43-597: Jasper Place , originally named West Jasper Place , is a former town in Alberta , Canada now within the City of Edmonton . Prior to amalgamation with Edmonton, the town was bounded by 149 Street to the east, 118 Avenue to the north, 170 Street to the west and the North Saskatchewan River to the south. Its former municipal centre, which included its town hall, fire station and extant Butler Memorial Park,
86-514: A change of 4.8% from its 2016 population of 29,016. With a land area of 38.55 km (14.88 sq mi), it had a population density of 788.7/km (2,042.8/sq mi) in 2021. In the Canada 2016 Census conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Okotoks recorded a population of 28,881 living in 9,667 of its 9,840 total private dwellings, a 17.8% change from its 2011 population of 24,511. With
129-550: A collector car auction in late May. It is the longest running collector car auction in Canada. Okotoks was one of the few communities its size with its own airport. A number of small air shows were held there over the years. It was the home of an aircraft charter company, flight school, and a helicopter flying school. The site has now evolved into an airpark community called the Calgary/Okotoks Air Park , where
172-518: A council of seven, and 25 have a council of five. Town councils are governed by a mayor and an even number of councillors that are elected by popular vote , resulting in a total odd number of members to avoid tie votes on council matters. All council members are elected under the provisions of the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) . Mayoral or councillor candidates are required to be residents of their municipality for
215-468: A council. As a requirement of the MGA, a town council consists of an odd number of councillors, one of which is the town's chief elected official (CEO) or mayor. A town council consists of seven councillors by default, but it can consist of a higher or lower odd number if council passes a bylaw altering its size (so long as it does not consist of fewer than three councillors). For the 2017–2021 term, 82 towns have
258-447: A land area of 19.63 km (7.58 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,471.3/km (3,810.6/sq mi) in 2016. The population of the Town of Okotoks according to its 2015 municipal census is 28,016, a 2.5% change from its 2014 municipal census population of 27,331. At its current population, Okotoks is the largest town in the province and is eligible for city status. According to Alberta's Municipal Government Act ,
301-728: A majority of their buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1,850 m , 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 105 towns that had a cumulative population of 455,053 and an average population of 4,293 in
344-580: A minimum of six consecutive months prior to nomination day. The last municipal election was October 16, 2017 . Alberta Municipal Affairs, a ministry of the Cabinet of Alberta , is charged with coordination of all levels of local government . Administrative duties of towns include public safety, local transit, roads, water service, drainage and waste collection, as well as coordination of infrastructure with provincial and regional authorities (including road construction, education, and health). The below table
387-418: A sports centre (football bowl, indoor swimming pool, indoor ice hockey arena), and commenced planning the original Meadowlark Park Shopping Centre . Projects such as these placed the town deeply in debt and, with little industrial base, an increasing demand for services by the growing population, the province refusing to grant extra funds, and the large City of Edmonton already touching the town's boundary along
430-469: A town is eligible for city status when it reaches 10,000 residents. Almost 3% of Okotoks residents identified themselves as aboriginal at the time of the 2006 census. According to the 2006 census, about 93% of residents identified English as their first language while 1.4% identified French and 1.0% identified German as their first language learned. The next most common languages were Spanish, Tagalog , Chinese, Korean , and Slovak . The sawmill that
473-424: A village, and was also the community that operated under new town status for the shortest period – eight months from June 1, 1956, to February 1, 1957. The last community to incorporate as a new town was Fox Creek on July 19, 1967. Fox Creek was previously unincorporated prior to this date. It remained a new town for just over sixteen years until September 1, 1983, when it changed to town status. Rainbow Lake
SECTION 10
