Consolidation". Alberta Queen's Printer. November 1, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Census History". City of Edmonton. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Order in Council (O.C.) 332/2007". Province of Alberta. August 1, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Municipal Profile – City of Lloydminster". Alberta Municipal Affairs. October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  6. ↑ "History of Village of Drinnan (Municipal Boundary Document Search)" (PDF). Province of Alberta. January 1, 1957. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Order in Council (O.C.) 494-57, New Town Established (Amalgamation of Hinton and Drinnan)" (PDF). Province of Alberta. March 27, 1957. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Municipal Profile – Town of Hinton". Alberta Municipal Affairs. September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ "History". International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Forest Lawn–Forest Heights/Hubalta Area Redevelopment Plan" (PDF). City of Calgary. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ Board Order 957. Province of Alberta. 1963.
  12. ↑ "Montgomery Area Redevelopment Plan" (PDF). City of Calgary. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  13. ↑ Board Order 1429. Province of Alberta. 1964.
  14. ↑ "Bowness Area Redevelopment Plan" (PDF). City of Calgary. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Municipal Profile – Municipality of Crowsnest Pass". Alberta Municipal Affairs. October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  16. 1 2 "Municipal Profile – Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo". Alberta Municipal Affairs. September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  17. 1 2 3 "Municipal Profile – City of Cold Lake". Alberta Municipal Affairs. October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Municipal Profile – Town of Drumheller". Alberta Municipal Affairs. October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jack K. Masson & Edward C. LeSage (1994). Alberta's Local Governments: Politics and Democracy. University of Alberta. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Minutes of the Regular Meeting of Council held March 20, 2006" (PDF). Town of Turner Valley. March 20, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  21. 1 2 "Black Diamond Turner Valley Amalgamation Grant – Final Report". Alberta Municipal Affairs. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Black Diamond and Turner Valley Agree to Explore Amalgamation" (PDF). Town of Black Diamond and Town of Turner Valley. February 19, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ Tammy Rollie (February 18, 2016). "Black Diamond, Turner Valley reconsider amalgamation". Okotoks Western Wheel. Great West Newspaper LP. Retrieved March 13, 2016. Potentially if we have all the pieces in place and we accelerate the process, could we look at having one decision-making body by October 2017?" Brown said. "There is always the potential.
  24. 1 2 "Growth Study: Frequently asked questions". City of Spruce Grove. Retrieved March 13, 2016. To accommodate future growth, the study will assess various expansion options including: (1) future annexation of lands from Parkland County, the Town of Stony Plain, or both; (2) amalgamation with the County, Town, or both; (3) formation of a specialized municipality similar to that of Strathcona County; and (4) other inter-jurisdictional agreements.
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