Alberta has provincial legislation allowing its municipalities to conduct municipal censuses between April 1 and June 30 inclusive. Municipalities choose to conduct their own censuses for multiple reasons such as to better inform municipal service planning and provision, to capitalize on per capita based grant funding from higher levels of government, or to simply update their populations since the last federal census.
Alberta had 359 municipalities between April 1 and June 30, 2012, up from 358 during the same three-month period in 2011. At least 58 of these municipalities () conducted a municipal census in 2012. Alberta Municipal Affairs recognized those conducted by 55 of these municipalities. By municipal status, it recognized those conducted by 8 of Alberta's 17 cities, 23 of 108 towns, 8 of 95 villages, 4 of 51 summer villages, 1 of 5 specialized municipalities, 3 of 64 municipal districts and all 8 Metis settlements. In addition to those recognized by Municipal Affairs, censuses were conducted by the City of St. Albert, the Village of Beiseker and Strathcona County (a specialized municipality).
Some municipalities achieved population milestones as a result of their 2011 censuses. Calgary surpassed 1.1 million while the cities of Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan surpassed the 25,000 and the 20,000 marks respectively. Chestermere, Alberta's fourth-largest town, surpassed 15,000 residents.
Municipal census results The following summarizes the results of the numerous municipal censuses conducted in 2012. 2012 municipal census summary 2011 federal census comparison Previous municipal census comparisonMunicipalityStatusCensusdate2012pop.2011pop.AbsolutegrowthAbsolutechangeAnnualgrowthratePrev.pop.Prev.censusyearAbsolutegrowthAnnualgrowthrate Airdrie City 2011 Beaumont Town 2011 Beiseker Village 2008 Blackfalds Town 2011 Bonnyville Town 2009 Breton Village 2007 Bruderheim Town 1990 Buffalo Lake Metis settlement 2009 Calgary City 2011 Chestermere Town 2011 Clear Hills County Municipal district 2008 Coalhurst Town 2010 Cold Lake City 2009 Consort Village 2000 East Prairie Metis settlement 2009 Edgerton Village 2007 Edmonton City 2009 Edson Town 2005 Elizabeth Metis settlement 2009 Elk Point Town 2007 Fishing Lake Metis settlement 2009 Fort Saskatchewan City 2010 Gift Lake Metis settlement 2010 Hughenden Village 2008 Innisfail Town 2009 Kapasiwin Summer village 2011 Kikino Metis settlement 2009 Leduc City 2011 Lethbridge City 2011 Medicine Hat City 2009 Okotoks Town 2011 Oyen Town 2009 Paddle Prairie Metis settlement 2009 Peavine Metis settlement 2009 Penhold Town 2010 Raymond Town 2011 Redwater Town 2000 Rocky Mountain House Town 2007 Rosemary Village 1981 Silver Sands Summer village 1982 South View Summer village 1981 Spring Lake Village 2007 St. Albert City 2010 St. Paul Town 2010 St. Paul No. 19County of St. Paul No. 19 Municipal district 1984 Strathcona County Specialized municipality 2009 Strathmore Town 2010 Sundre Town 1999 Thorsby Village 2010 Three Hills Town 2008 Two Hills Town 2007 Vegreville Town 2009 Vermilion Town 2007 Vilna Village 1998 Vulcan County Municipal district 2007 Wembley Town 2001 Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo Specialized municipality 2007 Yellowstone Summer village 1992
Breakdowns Urban and rural service areas
Strathcona County 2012 municipal census summary 2009 municipal census comparisonArea2012populationPreviouspopulationAbsolutegrowthAnnualgrowth rate Sherwood Park urban service area Rural service area Total Strathcona County
Wood Buffalo 2012 municipal census summary 2010 municipal census comparisonArea2012populationPreviouspopulationAbsolutegrowthAnnualgrowth rate Fort McMurray urban service area Rural service area Total RM of Wood Buffalo
Hamlets The following is a list of hamlet populations determined by 2012 municipal censuses conducted by Strathcona County and the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo excluding the urban service areas of Fort McMurray and Sherwood Park that are presented above.
2012 municipal census summary Previous census comparisonHamletMunicipality2012populationPreviouspopulationPreviouscensus yearAbsolutegrowthAnnualgrowth rate Antler Lake Strathcona County 2009 Anzac Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 Ardrossan Strathcona County 2009 Collingwood Cove Strathcona County 2009 Conklin Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 Fort Chipewyan Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 Fort MacKay Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 Gregoire Lake Estates Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 Half Moon Lake Strathcona County 2009 Hastings Lake Strathcona County 2009 Janvier Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 Josephburg Strathcona County 2009 North Cooking Lake Strathcona County 2009 Saprae Creek Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo 2010 South Cooking Lake Strathcona County 2009
Shadow population counts 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." The RM of Wood Buffalo conducted a shadow population count in 2012. The following presents the results of this count for comparison with its concurrent municipal census results.
MunicipalityStatusMunicipalcensuspopulationShadowpopulationCombinedpopulation Wood BuffaloRM of Wood Buffalo Specialized municipality
Notes
See also List of communities in Alberta List of municipalities in Alberta
References
External links Alberta Municipal Affairs: Municipal Census & Population Lists Statistics Canada: Census Profile (2011 Census)