The Calgary Metropolitan Region ( CMR ), also commonly referred to as the Calgary Region , is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Calgary , the largest city in Alberta .
34-543: 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 the 2021 Federal Census, the town has a population of 30,214, making it
68-511: 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
102-549: 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
136-442: 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 ,
170-466: 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
204-962: Is however a member municipality of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board . Foothills County was originally formed as the Municipal District (MD) of Sheep River No. 31 on January 1, 1954, through the amalgamation of portions of Improvement District No. 46 and the MDs of Highwood No. 31, Turner Valley No. 32, and Springbank No. 45. Its name was changed to the MD of Foothills No. 31 shortly thereafter on March 25, 1954. Foothills County assumed its present name on January 1, 2019. The following hamlets are located within Foothills County. The following localities are located within Foothills County. In
238-530: The 2021 Canadian Census , and lists languages that were selected by at least 1,000 respondents. The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) was legislated through the enactment of the CMRB Regulation in 2017, and will be officially established on its effective date of January 1, 2018. Municipalities that will be participating as members of the CMRB include the cities of Airdrie, Calgary, and Chestermere,
272-441: The 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Foothills County had a population of 23,199 living in 8,450 of its 9,075 total private dwellings, a change of 2.6% from its 2016 population of 22,616. With a land area of 3,604.76 km (1,391.81 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.4/km (16.7/sq mi) in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Foothills County had
306-700: The MD of Bighorn No. 8 , the MD of Foothills No. 31, Rocky View County, Wheatland County and the towns of Crossfield and High River. The MD of Bighorn No. 8 pulled out of the CRP in March 2009 due to the lack of opportunity for infrastructure connectivity to the balance of the Calgary Region. In June 2009, the latter three opposed the Calgary Metropolitan Plan that was being considered for approval by
340-477: 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
374-666: 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 the Blackfoot Confederacy , used the rock as a marker to find
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#1732787007117408-449: The CMRB. The Calgary census metropolitan area (CMA) as delineated by Statistics Canada is smaller than the CMR. The Calgary CMA includes Calgary, Rocky View County, Airdrie, Beiseker, Chestermere, Cochrane, Crossfield, Irricana, and Tsuu T'ina 145. The Calgary Metropolitan Region is a major transportation hub for southern Alberta , Saskatchewan , eastern British Columbia , and parts of
442-547: The CRP's member municipalities. All three subsequently withdrew from the CRP in September 2009. Crossfield and High River withdrew from the CRP in December 2011 and April 2013 respectively citing concerns that the CRP was becoming another layer of government. In an attempt to bring the MD of Foothills No. 31 and Rocky View County back to the CRP, Alberta's Minister of Municipal Affairs , Doug Griffiths , requested that
476-664: The Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP). (2021) Municipal District of Foothills No. 31 Foothills County is a municipal district in southern Alberta , Canada adjacent to the south side of Calgary in Census Division No. 6 . Despite sharing a common border with the City of Calgary, it does not form part of the Calgary census metropolitan area (CMA) as defined by Statistics Canada. It
510-827: The Government of Alberta's establishment of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) in 2017, the CMR's boundaries were legislated to include the City of Calgary, Foothills County to the south, Rocky View County to the west, north, and east, and a western portion of Wheatland County further to the east. Also within these boundaries are the cities of Airdrie and Chestermere , seven towns: Cochrane , Crossfield , Diamond Valley , High River , Irricana , Okotoks , and Strathmore , two villages: Beiseker and Longview , and two First Nations communities : Tsuu T'ina 145 and Eden Valley 216 . Not all of these, however, are administrative members of
544-519: The MD of Foothills No. 31 to the south and Mountain View County to the north. Foothills County and the municipalities within are often considered as part of Calgary's metropolitan area due to, among other things, the MDs shared boundary with the City of Calgary and the bedroom community nature of towns like Okotoks, High River, and Diamond Valley The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from
578-619: 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 the railway was built through
612-578: 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
646-664: 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
680-442: 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
714-466: The largest CMA in Alberta and the fourth largest in Canada. With a land area of 5,107.55 km (1,972.04 sq mi), it had a population density of 237.9 people per square kilometre in 2011. Also in terms of area, the Calgary CMA makes up approximately 40% of Statistics Canada's Division No. 6 in Alberta. The balance of Division No. 6 includes the census consolidated subdivisions of
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#1732787007117748-444: 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
782-522: The northern United States . It is home to the Calgary International Airport , the fourth busiest airport in Canada in terms of total aircraft movements. The Calgary CMA, as defined by Statistics Canada, includes the following nine municipalities: In the 2011 Census , the Calgary CMA had a population of 1,214,839 living in 464,001 of its 488,451 total dwellings, a 12.6% change from its 2006 population of 1,079,310, making it
816-527: 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
850-498: The property owners, if they wish, can build homes with attached hangars for their private planes. There is also a small private aerodrome, Calgary/Okotoks (Rowland Field) Aerodrome . Otherwise, like other communities in the vicinity of Calgary, it is served by Calgary International Airport . Okotoks Transit operates an on-demand bus service within the town boundaries. The system began in 2019 with accessible vans instead of traditional buses. Calgary Metropolitan Region With
884-471: 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 the trail. Known as the Macleod Trail or
918-490: 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
952-570: 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
986-455: 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,
1020-404: The ten towns (Banff, Canmore, Nanton, and Strathmore) are outside, but in proximity to, the Calgary Region's boundaries as defined in this article. Of the remaining six towns, two of them (Diamond Valley, and Okotoks) are outside the Calgary CMA boundaries as defined by Statistics Canada. Membership in the CRP once consisted of the four municipal districts and two additional towns. These included
1054-517: 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,
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1088-657: The towns of Cochrane, Okotoks, High River and Strathmore, the MD of Foothills No. 31, Rocky View County, and Wheatland County. Founded in 1999, the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) is a cooperative between 15 urban municipalities in the greater Calgary area that deals with regional growth and planning issues. The CRP's motto is Thinking regionally... acting locally... The CRP's current membership includes three cities (Airdrie, Calgary, and Chestermere), eight towns ( Banff , Canmore , Cochrane, Diamond Valley, Irricana, Nanton , Okotoks, and Strathmore , and one townsite (Redwood Meadows). Of these thirteen municipalities, four of
1122-463: The two municipal districts and the CRP engage in mediation. All parties agreed to participate and the mediation process has since concluded with a report delivered to Minister Griffiths for review and decision. The following list provides the overlapping memberships or enumerations of municipalities in the greater Calgary area that are part of some, or all, of the designations: Calgary Metropolitan Region (CMR); Calgary census metropolitan area (CMA); or
1156-548: 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
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