The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (abbreviated RMWB) is a specialized municipality in northeast Alberta, Canada. It is the largest

regional municipality A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place. R ...

in Canada by area (105650.88km2 , this number includes Wood Buffalo Nation Park of Canada) and is home to

oil sand Oil sands are a type of unconventional oil, unconventional petroleum deposit. They are either loose sands, or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with bitumen (a dense and ...

deposits known as the

Athabasca oil sands The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventi ...

History

The ''Municipality of Wood Buffalo'' was incorporated as a specialized municipality on April 1, 1995 as a result of the

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

of the City of

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significa ...

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 (RM) of Wood Buffalo is in the northeast corner of the province of Alberta. It borders the 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 ...

to the east; the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

to the north; Improvement District No. 24 (

Wood Buffalo National Park Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest national park of Canada at . It is in northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories. Larger in area than Switzerland, it is the second-largest national park in the world. The park was estab ...

Mackenzie County Mackenzie County is a specialized municipality in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 17, along the Mackenzie Highway. The municipal office is located in the hamlet of Fort Vermilion. History Originally ''Improvement ...

, and the

Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 The Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 is a List of municipal districts in Alberta, municipal district (MD) occupying a remote area in central northern Alberta, Canada. Located in Division No. 17, Alberta, Census Division 17 north of the ...

to the west; and

Athabasca County Athabasca County is a municipal district in north central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Edmonton and is in Census Division No. 13. Prior to an official renaming on December 1, 2009, Athabasca County was officially known as the ...

and the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 to the south. The

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') in Alberta, Canada, originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in nationa ...

meanders northward through the central portion of the RM of Wood Buffalo before emptying into

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

. Some of its water bodies include Christina Lake, Gardiner Lakes,

Garson Lake Garson may refer to: Places * Garson, Manitoba, Canada * Garson, Ontario, Canada Other uses * Garson (surname) See also * Garçon (disambiguation) Garçon, the French word for "boy", may refer to: People * Émile Garçon (1851–1922), ...

Gipsy Lake {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

, Gordon Lake, Gregoire Lake,

McClelland Lake McClelland Lake is located near Williams in North Central Arizona, United States. Fish species * Largemouth Bass * Crappie * Sunfish * Catfish (Channel) * Northern Pike * Yellow Perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly ...

Namur Lake Namur (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Namur Province, Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of W ...

Richardson Lake Richardson Lake is a lake in Meeker County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Richardson Lake was named for William Richardson, a pioneer who settled there. See also *List of lakes in Minnesota This is a list of lakes of Minnesota. Although pr ...

, and Winefred Lake (also partially within

Lac La Biche County Lac La Biche County is a List of specialized municipalities in Alberta, specialized municipality within Division No. 12, Alberta, Division No. 12 in northern Alberta, Canada. It was established through the amalgamation of the Lac La Biche, Alberta ...

and the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87). Discharging northward from Lake Athabasca is Riviere des Rochers, which at its confluence with the

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

becomes the

Slave River The Slave River is a Canadian river that flows from the confluence of the and Peace River in northeastern Alberta and runs into Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. The river's name is thought to derive from the name for the Slavey g ...

. 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 McKay ( ) or Fort MacKay is a community in northeast Alberta, Canada, located at the confluence of the Athabasca and MacKay rivers. It is approximately north of Fort McMurray via Highway 63 and Fort McKay Road. The community has an eleva ...

, 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 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 ...

*none ;

Towns 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 ...

*none ;

Villages 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 village ...

*none ; Summer villages *none The following

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

are located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: ;

Hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

* Conklin *

Fort Chipewyan Fort Chipewyan , commonly referred to as Fort Chip, is an unincorporated hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada, within the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo. History Fort Chipewyan is one of the oldest European settlements in the Provi ...

(

urban service area The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal distr ...

