The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (abbreviated RMWB) is a specialized municipality in northeast Alberta, Canada. It is the largest regional municipality in Canada by area, covering ; this number includes the Wood Buffalo National Park of Canada. It is home to oil sand deposits known as the Athabasca oil sands.
History The Municipality of Wood Buffalo was incorporated as a specialized municipality on April 1, 1995 as a result of the amalgamation of the City of Fort McMurray and Improvement District No. 143. Specialized municipality status was granted to provide "for the unique needs of a municipality including a large urban centre and a large rural territory with a small population." The Municipality of Wood Buffalo subsequently changed its name to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo on August 14, 1996.
June 2013 floods By June 12, 2013, after many days of heavy rain, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo declared a state of emergency. They organized evacuations from some areas and placed others under boil water advisories as local waterways, such as the Hangingstone River, rose to dangerously elevated levels south of Fort McMurray, causing the closure of Highway 63.
"The Beast" Horse River Wildfire (2016)
From May 3, 2016 on, over 80,000 people were affected by evacuations, by May 3 at 6:49 pm, the entirety of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas were placed under a mandatory evacuation. making it Alberta's largest evacuation for a wildfire.
April 2020 floods By April 30, 2020, after a 25-kilometre-long ice jam formed in the Athabasca River, flooding the northern Alberta city's downtown and surrounding areas, and forcing 13,000 people from their home, Fort McMurray's spring flood caused more than $520 million in insured damage, according to new numbers from the Insurance Bureau of Canada. That flood damage was followed by $1.2 billion in damage from a hailstorm in Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County, flooding in Edmonton in July and another storm in Calgary on July 24.
Geography The Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo is in the northeast corner of the province of Alberta. It borders the province of Saskatchewan to the east; the Northwest Territories to the north; Improvement District No. 24 (Wood Buffalo National Park), Mackenzie County, and the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 to the west; and Athabasca County and the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 to the south. The Athabasca River meanders northward through the central portion of the RM of Wood Buffalo before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Some of its water bodies include Christina Lake, Gardiner Lakes, Garson Lake, Gipsy Lake, Gordon Lake, Gregoire Lake, McClelland Lake, Namur Lake, Richardson Lake, and Winefred Lake (also partially within Lac La Biche County and the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87). Discharging northward from Lake Athabasca is Riviere des Rochers, which at its confluence with the Peace River becomes the Slave River. The Slave River forms much of the RM of Wood Buffalo's boundary with Improvement District No. 24 north of the confluence. Land formations include the Birch Mountains northwest of Fort McKay, Fort Hills north of Fort McKay, and Thickwood Hills west of Fort McMurray. A portion of the Peace-Athabasca Delta is also within the RM of Wood Buffalo.
Communities and localities
The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: Cities none Towns none Villages none Summer villages none
The following hamlets are located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: Hamlets Anzac Conklin Fort Fitzgerald Fort Chipewyan Fort McKay Fort McMurray (urban service area) Gregoire Lake Estates Janvier South Saprae Creek
The following localities are located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo:
Almac Subdivision Beaver Lake-Young's Beach Bechtel Syncrude Camp Berdinskies Berny Big Eddy Billos Bitumount Brièreville Chard Charron Cheecham Christina Crossing Corbetts Devenish Dog Head Draper Egg Lake
Portage Fitzgerald Fitzgerald 196 Fitzgerald Settlement Fort Smith Settlement Gourin Grandin Improvement District No.143 Kenny Woods Kinosis Le Goff Leismer Lenarthur Lynton Maloy Mariana Lake Mildred Lake Old Fort Pelican Settlement Pingle Point Brule Quigley Rossian Sandy Rapids Tar Island Waterways Willow Trail Wolyn
The following settlements are within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo:
Chipewyan Fitzgerald (Smith Landing) Janvier South Mariana McKay St. Bruno Farm (also partially within Improvement District No. 24)
First Nations have the following Indian reserves within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo:
Allison Bay 219 Charles Lake 225 Chipewyan 201 Chipewyan 201A Chipewyan 201B Chipewyan 201C Chipewyan 201D Chipewyan 201E Chipewyan 201F Chipewyan 201G Clearwater 175 Collin Lake 223 Cornwall Lake 224 Cowper Lake 194A Devil's Gate 220 Dog Head 218 Fort McKay 174 Fort McKay 174C Fort McKay 174D Gregoire Lake 176 Hokédhe Kué 196E House River Indian Cemetery 178 Janvier 194 Kʼı Kué 196D Łı̨ Dezé 196C Namur Lake 174B Namur River 174A Old Fort 217 Sandy Point 221 Tthebacha Náre 196A Thebathi 196 Tsʼu Kʼadhe Kué 196F Tsu Túe 196G Winefred Lake 194B
Hydrology The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is in the lower basin of the Athabasca River watershed and Fort McMurray is the largest community on the banks of the river.The Athabasca River originates in Jasper National Park. It is fed by the Athabasca Glacier within the Columbia Icefield, at an altitude of approximately . The river travels before discharging through the Mackenzie River system into the Arctic Ocean through the Northwest Territories. Its course is marked by rapids, impeding navigation southwest of Fort McMurray. Local rivers include the Hangingstone River, Clearwater River and Christina River, a tributary of the Clearwater River.
