Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

is the fifth most populous

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with 1,342,153 residents as of

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and is the sixth largest in land area at . Manitoba's 137

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

cover only of the province's land mass yet are home to of its population. These municipalities provide

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

services to their residents. A municipality in Manitoba is "a municipality that is continued or formed under" the ''Municipal Act'', which was enacted in 1996. Municipalities that can be formed under this legislation include urban municipalities (cities, towns and villages) and rural municipalities. The ''Local Government Districts Act'', enacted in 1987, allows the formation of local government districts as another municipality type. Of Manitoba's 137 municipalities, 37 of them are urban municipalities (10 cities, 25 towns and 2 villages), 98 are rural municipalities and 2 are local government districts. The ''Municipal Act'' and the ''Local Government Districts Act'' stipulate governance of these municipalities. Additional charters or acts are in place specifically for the cities of Brandon,

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson Lantion, Filipino retired police general * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia * Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thom ...

and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, the towns of

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

and

Winnipeg Beach Winnipeg Beach is a town in the Interlake Region, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The town was founded in 1900 by Sir William Whyte and is located at the junction of Highway 9 and Highway 229 on the southwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg, abo ...

, and the rural municipalities of Kelsey, St. Andrews and Victoria Beach. The ''Municipal Act'', the ''Local Government Districts Act'', and all these additional acts and charters were enacted at the provincial level by the

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba The lieutenant governor of Manitoba (, (if male) or (if female) ) is the representative in Manitoba of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieuten ...

on the advice and consent of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

. The

Government of Manitoba The powers and structure of the provincial Government of Manitoba () are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the cabinet of the day (formally the Executive Council of Manitoba, ...

's Department of Municipal Relations responsible for providing provincial services to municipalities. Over half of Manitoba's population resides in the City of Winnipeg, the provincial capital, with a population with 749,607. The City of Brandon is the province's second most populous municipality with 51,313 residents. Manitoba's smallest municipality by population is the Local Government District of Mystery Lake with 0 residents. The largest municipality by land area is the Rural Municipality (RM) of Reynolds at , while the smallest by land area is the Village of Arborg at . Manitoba's first municipality was the RM of Springfield (originally Springfield-Sunnyside). It was incorporated on September 27, 1873. Winnipeg was incorporated as a city a few weeks later on November 8, 1873.

Urban municipalities

Manitoba's ''Municipal Act'', enacted in 1996, defines an urban municipality as an incorporated "area with at least 1,000 residents and a population density of at least 400 residents per square kilometre." An urban municipality, upon formation, may be named a "city", "town", "village" or "urban municipality", although there is a minimum 7,500 population requirement that limits the naming of cities. Combined, Manitoba has 37 urban municipalities comprising 10 cities, 25 towns and 2 villages. The 37 urban municipalities have a total population of 955,774, a total land area of . These totals represent of Manitoba's population but only of its land area. Of Manitoba's 37 urban municipalities, 6 have populations less than the current minimum population requirement of 1,000 and 20 have less than the current minimum density requirement of 400 residents per square kilometre. All of these were incorporated as urban municipalities prior to the ''Municipal Act'' being enacted in 1996.

Cities

In Manitoba, a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

is a type of urban municipality. The ''Municipal Act'' stipulates that an urban municipality can only be named a city if it has a minimum population of 7,500 residents. Manitoba has 10 cities that had a cumulative population of 892,517 in the 2021 census. These 10 cities include Flin Flon, of which a small portion is located within the neighbouring province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. The province's largest and smallest cities by population are Winnipeg and the Manitoba portion of Flin Flon with populations of 749,607 and 4,940 respectively. The province's largest and smallest cities by land area are Winnipeg and Dauphin with land areas of and respectively. Manitoba's newest city is

Morden Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...

, which changed from a town to a city on August 24, 2012.