) * Gregoire Lake Estates * Janvier South * Saprae Creek

The following

localities Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

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 Bitumount is an abandoned industrial site on the east bank of the Athabasca River about north of Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Between 1925 and the 1950s, it was the site of early attempts to extract bitumen from the Athabasca oi ...

* Brièreville *Chard *Charron * Cheecham *Christina Crossing *Corbetts *Devenish *Dog Head *

Draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

*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 A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is necessary betw ...

*Willow Trail *Wolyn The following settlements are within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: *Chipewyan *Fitzgerald (Smith Landing) *Janvier South *Mariana *McKay *St. Bruno Farm (also partially within Improvement District No. 24)

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

have the following

Indian reserves In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." R ...

within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: * Allison Bay 219 * Charles Lake 225 * Chipewyan 201 * Chipewyan 201A * Chipewyan 201B * Chipewyan 201C * Chipewyan 201D * Chipewyan 201E * Chipewyan 201F *

Chipewyan 201G Chipewyan 201G is an Indian reserve of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta, located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. It is on the east bank of the Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') ...

* Clearwater 175 * Collin Lake 223 *

Cornwall Lake 224 Cornwall Lake 224 is an Indian reserve of the Mikisew Cree First Nation in Alberta, located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (abbreviated RMWB) is a specialized municipality in north ...

* Cowper Lake 194A * Devil's Gate 220 * Dog Head 218 * Fort McKay 174 * Fort McKay 174C * Fort McKay 174D *

Gregoire Lake 176 Gregoire Lake 176 is an Indian reserve of the Fort McMurray First Nation in Alberta, located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. It is 35 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray. In the 2016 Canadian Census The 2016 Canadian census ...

* Hokedhe Tue 196E * House River Indian Cemetery 178 *

Janvier 194 Janvier 194 is an Indian reserve of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation in Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. It is southwest of Fort McMurray. History People began migrating to the Janvier area i ...

* K'i Tue 196D * Li Deze 196C * Namur Lake 174B * Namur River 174A *

Old Fort 217 Old Fort 217 is an Indian reserve of the Mikisew Cree First Nation in Alberta, located within Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. In the 2016 Canadian Census, it is unpopulated. It is located north of Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is a ...

* Sandy Point 221 * Thabacha Nare 196A * Thebathi 196 * Tsu K'adhe Tue 196F * Tsu Tue 196G * Winefred Lake 194B

Hydrology

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is in the lower basin of the Athabasca River watershed and Fort McMurray is the largest community on the banks of the river.The Athabasca River originates in

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park, in Alberta, Canada, is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains, spanning . It was established as Jasper Forest Park in 1907, renamed as a national park in 1930, and declared a UNESCO world heritage site ...

. It is fed by the

Athabasca Glacier The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal Glacier terminus, 'toes' of the Columbia Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently loses depth at a rate of about per year and has Retreat of glaciers since 1850, receded ...

within the

Columbia Icefield The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains. Located within the Canadian Rocky Mountains astride the Continental Divide along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, the ice field lies partly ...

, at an altitude of approximately . The river travels before discharging through the

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

system into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

through the

. Its course is marked by rapids, impeding navigation southwest of Fort McMurray. Local rivers include the Hangingstone River, Clearwater River and

Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...

, a tributary of the Clearwater River. 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 (WSC station 07CD004). 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,Clearwater river is named because of its "unspoiled, clear-water river in a pristine isolated "wilderness setting of spectacular beauty." designated as part of the

Canadian Heritage Rivers System The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS; ) is a joint program administered by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river heritage, to give them national recognition, and to e ...

, 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 The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, 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 (RM) 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

Immigration

Wood Buffalo is home to almost 2,000 recent immigrants (arriving between 2001 and 2006) who now make up more than 3% of the population. About 21% of these immigrants came from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, while about 10% came from each of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and about 9% came from

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and about 8% from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, about 6% from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and about 3% came from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Religion

More than 80% of residents identified as

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

at the time of the 2001 census while almost 17% indicated they had no religious affiliation. For specific denominations

counted 15,880

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(37.4%), 4,985

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

(11.7%), 4,225 for the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

(9.9%), 1,730

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived ...

