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 January 1, 2023, when the towns of Turner Valley and Black Diamond merged into the newly created town of Diamond Valley.[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.
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]
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]
The City of Edmonton applied for a significant annexation in early 1979 that included large 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.[22] 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.[22] The lesser annexation granted by the LAB was subsequently tossed out by Alberta's provincial cabinet.[22]
Entwistle and Evansburg
The former villages of Entwistle and Evansburg investigated amalgamation in 1986.[22] 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.[22]
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.[22]
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.[23] Potential partners for the amalgamation included the Town of Stony Plain, Parkland County or both.[23]
^ ab"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.
