A village is an urban municipality status type used in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta villages are created when communities with populations of at least 300 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m2, apply to Alberta Municipal Affairs for village status under the authority of the Municipal Government Act.[1] Applications for village status are approved via orders in council made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under recommendation from the Minister of Municipal Affairs.[1]
As of 2021, Alberta had 80 villages[2] that had a cumulative population of 33,773 in the 2016 Census of Population.[3] Alberta's largest and smallest villages are Duchess and Milo with population counts of 1,085 and 91.[3]
When a village's population reaches or exceeds 1,000 people, the council may request a change to town status, but the change in incorporated status is not mandatory.[4] Villages with populations less than 300, whether their populations have declined below 300 or they were incorporated as villages prior to the minimum 300 population requirement, are permitted to retain village status.
Village governance is delivered by 327 elected village officials (80 mayors and 247 councillors) throughout the province.[5]
2016StatCanAB1
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).villageprofiles
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).