The Hangingstone River drains an area of , which is dominated by muskeg, and flows into the Clearwater River just upstream of the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. The river often experiences high flows in the spring during snow melt, during heavy rainfall events and when ice jams occur during spring ice break. The RMWB warns citizens of the potential for sudden flash floods "especially in populated areas adjacent to the Athabasca River, Clearwater River and Christina River." Water levels have been monitored by the Water Survey of Canada since 1970 (WSC station 07CD004). During the spring months there is increased monitoring of the "Clearwater River to the south of the urban service area to provide warning of an ice break" and the "Athabasca River upper basin, local river levels, precipitation and overall weather patterns."
The Clearwater River,Clearwater river is named because of its "unspoiled, clear-water river in a pristine isolated "wilderness setting of spectacular beauty." designated as part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, flows from its headwaters at Lloyd Lake in northwest Saskatchewan into northeast Alberta before joining the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. "The lack of significant oil sands developments means that the Clearwater River can be used as a baseline river system to provide information on the variability and characteristics of natural systems."
Demographics
Federal census In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had a population of 72,326 living in 25,934 of its 30,451 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 71,594. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had a population of 71,594 living in 25,659 of its 30,713 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 65,565. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
Municipal census Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo population breakdown, 2021ComponentPermanent population Shadow population Combined population Urban service area (Fort McMurray) 72,9173,08976,006Rural service area2,638Total RM of Wood Buffalo75,555106,059
The permanent population of the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo according to its 2021 municipal census is 75,555, a change of from its 2018 municipal census permanent population of 75,009. In addition, the 2021 municipal census counted a shadow population of 30,504 non-permanent residents for a combined population of 106,059, while the 2018 municipal census counted 36,678 non-permanent residents for a combined population of 111,687.
Ethnicity + Panethnic groups in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (2001−2021)Panethnic group20212016201120062001 European 44,020 45,845 47,020 40,430 33,615 Indigenous 8,135 6,565 6,315 5,365 5,130 Southeast Asian 6,360 5,365 2,790 880 465 African 4,825 4,175 2,070 720 340 South Asian 4,770 4,980 4,085 1,780 640 Middle Eastern 1,505 1,940 1,215 830 475 East Asian 865 1,285 845 695 520 Latin American 645 925 1,035 570 75 Other/multiracial 650 400 295 140 105 Total responses 71,780 71,480 65,565 51,405 41,360 Total population 72,326 71,594 65,565 51,496 41,466
Language
Mother tongue (2016)Responses%English54,020Tagalog2,920French1,880Arabic1,270Gujarati1,070Urdu1,035Spanish805Somali730Amharic455Punjabi425Hindi415Mandarin335
Knowledge of language (2016)Responses%English70,750French5,125Tagalog4,250Arabic1,830Spanish1,375Urdu1,340Hindi1,130Gujarati1,130Somali730Punjabi640Mandarin580Cree535
Immigration Wood Buffalo is home to almost 2,000 recent immigrants (arriving between 2001 and 2006) who now make up more than 3% of the population. About 21% of these immigrants came from India, while about 10% came from each of Pakistan and the Philippines, and about 9% came from Venezuela, and about 8% from South Africa, about 6% from China, and about 3% came from Colombia.
Religion More than 80% of residents identified as Christian at the time of the 2001 census while almost 17% indicated they had no religious affiliation. For specific denominations Statistics Canada counted 15,880 Roman Catholics (37.4%), 4,985 Anglicans (11.7%), 4,225 for the United Church of Canada (9.9%), 1,730 Pentecostals (4.1%), 1,195 Baptists (2.8%), 965 for the Salvation Army (2.3%), 900 Lutherans (2.1%), 690 Muslims (1.6%), 350 Latter-day Saints (0.8%), and 320 Presbyterians (0.8%).
Economy The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is home to vast oil sand deposits, also known as the Athabasca Oil Sands, helping to make the region one of the fastest growing industrial areas in Canada.
Attractions Wood Buffalo National Park is adjacent to the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo to the northwest. The following provincial protected areas are also within the RM of Wood Buffalo:
Birch Mountains Wildland Provincial Park Birch River Wildland Provincial Park Dillon River Wildland Provincial Park Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Provincial Park Gipsy Lake Wildland Provincial Park Grand Rapids Wildland Provincial Park Gregoire Lake Provincial Park Kazan Wildland Provincial Park Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park Marguerite River Wildland Provincial Park Richardson Wildland Provincial Park Stony Mountain Wildland Provincial Park Whitemud Falls Wildland Provincial Park
Government The municipality's current mayor is Sandy Bowman, who was first elected in 2021. Its first mayor upon its creation in 1995 was Guy Boutilier, who had previously been the mayor of Fort McMurray and was subsequently elected as the region's provincial MLA. Doug Faulkner served as mayor from 1997 to 2004, and Melissa Blake from 2004 to 2017.