Sherwood Park - hamlet status
We're sometimes asked about Sherwood Park's status as a hamlet. In Alberta, the term hamlet describes urban centres because of the way they are governed, not because of population or geographic size. If an urban centre is governed by the County in which it is located, then it is deemed to be a hamlet.
Example
Sherwood Park, Ardrossan and Josephburg are all governed by Strathcona County and are considered hamlets.Within Lamont County are the Town of Bruderheim, the Town of Redwater and the Village of Andrew. Each of these municipalities, though considerably smaller and less populated than Sherwood Park, governs themselves and elects their own Mayor and Council. Population does determine an independent municipality's status as a city, town or village.
Strathcona County has chosen to remain a County for many reasons: historical, political and economic.
- In 1987 the County held a plebiscite asking residents if they were in favour of preserving a single local government for the entire County. Residents voted in favour of maintaining the existing status for the municipality.
- On January 1, 1996, the Province granted Strathcona the designation of specialized municipality. One of the advantages of this designation is that the County is eligible to receive grants and other provincial benefits that are available exclusively to urban centres, as well as the benefits that are targeted to rural municipalities.
Further information
info@strathcona.ca
Last updated: Friday, May 25, 2012
Page ID: 2136