Rocky View County, Alberta

Rocky View County
—  Municipal district  —
View of the Rockies and Foothills
Flag Seal
Location of Rocky View County in Alberta
Coordinates: 51°02′42″N 114°03′26″W / 51.045°N 114.05722°W / 51.045; -114.05722Coordinates: 51°02′42″N 114°03′26″W / 51.045°N 114.05722°W / 51.045; -114.05722
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Calgary Region
Census division	No. 6
Established	December 1955
Incorporated	January 1956
Government[1]
– Reeve	Roland Ashdown
– Governing body	Rocky View County Council Roland Ashdown Margaret Bahcheli Greg Boehlke Rick Butler Lois Habberfield Kim Magnuson Paul D. McLean Alan D. Sacuta Earl Solberg
– CAO	Robert Coon
– Municipal seat	Calgary
Area
– Total	4,015 km2 (1,550.2 sq mi)
Population (2006)[2]
– Total	34,171
– Density	8.5/km2 (22/sq mi)
– Dwellings	11,604
Time zone	MST (UTC−7)
– Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC−6)
Website	Rocky View County

Rocky View County is a municipal district located outside of the City of Calgary, in southern Alberta. It surrounds the eastern, northern, and western parts of city. Rocky View County is part of Calgary's Census Metropolitan Area and is not a member of the Calgary Regional Partnership. Effective April 7, 2009, the council administration voted to change the region's name to Rocky View County, from the previous name of Municipal District of Rocky View No. 44.^[3][4]

History

Rocky View was named in December 1955. In a local competition to rename the newly amalgamated municipal district (the Municipal District of Calgary), "Rocky View" was submitted by Mr. Leslie Burwash, a local student from Balzac. Second and third place proposals were "Bow View" and "Chinook". The name "Rocky View" is descriptive - most areas within the Municipal District of Rocky View have panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, looking to the west.

Infrastructure

Rocky View is strategically located on the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, and is crossed north south by Highway 2 and east west by Highway 1; another major highway in Rocky View is Highway 9, which is a major transit route between Calgary and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Both the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway have their main north/south routes from Calgary to Edmonton through Rocky View County, as well; the CPR is routed through Airdrie and Crossfield, while the CNR is routed through the town of Irricana and the village of Beiseker.

Communities

The following communities are located in Rocky View County:^[5]

Cities

• Airdrie

Towns

• Chestermere
• Cochrane
• Crossfield
• Irricana

Villages

• Beiseker

Hamlets

• Balzac
• Bottrel
• Bragg Creek
• Cochrane Lake
• Conrich
• Dalemead
• Dalroy
• Delacour
• Indus
• Janet
• Kathyrn
• Keoma
• Langdon
• Madden

Designated places

• Artists View Park West
• Heritage Woods
• High Point Estates

Country residential areas

• Bearspaw-Glendale
• Elbow Valley
• Springbank

Demographics

According to the 2006 federal census, Rocky View County had a population of 34,171 living in 11,604 dwellings, a 14.2% increase from 2001. It has a land area of 4,014.89 km² (1,550.16 sq mi) and a population density of 8.5 /km² (22 /sq mi).^[2]

Rocky View County also conducted its own municipal census in 2006, which resulted in a population of 34,597.^[6]

Politics

Local

Rocky View County has a council consisting of elected officials representing nine electoral divisions. Municipal elections, organized by Alberta Municipal Affairs, are held every third years, the last being October 18, 2010.

Each October, the councillors elect the reeve. The position of deputy reeve is also an elected position, voted on by the councillors every year in October.

The current Rocky View Council consists of:

• Reeve Roland "Rolly" Ashdown - Division 4
• Deputy Reeve Rick Butler - Division 1
• Councillor Kim Magnuson - Division 2
• Councillor Margaret Bahcheli - Division 3
• Councillor Earl Solberg - Division 5
• Councillor Greg Boehlke - Division 6
• Councillor Lois Habberfield - Division 7
• Councillor Alan David Sacuta - Division 8
• Councillor Paul Douglas McLean - Division 9

Provincial

Rocky View County is served by the Provincial Electoral Divisions of Airdrie-Chestermere and Foothills-Rocky View.

Rocky View is currently represented in the Alberta Legislature by Wildrose Alliance MLA Rob Anderson in Airdrie-Chestermere and Progressive Conservative Ted Morton in Foothills-Rocky View.

Federal

Rocky View is served by three Federal Electoral Divisions: Crowfoot, Macleod and Wild Rose.

Rocky View's northeast and southeast (east of Calgary, north of the Bow River) is part of the Federal Electoral district (also known as a riding) of Crowfoot. This riding has been represented by Kevin Sorenson, who was originally elected as a member of the Reform Party then again as a member of the Canadian Alliance and currently of the Conservative Party.

Rocky View's southwest (south of the Bow River and west of Calgary) is part of the Federal Electoral district (also known as a riding) of Macleod. This riding has been represented by Ted Menzies, who was originally elected as a member of the Canadian Alliance and currently of the Conservative Party.

Rocky View's northwest is part of the Federal Electoral district (also known as a riding) of Wild Rose. This riding is represented by Blake Richards, who was elected as a member of the Conservative Party on October 14th, 2008.

Rocky View and the Calgary Region are also represented by two Federal Senators:

Senator Bert Brown was appointed to the Senate of Canada (the Upper House) by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on July 10th, 2007.

Senator Elaine McCoy was appointed to the Senate of Canada (the Upper House) by Prime Minister Paul Martin on March 24th, 2005.

Attractions

• Airdrie Airport
• Balzac - north of Calgary
• Beiseker Airport
• Big Hill Springs Provincial Park
• Bragg Creek - Community Centre and historic downtown
• Bragg Creek Provincial Park
• Calaway Park
• Costco
• Crossiron Mills
• Pioneer Acres Museum
• Springbank Airport

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of municipal districts in Alberta

References

1. ^ "Municipal Officials Search". Alberta Municipal Affairs. November 11, 2011. http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/mc_municipal_officials_search.cfm. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Statistics Canada (Census 2006). "Rocky View No. 44 - Community Profile". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=4806014&Geo2=PR&Code2=48&Data=Count&SearchText=Rocky%20View%20No.%2044&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=4806014. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
3. ^ http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=e1b97beb-4e59-42e7-9dca-f83cf0d3d41f
4. ^ http://airdrieecho.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1535282
5. ^ Municipal Profile - Alberta Municipal Affairs
6. ^ Alberta Municipal Affairs (2009-09-15). "Alberta 2009 Official Population List". http://municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/documents/LGS/2009pop.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-12. 

External links

• Rocky View County (official website)
• Rocky View Profile (on AlbertaFirst)