Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

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. Local rivers include the Hangingstone River, Clearwater River and Christina River, a tributary of the Clearwater River.

The Hangingstone River drains an area of 1,070 km² (413 sq mi), 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, designated as part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, flows 187 km (116 mi) from its headwaters in 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."

June 2013 floods

By June 12, 2013 after many days of heavy rain, 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 high levels 30 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, causing the closure of Highway 63.

2016 wildfire

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.

Demographics

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo recorded a population of 71,589 living in 25,659 of its 30,713 total private dwellings, a change of 7000920000000099999♠9.2% from its 2011 population of 65,565. With a land area of 61,777.65 km² (23,852.48 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.2/km² (3.0/sq mi) in 2016.

The Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo's 2015 municipal census reported a population of 125,032 in the municipality, which includes permanent and shadow (non-permanent) populations of 82,724 and 42,308 residents respectively.

In the 2011 Census, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had a population of 65,565 living in 23,077 of its 28,000 total dwellings, a change of 27.3% from its 2006 population of 51,496. With a land area of 63,637.47 km² (24,570.56 sq mi), it had a population density of 1.0/km² (2.7/sq mi) in 2011.

Population controversy

The determination of the RM of Wood Buffalo's population has twice been subject to controversy since 2007. First, Statistics Canada's March 2007 release of the population and dwelling counts from the 2006 census reported an overall population that was 18,000 residents fewer than the number of permanent residents the municipality counted in its own census conducted in 2006.

Second, the RM of Wood Buffalo published a total population of 103,334 as a result of its 2008 municipal census, which included both its permanent and non-permanent (shadow) populations. Alberta Municipal Affairs rejected the census result as the total population was generated through the use of extrapolation instead of door-to-door census enumeration.

Visible minorities and Aboriginal population

As of the 2006 census, nearly 11% of residents identified themselves as visible minorities and more than 10% of residents identified as Aboriginal.

Mother tongue

Nearly 85% of residents identified English, and 3% identified French, as their first language. The next most common languages are Cree, Spanish and Arabic at 1.2% each; Tagalog and Chinese at 0.8% each; Dene/Chipewyan and Urdu at 0.6% each, and German at 0.5%.

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, while about 10% came from each of Pakistan and the Philippines, and about 9% came from Venezuela, and about 8% from South Africa, about 6% from China, and about 3% came from Colombia.

Religion

More than 80% of residents identified as Christian at the time of the 2001 census while almost 17% indicated they had no religious affiliation. For specific denominations Statistics Canada counted 15,880 Roman Catholics (37.4%), 4,985 Anglicans (11.7%), 4,225 for the United Church of Canada (9.9%), 1,730 Pentecostals (4.1%), 1,195 Baptists (2.8%), 965 for the Salvation Army (2.3%), 900 Lutherans (2.1%), 690 Muslims (1.6%), 350 Latter-day Saints (0.8%), and 320 Presbyterians (0.8%).

Economy

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is home to vast oil sand deposits, also known as the Athabasca Oil Sands, helping to make the region one of the fastest growing industrial areas in Canada.

Government

The municipality's current mayor is Melissa Blake, who has served since 2004. Its first mayor upon its creation in 1995 was Guy Boutilier, 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.

In the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, the municipality was served by the electoral district of Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo until 2010, when a second district, Fort McMurray-Conklin, was created due to population growth. Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo is currently represented by Tany Yao, while Fort McMurray-Conklin is represented by Alberta's Official Opposition Leader Brian Jean. Both were elected as members of the Wildrose Party in the 2015 provincial election.

As of 2016, the municipality is located in the federal electoral district of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, which is currently represented in the Canadian House of Commons by David Yurdiga of the Conservative Party of Canada.