Towns

In Manitoba, an urban municipality may be named a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

upon formation. Other than the requirements to incorporate as an urban municipality (1,000 residents and 400 people/km²), the ''Municipal Act'' has no minimum population threshold to limit the naming of them as towns. A town can alternately be named a village or urban municipality under the ''Municipal Act'' or a city if it has a minimum population of 7,500. Manitoba has 25 towns that had a cumulative population of 60,963 in the 2021 census. The province's largest and smallest towns by population are Niverville and

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

with populations of 5,947 and 213 respectively. The province's largest and smallest towns by land area are Gillam and Arborg with land areas of and respectively.

Villages

In Manitoba, an urban municipality may be named a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

upon formation. Other than the minimum requirements to incorporate as an urban municipality (1,000 residents and 400 people/km²), the ''Municipal Act'' has no minimum population threshold to limit the naming of them as villages. A village can alternately be named a town or urban municipality under the ''Municipal Act'' or a city if it has a minimum population of 7,500. Manitoba has 2 villages that had a cumulative population of 2,294 in the 2021 census. These are

St-Pierre-Jolys St-Pierre-Jolys (formerly ''Rivière-aux-Rats''/Rat River, ''St-Pierre''/St. Pierre) is a village in the Canadian province of Manitoba, located southeast of Winnipeg on Highway 59 near the Rat River. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality o ...

and

Dunnottar Dunnottar Castle (, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the northeast coast of Scotland, about south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th ...

with populations of 1,305 and 989 respectively.

List of urban municipalities

Manitoba Legislative Building.jpg, alt=Skyline of Winnipeg at night, Manitoba Legislature in downtown

, Manitoba's capital and largest municipality Downtown Brandon Manitoba.jpg, alt=Downtown Brandon, Downtown Brandon, Manitoba's second largest municipality Steinbach Main Street.png, alt=Downtown Steinbach, Downtown Steinbach, Manitoba's third largest municipality City Hall in Winkler Manitoba.jpg, alt=Winkler City Hall, City Hall of Winkler, Manitoba's fourth largest municipality

Rural municipalities

Manitoba's ''Municipal Act'', enacted in 1987, defines

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

(RM) as an incorporated "area with at least 1,000 residents and a population density of less than 400 residents per square kilometre." Manitoba has 98 rural municipalities that had a cumulative population of 313,064 in the 2021 census. These totals represent of Manitoba's population and of its land area. The province's largest and smallest rural municipalities by population are the

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and the Ethelbert with populations of 17,216 and 648 respectively. The province's largest and smallest rural municipalities by area the RM of Reynolds and the Victoria Beach with land areas of and respectively. Of Manitoba's 98 rural municipalities, 8 have populations less than the current minimum population requirement of 1,000. All of these were either incorporated as rural municipalities prior to the ''Municipal Act'' being enacted in 1996 or formed by the amalgamation of two or more municipalities incorporated prior to 1996. Many municipalities previously under the minimum population were required to amalgamate by the Government of Manitoba's Municipal Amalgamations Act enacted in 2013. However, the legislation excluded "resort municipalities" like Victoria Beach and the government allowed some of the new amalgamated municipalities to form with a combined population under 1,000.

Local government districts

Manitoba's ''Local Government Districts Act'', enacted in 1987, defines a local government district (LGD) as "an area or areas that is or are wholly or partly in unorganized territory or in a disorganized municipality" with inhabitants. LGDs are incorporated by Manitoba's Lieutenant Governor in Council through passage of a regulation. Manitoba has two LGDs: Mystery Lake and

Pinawa Pinawa is a local government district and small community of 1,331 residents (2016 census) located in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. It is 110 kilometres north-east of Winnipeg. The town is situated on the Canadian Shield within the western boundar ...

. For municipal statistical purposes, Mystery Lake is considered a rural municipality while Pinawa is considered an urban municipality.

Notes

References

External links

Association of Manitoba Municipalities
{{Navboxes , title = Articles related to municipalities in Manitoba , state = expanded , list1 = {{Manitoba {{Canada topic, List of municipalities in *

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...