#1732798533886516-472: Is a list of only those urban municipalities in Alberta that are incorporated as towns . The municipalities of Crowsnest Pass and Jasper are not listed because they are incorporated as specialized municipalities , not towns . For more information on specialized municipalities , see Specialized municipalities of Alberta . New town is a former urban municipal status in Alberta that
559-484: 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 . Pursuant to Part 5, Division 1 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) , each municipality created under the authority of the MGA is governed by
602-474: Is no longer in use. The authority to incorporate a community as a new town came from The New Towns Act , which was chapter 39 of the Statutes of Alberta, 1956 . At least 12 communities incorporated as a new town between 1956 and 1967. Cynthia and Drayton Valley were the first communities in Alberta to incorporate as new towns on June 1, 1956. Drayton Valley did so after only six months of incorporation as
645-407: The 2016 Canadian Census . Alberta's largest and smallest towns are Okotoks and Stavely with populations of 28,881 and 541 respectively. Diamond Valley is Alberta's newest town, which incorporated on January 1, 2023 via amalgamation of the former towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley . When a town's population exceeds 10,000 people, the council may request a change to city status, but
688-501: The Blackfoot Confederacy , used the rock as a marker to find the river crossing situated at Okotoks. The tribes were nomadic and often followed large buffalo herds for their sustenance. David Thompson explored the area as early as 1800. In the late 1870s and early 1880s, the site of the future town was a river crossing location on the freight wagon route from Fort Macleod to Fort Calgary . Stagecoaches also used
731-537: The Municipal District of Foothills reached an agreement more than three years after the town first issued its notice of intent to seek more land to accommodate its long-term growth plans. Okotoks will gain a 60-year land supply that will enable the Town to develop housing and other services over the next several decades. Although the Sheep River runs through Okotoks year round, artesian wells near
774-456: The discovery of oil near Leduc in 1947, the population of Edmonton swelled and West Jasper Place absorbed some of that population growth. By 1948 it was the largest hamlet in Alberta, with a population of 4,000. It incorporated as the Village of West Jasper Place on December 31, 1949, and its name was shortened to Jasper Place a few months later on March 15, 1950. Jasper Place instantly became
817-550: The 2021 Federal Census, the town has a population of 30,214, making it the largest town in Alberta. The town's name is derived from "ohkotok" , the Blackfoot language word for "rock". The name may refer to Big Rock , the largest glacial erratic in the Foothills Erratics Train , situated about 7 km (4.3 mi) west of the town. Before European settlement, journeying First Nations , members of
860-416: The Town of Hinton has expressed interest in incorporating as a city once it surpasses 10,000 people. Its population in 2016 was 9,882. In 2016, the Town of Morinville conducted a municipal census in which it anticipated the town would surpass 10,000; thus the town investigated city status as well as a specialized municipality model with Sturgeon County . The census reported a population of 9,893, which
903-583: The United States border, but the last of the passenger service ( Dayliner unit) ended in 1971. In 2007, the energy efficient Drake Landing Solar Community was established in Okotoks. Okotoks has experienced three major flooding events, in 1995, 2005 and 2013. The 2005 event, which affected much of southern Alberta, flooded virtually all lands adjacent to the Sheep River , including the central business district, were at least briefly flooded, with
SECTION 20
#1732798533886946-521: The application was denied by the provincial cabinet. In the case of Smith, after applying in 1968, its application was denied after the province's feasibility study for the community determined Smith was unlikely to attract further economic development. Below is a list of the 12 communities that were once incorporated as a new town. All but one of them are resource communities in northern or west–central Alberta and were recently founded communities at their dates of incorporation as new towns. St. Albert
989-442: 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. A total of 699 elected town officials (107 mayors and 592 councillors) provide town governance throughout the province. The highest frequency of towns in Alberta