(4.1%), 1,195

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

(2.8%), 965 for the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

(2.3%), 900

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

s (2.1%), 690

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s (1.6%), 350

Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(0.8%), and 320

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

s (0.8%).

Economy

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is home to vast

deposits, also known as the

Athabasca Oil Sands The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventi ...

, helping to make the region one of the fastest growing industrial areas in Canada.

Attractions

Wood Buffalo National Park is adjacent to the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo to the northwest. The following provincial protected areas are also within the RM of Wood Buffalo: *

Birch Mountains Wildland Provincial Park Birch Mountains Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada. The park was established on 20 December 2000 with an area of . On 14 May 2018, the park was enlarged slightly to an area of . The park was crea ...

* Birch River Wildland Provincial Park *

Dillon River Wildland Provincial Park Dillon River Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada. It was established on 14 May 2018 and has an area of . The Government of Alberta announced the park's creation through its approval of the '' Lower ...

* Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Provincial Park * Gipsy Lake Wildland Provincial Park * Grand Rapids Wildland Provincial Park * Gregoire Lake Provincial Park *

Kazan Wildland Provincial Park Kazan Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in northern Alberta, Canada. It was established on 14 May 2018 and is a large park with an area of . This park contains large lakes, sand deposits, wetlands and bedrock outcrops. Also ...

Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park is a wildland provincial park in Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Wood Buffalo, northern Alberta, Canada. Kitaskino, means “our land” in Cree language, Cree and Nuwenëné means “our land ...

* Marguerite River Wildland Provincial Park *

Richardson Wildland Provincial Park Richardson Wildland Park is a wildland provincial park in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, northern Alberta, Canada. It was established 14 May 2018 and has an area of . Two previous parks, Maybelle River Wildland Provincial Park and R ...

* Stony Mountain Wildland Provincial Park * Whitemud Falls Wildland Provincial Park

Government

The municipality's current mayor is Sandy Bowman, who was first elected in 2021. Its first mayor upon its creation in 1995 was

Guy Boutilier Guy Carleton Boutilier (February 28, 1959 – March 8, 2024) was a Canadian politician, who sat as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1997 to 2012. He was elected as a Progressive Conservative, and served in several capacitie ...

, who had previously been the mayor of Fort McMurray and was subsequently elected as the region's provincial MLA. Doug Faulkner served as mayor from 1997 to 2004, and

Melissa Blake Melissa Blake is the former mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray. Blake was elected as a municipal councillor in 1998 and re-elected to council in 2001. She was elected mayor in 2004 and would serve fo ...

from 2004 to 2017. In the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

, the municipality was served by the electoral district of

Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post First-pa ...

until 2010, when a second district,

Fort McMurray-Conklin Fort McMurray-Conklin was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using first-past-the-post balloting from 2012 to 2019. History The electoral district was ...

, was created due to population growth. The new riding then became

Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche is a current provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district will be one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post m ...

in 2018. Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo is currently represented by

Tany Yao Tany Yao (born 1971) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 and 2019 Alberta general elections to represent the electoral district of Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo in the 29th and 30th Alberta Legislatures. Background Yao was born ...

and Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche is represented by

Brian Jean Brian Michael Jean (born February 3, 1963) is a Canadian politician who, since June 9, 2023, has been Alberta's minister of Energy and Minerals. He has served as member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche since ...

. Both MLAs are former members of the

Wildrose Party The Wildrose Party (legally Wildrose Political Association, formerly the ''Wildrose Alliance Political Association'') was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Alb ...

and are current members of the

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...

. As of 2016, the municipality is located in the federal electoral district of

Fort McMurray—Cold Lake Fort McMurray—Cold Lake is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It was created in 2012, mostly from the more urbanized portion of Fort McMurray—Athabasca ( ...

. The riding has been represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

by former UCP MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche Laila Goodridge of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...