Brazeau County

Brazeau County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 11. The municipal district was incorporated on July 1, 1988 from Improvement District No. 222. On October 1, 2002, the name was changed from Municipal District of Brazeau No. 77 to Brazeau County.^[1]

Brazeau County
Municipal district
Logo
Drayton Vy Breton Lodgepole Cynthia Alsike Buck Creek Poplar Ridge Rocky Rapids
Location within Alberta
Coordinates: 53°13′20″N 114°58′37″W
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Central Alberta
Census division	11
Improvement district	December 31, 1987[1]
Municipal district	July 1, 1988[1]
Name change	October 1, 2002[1]
Government [2]
• Reeve	Bart Guyon
• Governing body	Brazeau County Council
• CAO	Rudy Friesen CAO
• Administrative office	north of Drayton Valley
Area  (2021)[3]
• Land	3,000.14 km2 (1,158.36 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	7,179
• Density	2.4/km2 (6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Website	brazeau.ab.ca

It is named for the Brazeau River, in turn named for Joseph Brazeau, a linguist associated with the Palliser Expedition.^[4]

History

Brazeau County encompasses an area that was originally under the jurisdiction of three neighbouring municipalities.^[5] In the mid-1980s, residents of the southwest portion of Parkland County and the west portion of Leduc County were growing weary of perceived poor service provision as a result of being located significant distances from their municipal headquarters in Stony Plain and Leduc respectively.^[5] After much lobbying and petitions over approximately five years, lands were severed from Parkland County and Leduc County, as well as a small portion of Yellowhead County to the west,^[5] to create Improvement District No. 222 on December 31, 1987, which incorporated as the Municipal District of Brazeau No. 77 six months later on July 1, 1988.^[1] The municipality subsequently changed its name to Brazeau County on October 1, 2002.^[1]

Geography

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by Brazeau County.[6] Cities none Towns Drayton Valley Villages Breton Summer villages none

The following hamlets are located within Brazeau County.[6] Hamlets Buck Creek Cynthia Lodgepole Poplar Ridge Rocky Rapids Violet Grove

The following localities are located within Brazeau County.^[7]

Localities

Alsike Antross Beaver Estates Berrymoor Birch Field Estates Birchwood Village Greens Boggy Hall Brazeau Dam Carnwood Cottonwood Subdivision Country Classic Estates Country Style Trailer Court Easyford

Fairway Meadows Lindale Meadow Land Acres Parview Estates Pembina Pleasant View Rex Block River Ridge Subdivision Round Valley Valley Drive Valley Drive Acres West Bank Acres

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Brazeau County had a population of 7,179 living in 2,860 of its 3,167 total private dwellings, a change of -7.6% from its 2016 population of 7,771. With a land area of 3,000.14 km² (1,158.36 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.4/km² (6.2/sq mi) in 2021.^[3]

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Brazeau County had a population of 7,771 living in 2,930 of its 3,194 total private dwellings, a 9% change from its 2011 population of 7,132. With a land area of 3,005.35 km² (1,160.37 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.6/km² (6.7/sq mi) in 2016.^[8]

Visible minority and Aboriginal population (Canada 2006 Census)
Population group		Population	% of total population
White		6,425	91.2%
Visible minority group Source:[9]	South Asian	15	0.2%
	Chinese	30	0.4%
	Black	45	0.6%
	Filipino	20	0.3%
	Latin American	0	0%
	Arab	0	0%
	Southeast Asian	0	0%
	West Asian	0	0%
	Korean	0	0%
	Japanese	0	0%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	0	0%
	Multiple visible minority	0	0%
Total visible minority population		120	1.7%
Aboriginal group Source:[10]	First Nations	110	1.6%
	Métis	375	5.3%
	Inuit	0	0%
	Aboriginal, n.i.e.	0	0%
	Multiple Aboriginal identity	10	0.1%
Total Aboriginal population		500	7.1%
Total population		7,045	100%

See also

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