Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is a specialized municipality in northeast Alberta, Canada. It is the largest regional municipality in Canada by area, covering ; this number includes the Wood Buffalo National Park of Canada. It is home to oil sand deposits known as the Athabasca oil sands.
History
The Municipality of Wood Buffalo was incorporated as a specialized municipality on April 1, 1995 as a result of the amalgamation of the City of Fort McMurray and Improvement District No. 143. Specialized municipality status was granted to provide "for the unique needs of a municipality including a large urban centre and a large rural territory with a small population." The Municipality of Wood Buffalo subsequently changed its name to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo on August 14, 1996.June 2013 floods
By June 12, 2013, after many days of heavy rain, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo declared a state of emergency. They organized evacuations from some areas and placed others under boil water advisories as local waterways, such as the Hangingstone River, rose to dangerously elevated levels south of Fort McMurray, causing the closure of Highway 63.“The Beast” Horse River Wildfire (2016)
From May 3, 2016 on, over 80,000 people were affected by evacuations, by May 3 at 6:49 pm, the entirety of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas were placed under a mandatory evacuation. making it Alberta's largest evacuation for a wildfire.April 2020 floods
By April 30, 2020, after a 25-kilometre-long ice jam formed in the Athabasca River, flooding the northern Alberta city's downtown and surrounding areas, and forcing 13,000 people from their home, Fort McMurray's spring flood caused more than $520 million in insured damage, according to new numbers from the Insurance Bureau of Canada. That flood damage was followed by $1.2 billion in damage from a hailstorm in Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County, flooding in Edmonton in July and another storm in Calgary on July 24.Geography
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is in the northeast corner of the province of Alberta. It borders the province of Saskatchewan to the east; the Northwest Territories to the north; Improvement District No. 24, Mackenzie County, and the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 to the west; and Athabasca County and the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 to the south. The Athabasca River meanders northward through the central portion of the RM of Wood Buffalo before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Some of its water bodies include Christina Lake, Gardiner Lakes, Garson Lake, Gipsy Lake, Gordon Lake, Gregoire Lake, McClelland Lake, Namur Lake, Richardson Lake, and Winefred Lake. Discharging northward from Lake Athabasca is Riviere des Rochers, which at its confluence with the Peace River becomes the Slave River. The Slave River forms much of the RM of Wood Buffalo's boundary with Improvement District No. 24 north of the confluence. Land formations include the Birch Mountains northwest of Fort McKay, Fort Hills north of Fort McKay, and Thickwood Hills west of Fort McMurray. A portion of the Peace-Athabasca Delta is also within the RM of Wood Buffalo.Communities and localities
The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo:
;Cities
- none
- none
- none
- none
;Hamlets
- Anzac
- Conklin
- Fort Fitzgerald
- Fort Chipewyan
- Fort McKay
- Fort McMurray
- Gregoire Lake Estates
- Janvier South
- Saprae Creek
The following localities are located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo:
- Almac Subdivision
- Beaver Lake-Young's Beach
- Bechtel Syncrude Camp
- Berdinskies
- Berny
- Big Eddy
- Billos
- Bitumount
- Brièreville
- Chard
- Charron
- Cheecham
- Christina Crossing
- Corbetts
- Devenish
- Dog Head
- Draper
- Egg Lake
- Portage
- Fitzgerald
- Fitzgerald 196
- Fitzgerald Settlement
- Fort Smith Settlement
- Gourin
- Grandin
- Improvement District No.143
- Kenny Woods
- Kinosis
- Le Goff
- Leismer
- Lenarthur
- Lynton
- Maloy
- Mariana Lake
- Mildred Lake
- Old Fort
- Pelican Settlement
- Pingle
- Point Brule
- Quigley
- Rossian
- Sandy Rapids
- Tar Island
- Waterways
- Willow Trail
- Wolyn
- Chipewyan
- Fitzgerald
- Janvier South
- Mariana
- McKay
- St. Bruno Farm
- Allison Bay 219
- Charles Lake 225
- Chipewyan 201
- Chipewyan 201A
- Chipewyan 201B
- Chipewyan 201C
- Chipewyan 201D
- Chipewyan 201E
- Chipewyan 201F
- Chipewyan 201G
- Clearwater 175
- Collin Lake 223
- Cornwall Lake 224
- Cowper Lake 194A
- Devil's Gate 220
- Dog Head 218
- Fort McKay 174
- Fort McKay 174C
- Fort McKay 174D
- Gregoire Lake 176
- Hokédhe Kué 196E
- House River Indian Cemetery 178
- Janvier 194
- Kʼı Kué 196D
- Łı̨ Dezé 196C
- Namur Lake 174B
- Namur River 174A
- Old Fort 217
- Sandy Point 221
- Tthebacha Náre 196A
- Thebathi 196
- Tsʼu Kʼadhe Kué 196F
- Tsu Túe 196G
- Winefred Lake 194B
Hydrology
The Hangingstone River drains an area of, which is dominated by muskeg, and flows into the Clearwater River just upstream of the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. The river often experiences high flows in the spring during snow melt, during heavy rainfall events and when ice jams occur during spring ice break. The RMWB warns citizens of the potential for sudden flash floods "especially in populated areas adjacent to the Athabasca River, Clearwater River and Christina River." Water levels have been monitored by the Water Survey of Canada since 1970. During the spring months there is increased monitoring of the "Clearwater River to the south of the urban service area to provide warning of an ice break" and the "Athabasca River upper basin, local river levels, precipitation and overall weather patterns."
The Clearwater River, designated as part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, flows from its headwaters at Lloyd Lake in northwest Saskatchewan into northeast Alberta before joining the Athabasca River at Fort McMurray. "The lack of significant oil sands developments means that the Clearwater River can be used as a baseline river system to provide information on the variability and characteristics of natural systems."
Demographics
Federal census
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had a population of 72,326 living in 25,934 of its 30,451 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 71,594. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had a population of 71,594 living in 25,659 of its 30,713 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 65,565. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2016.
Municipal census
The permanent population of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo according to its 2021 municipal census is 75,555, a change of from its 2018 municipal census permanent population of 75,009. In addition, the 2021 municipal census counted a shadow population of 30,504 non-permanent residents for a combined population of 106,059, while the 2018 municipal census counted 36,678 non-permanent residents for a combined population of 111,687.Ethnicity
Language
| Mother tongue | Responses | % |
| English | 54,020 | |
| Tagalog | 2,920 | |
| French | 1,880 | |
| Arabic | 1,270 | |
| Gujarati | 1,070 | |
| Urdu | 1,035 | |
| Spanish | 805 | |
| Somali | 730 | |
| Amharic | 455 | |
| Punjabi | 425 | |
| Hindi | 415 | |
| Mandarin | 335 |
| Knowledge of language | Responses | % |
| English | 70,750 | |
| French | 5,125 | |
| Tagalog | 4,250 | |
| Arabic | 1,830 | |
| Spanish | 1,375 | |
| Urdu | 1,340 | |
| Hindi | 1,130 | |
| Gujarati | 1,130 | |
| Somali | 730 | |
| Punjabi | 640 | |
| Mandarin | 580 | |
| Cree | 535 |