1032-665: The community name had changed three times, first from Sheep Creek, to Dewdney after Edgar Dewdney the Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories , and later being informed by post office authorities in Ottawa of an older settlement named Dewdney in Lower Mainland, British Columbia , the name Okotoks was chosen by local businessman John Lineham . The rail line is still a main line south to
1075-543: The east side of 149 Street, Jasper Place's independence as its own municipality was at risk. In 1962, the Jasper Place Town Council moved to amalgamate into Edmonton, with a plebiscite held on October 17, 1962, in which a majority of residents voted in favour of amalgamation. Amalgamation occurred on August 17, 1964. "With amalgamation, the City of Edmonton assumed Jasper Place's bonded indebtedness of $ 8.177 million (equivalent to $ 78.3 million in 2023),
1118-443: The first brick buildings in Okotoks (of which a number still exist) were constructed using locally-made brick. The industry reached its peak in 1912, when twelve million bricks were manufactured. The outbreak of World War I caused the shutdown of “Sandstone” as it was known. By 1906, the population had hit 1900, a figure that would not be reached again until 1977. Oil was discovered west of Okotoks on 7 October 1913. Okotoks became
1161-404: The largest village in Alberta, with a population of 8,900, more than a doubling of the community in just two years. Village status only lasted a few months as the community was incorporated as the Town of Jasper Place on November 6, 1950. In the early 1960s, to accommodate continuing growth, Jasper Place expanded several schools, including Jasper Place Composite High School , began construction of
1204-528: The legislated population requirements for town status. There are also at least ten hamlets – Cardiff , Clairmont , Dunmore , Fort Chipewyan , Grande Cache, La Crete , Lac La Biche, Langdon , Springbrook , and Wabasca – that meet the population requirements for town status. There are currently nine towns – Blackfalds, Canmore , Cochrane , High River , Okotoks, Stony Plain , Strathmore , Sylvan Lake and Whitecourt – that are eligible for city status having populations in excess of 10,000. In addition,
1247-506: The most serious damage being inflicted to riverside pathways, parks and campgrounds. Okotoks was also affected by the 2013 Alberta floods . Numerous old buildings have been restored, and one house was even resited blocks away to avoid destruction by the widening of the highway through the townsite. Effective 1 July 2017, the Government of Alberta approved the annexation of approximately 1,950 ha (4,800 acres) of land. Okotoks and
1290-528: The oldest remaining in the township) still stands. It housed an award-winning (butter) dairy from the 1920s to the 1940s. It currently houses a law office and restaurant. In May 2015, the Old Creamery was severely damaged following a suspected arson attack. On 15 June 2015, the Town Council voted to demolish the building. In 1900, just west of Okotoks, four brick-making plants were opened. Many of
1333-552: The railway was built through the town in 1892, the old trail fell out of use. In 1879, the area saw the killing of the last buffalo. Government leasing of land for $ 0.01/acre ($ 0.025/ha) or $ 2.47/km ($ 6.4/sq mi) began in 1880. This created a major change in the region. The first settlers arrived in 1882. A community grew around a sawmill that was established in 1891, and it would grow in size. The last stagecoach stopped in Okotoks in 1891 when rail service between Calgary and Fort Macleod replaced horse-drawn travel. By 1897,
Jasper Place - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-491: The river supply the town with its water. In September 1998, Okotoks became one of the first communities in Canada to recognize its environmental limits to growth were restricted by the carrying capacity of the local watershed . In concern for the supply of water, the town announced a unique and controversial suggestion of capping its population at 25,000 residents. In an interview on The Current , Mayor Bill McAlpine stated that this objective may be politically difficult due to
1419-570: The supply centre. In its heyday, from 1913 to the 1960s, Okotoks was busy with horses, wagons, and transports hauling all types of equipment to the oil fields, and crude oil back through town to refineries in Calgary. The Texas Gulf sulphur plant (known as CanOxy) opened in 1959, employing 45 people. It was not unusual to see the bright yellow, three-story high, block-long, block-wide pile of sulphur waiting to be melted or ground up and poured into railway cars. Since 1974, Okotoks has been hosting
