User:Hwy43/Sandbox/Special areas of Alberta

A special area is a municipal status used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. It is a type of rural municipality created in 1938 under the authority of the Special Areas Act as a result of hardship brought upon a particular area in southeastern Alberta during the drought of the 1930s. A special area is not to be confused with a specialized municipality, which is a completely different municipal status.

Special areas may be constituted by Alberta's Lieutenant Governor in Council by an order that is published in The Alberta Gazette. They are administered under the provisions of the Special Areas Act.

Alberta has three special areas with a cumulative population of 4,729 and an average population of 1,576. Alberta's largest and smallest special areas are Special Area No. 2 and Special Area No. 3 with populations of 2,331 and 1,469 respectively.

History
The Special Areas Act of 1938 created the six special areas of Tilley East, Berry Creek, Sullivan Lake, Sounding Creek, Neutral Hills, and Bow West, which had previously been special municipal areas. In 1939, these six special areas were consolidated into the four special areas listed below. The numbers have been included with the names since 1943. The original six special areas included 3.2 million hectares, while the current three only include 2.1 million hectares.


 * Tilley East Special Area, No. 1: The northern part of this special area was withdrawn and added to Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area in 1941, and now forms the portion of Special Area No. 2 that is south of the Red Deer River. Tilley East was still a special area in 1955, but was not by 1959. This area is now part of Cypress County, formerly the Municipal District of Cypress No. 1.
 * Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area, No. 2: The eastern portion of this special area was withdrawn and added to the Sounding Creek-Neutral Hills Special Area in 1939. The northern part of Tilley East Special Area was added to this special area in 1941. It was renamed Special Area No. 2 in 1959.
 * Sounding Creek-Neutral Hills Special Area, No. 3: The eastern portion of the Berry Creek-Sullivan Lake Special Area was added to this special area in 1939. It was renamed Special Area No. 3 in 1959. In 1969, the northern portion of Special Area No. 3 became Special Area No. 4.
 * Bow West Special Area, No. 4: This area was still a special area in 1955, but was not by 1959. It is now part of Vulcan County and the Municipal District of Taber.

Special Areas Board
The Special Areas Board is the governing body of Alberta's three special areas. Although the three special areas are similar to municipal districts, their elected advisory councils are overseen by three representatives appointed by the province, under the direct authority of Alberta Municipal Affairs.

List of special areas
Alberta's three special areas, all of which are located within Census Division 4, had a combined population totalling 4,729 in 2006.