2021 Alberta municipal censuses

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Distribution of Alberta's 260 urban municipalities

Alberta has provincial legislation allowing its municipalities to conduct municipal censuses.[1] Municipalities choose to conduct their own censuses for multiple reasons such as to better inform municipal service planning and provision or to simply update their populations since the last federal census.[2]

Alberta began the year of 2021 with 345 municipalities, which decreased to 343 with the dissolutions of Improvement District No. 349 on May 1 and the Village of Hythe on July 1.[3] Of these, the only two municipalities to conduct a municipal census in 2021 were the Town of Blackfalds and the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo.

## Municipal census results

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The following summarizes the results of the two municipal censuses conducted in 2021.

2021 municipal census summary  | 2016 federal census comparison[4] | Previous municipal census comparison[5]

|
|

Municipality  | Status  | Census
date  | 2021
pop.  | 2016
pop.  | Absolute
growth  | Absolute
change  | Annual
growth
rate  | Prev.
pop.  | Prev.
census
year  | Absolute
growth  | Annual
growth
rate
Blackfalds | Town | March 1, 2021 | 11,015[6] | 9,328 | 1,687 | 18.1% | 3.4% | 10,125 | 2018 | 890 | −2.8%
Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | Specialized municipality | April 1, 2021 | 75,555[7] | 71,589 | 3,966 | 5.5% | 1.1% | 75,009 | 2018 | 546 | 0.2%

## Breakdowns

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### Urban and rural service areas

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Fort McMurray is the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo's urban service area. 2021 municipal census summary[7] | 2018 municipal census comparison[8]

|

Area  | 2021
population  | Previous
population  | Absolute
growth  | Annual
growth rate
Fort McMurray urban service area[a] | 72,917 | 72,056 | 861 | 0.4%
Rural service area[b] | 2,638 | 2,953 | −315 | −3.7%
Total RM of Wood Buffalo | 75,555 | 75,009 | 546 | 0.2%

### Hamlets

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The following is a list of hamlet populations determined by the 2021 municipal census conducted by the RM of Wood Buffalo, excluding the Fort McMurray urban service area that is presented above.

2021 municipal census summary[7] | Previous municipal census comparison[7]

|

Hamlet | Municipality  | 2021
population  | Previous
population  | Previous
census year  | Absolute
growth  | Annual
growth rate
Anzac | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 555 | 659 | 2018 | −104 | −5.6%
Conklin | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 178 | 229 | 2018 | −51 | −8.1%
Fort Chipewyan | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 847 | 918 | 2018 | −71 | −2.6%
Fort MacKay | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 57 | 59 | 2018 | −2 | −1.1%
Gregoire Lake Estates | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 217 | 204 | 2018 | 13 | 2.1%
Janvier | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 77 | 141 | 2018 | −64 | −18.3%
Saprae Creek | Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | 658 | 715 | 2018 | −57 | −2.7%

## Shadow population

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Alberta Municipal Affairs defines shadow population as "temporary residents of a municipality who are employed by an industrial or commercial establishment in the municipality for a minimum of 30 days within a municipal census year."[2] The RM of Wood Buffalo conducted a shadow population count in 2021. The following presents the results of this count for comparison with its concurrent municipal census results.

Municipality  | Status  | Municipal
census
population[7] | Shadow
population[7] | Combined
population[7]

|
|
|
|

Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo | Specialized municipality | 75,555 | 30,504 | 106,059

## See also

[edit]

* 2021 Alberta municipal elections
* List of communities in Alberta

## Notes

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1. ^ The Fort McMurray urban service area is deemed equivalent to a city.[9]
2. ^ The RM of Wood Buffalo's rural service area is deemed equivalent to a municipal district.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Municipal Government Act: Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000 Chapter M-26 (Office Consolidation)" (PDF). Alberta Queen's Printer. February 1, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
2. ^ a b Municipal Census Manual: Requirements and Guidelines for Conducting a Municipal Census (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. January 2019. p. 8\. ISBN 978-1-4601-4308-7. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
3. ^ "2021 Municipal Codes" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. October 20, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
4. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
5. ^ 2019 Municipal Affairs Population List (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. December 2019. ISBN 978-1-4601-4623-1. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
6. ^ "2021 Census". Town of Blackfalds. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
7. ^ a b c d e f g "Municipal Census Report" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. 2021. pp. 9–10. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
8. ^ "census2018 Municipal Census Report" (PDF). Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
9. ^ a b "Order in Council 817/94" (PDF). Province of Alberta. December 21, 1994. p. 2. Retrieved May 5, 2022.

## External links

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* Alberta Municipal Affairs
* Statistics Canada
* Statistics Canada: Census Program