1462-461: The surrounding region. Okotoks experiences a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ), with generally warm summers and long, cold winters. Rainfall is usually limited to the summer, with most of it falling between the months of May and September. Neighbourhoods of Okotoks are: In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , the Town of Okotoks had a population of 30,405 living in 10,476 of its 10,750 total private dwellings,
1505-625: The town's infrastructure and responsibility for all public services such as sewer, water and transportation." At amalgamation, Jasper Place was the largest town in Canada, with a population of 37,429 – having grown nearly 950% from when it was a hamlet in 1948. List of towns in Alberta#Former towns 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
1548-694: The trail. Known as the Macleod Trail or the Macleod-Calgary Trail, the route was an extension of the Fort Benton-Fort Macleod Trail, which led from Fort Benton, Montana to Fort Macleod. There were two fords on the Sheep River, and two stopping houses were established on the north side of the river for rest and shelter for the travellers. Because of these stopping houses, the area attracted settlement. Once
1591-652: The villages of Big Valley, Carmangay and Youngstown are the only communities that remain incorporated municipalities. The others either amalgamated to form other municipalities (Blairmore, Coleman, Grand Centre and Lac La Biche), were absorbed through annexation by Calgary (Bowness, Forest Lawn and Montgomery) or Edmonton (Beverly and Jasper Place) or dissolved to become hamlets under the jurisdiction of municipal districts (Cynthia, Diamond City, Gleichen, Grande Cache, Grouard, Irvine and Lodgepole). The villages of Stirling , Duchess , and Alberta Beach , with population counts of 1,269, 1,085, and 1,018 respectively, meet
1634-471: Was 107 people shy of the milestone. Okotoks Okotoks ( / ˈ oʊ k ə t oʊ k s / OH -kə-tohks , originally / ˈ ɒ k ə t ɒ k s / OK -ə-toks ) is a town in the Calgary Region of Alberta , Canada. It is on the Sheep River , approximately 38 km (24 mi) south of Downtown Calgary . Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary . According to
1677-548: Was established by John Lineham along the Sheep River in 1891 operated for 25 years and was a major part of the local economy. At one time it employed 135 people, producing an average of 9,100 m (30,000 ft) of lumber per day. The growth of the Canadian Pacific Railway created a demand for railway ties and the mill helped meet that demand. Logs were brought down from the west via the Sheep River. The mill has long since disappeared but one building (one of
1720-458: Was located at Stony Plain Road and 157 Street. It was known as West Jasper Place from 1910 to 1950. West Jasper Place was subdivided in approximately 1910. In its early days, the community was home to a few hundred homesteaders, who lived a meagre life raising a few animals and tending gardens. Houses lacked the amenities of modern life, including electricity, flush toilets, and running water. Water
1763-583: Was the last community to be recognized as a new town. Its status was changed to that of a town in 1994 when numerous former acts under the authority of Alberta Municipal Affairs were transitioned into the current Municipal Government Act . Rainbow Lake was also the community that operated under new town status for the longest period – nearly 28 years from September 1, 1966, to May 2, 1994. Other communities that applied for new town status included Slave Lake and Smith . Slave Lake applied, despite already being incorporated, to access additional provincial funding but
Jasper Place - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-648: Was the only community that was not in northern or west–central Alberta and had been incorporated as its own municipality since December 7, 1899. All cities in Alberta and the former cities of Fort McMurray and Strathcona previously held town status in their histories. Other communities that previously held town status include Beverly , Big Valley , Blairmore , Bowness , Black Diamond , Carmangay , Coleman , Cynthia, Diamond City , Forest Lawn , Gleichen , Grande Cache, Grand Centre , Grouard , Irvine , Jasper Place , Lac La Biche , Lodgepole , Montgomery , Turner Valley and Youngstown . Of these,
1849-545: Was trucked out to residents at a cost of $ 1.25 per 500 gallons . During the 1930s, the population grew as many Edmontonians moved out to Jasper Place to escape high taxes in the city. Many residents worked in Edmonton, and by the 1940s the trolley line extended to the modern 149 Street, close enough to Jasper Place to allow returning workers to walk the rest of the way home. Following the Second World War and
#885114