List of Towns in Alberta

List Of Towns In Alberta

A town is an urban municipality status type used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. Alberta towns are created when communities with populations of at least 1,000 people, where a majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m², apply to Alberta Municipal Affairs for town status under the authority of the Municipal Government Act. Applications for town status are approved via orders in council made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under recommendation from the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Alberta has 108 towns that had a cumulative population of 451,845 and an average population of 4,184 in the 2011 Census. Alberta's largest and smallest towns are Okotoks and Granum with populations of 24,511 and 447 respectively.

When a town's population exceeds 10,000 people, the council may request a change to city status, but the change in incorporated status is not mandatory. Towns with populations less than 1,000, whether their populations have declined below 1,000 or they were incorporated as towns prior to the minimum 1,000 population requirement, are permitted to retain town status.

720 elected town officials (108 mayors and 612 councillors) provide town governance throughout the province.

The highest frequency of towns in Alberta is found in the Queen Elizabeth II Highway/Highway 2A corridor between Calgary and Edmonton corridor including, from south to north, Crossfield, Carstairs, Didsbury, Olds, Bowden, Innisfail, Penhold, Blackfalds, Ponoka and Millet.