Dates of Founding and/or Dissolution:
The Department of Municipal Affairs was established in 1912 under the Department of Municipal Affairs Act (S.A. 1912, c. 11), which received Royal Assent on December 20, 1911.
Functional Responsibility:
The department was established to assist local governments in performing their roles. The newly created Department of Municipal Affairs administered four Acts: the Town Act, Village Act, Rural Municipalities Act, and Local Improvement Act. At this time, the department functioned to levy and collect local improvement taxes in unorganized areas, taxes under the Educational Tax Act on lands outside of organized school districts, and assist villages, rural school districts, and local improvement districts in the collection of tax arrears. Under the enabling legislation, the department was charged with the yearly inspection of the records of every municipality in the province. The department had four divisions: Taxation, General Administration, Finance, and Municipal Inspections.
The department's functional responsibility has evolved over time. This has influenced the department's administrative and organizational structure. Many of the initial functions of 1912 still exist within the department today. As the number of functions the department was charged with increased, new branches and divisions were formed.
After the formation of the Department of Municipal Affairs, a three-year period of rural municipal organization began. The system of organization was defined in the Town, Village, and Municipal Districts Act. The result of this process was the incorporation of numerous municipal entities.
The Supplementary Revenue Act of 1918 was designed to raise additional revenue for the provincial government. The Act gave the department the responsibility of processing the remittance of taxes levied by municipalities on real property.
The department became involved in Veterans Affairs in 1918. Under the Soldiers' Home Tax Exemption Act (S.A. 1918, c. 40), veterans received certain exemptions from property taxation. The Department of Municipal Affairs administered this duty. In later years, there were similar exemptions for World War II veterans under the Soldiers' Relief Act (S.A. 1940, c. 4). This Act was repealed in 1980.
In 1937, the Alberta Government Employment Bureau was transferred to Municipal Affairs. For a time, the department had administered the function of an employment agency for the citizens of Alberta. It was transferred to Public Health in the same year.
Municipal Affairs administered the Local Authorities Investment in War Loans Act (S.A. 1942, c. 6). Under this statute, the department could allow local authorities to use surplus revenues to purchase war bonds. This Act was repealed in 1953.
The Debtors' Assistance Board was established under the jurisdiction of Municipal Affairs. The predecessor to this organization was the Debt Adjustment Board created in 1937, also under the jurisdiction of Municipal Affairs. The Debtors' Assistance Board advised and assisted debtors in adjusting their debts in order to reach amicable arrangements with their creditors. The board also acted as an intermediary in negotiations between debtors and creditors or courts. The Debtors' Assistance Board was transferred to the Ministry of the Attorney General in 1950.
The function of civil defence and disaster planning was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Municipal Affairs from 1951 to 1957. The Civil Defence and Disaster Act (S.A. 1951, c. 10) provided that the minister could enter into agreements with the government of Canada in order to develop a comprehensive plan. The Act also permitted local authorities to establish their own organizations. It was then transferred to the charge of the Ministry of Agriculture. The entity was reestablished under Municipal Affairs from 1968 until 1971, and then once again transferred to Agriculture.
The department became involved in the licensing of mobile construction equipment in 1957; this function was repealed in 1979. In 1957, mobile homes were also subject to licensing under the Department of Municipal Affairs. This function ceased in 1959 when the Act creating this responsibility was repealed.
In 1945, three statutes established the basis for provincial housing policy. The Minister of Municipal Affairs was charged with facilitating the organization of municipal government into housing associations to enable Alberta's participation within the National Housing Act. In 1952, Municipal Affairs shared responsibility for housing with the Department of Economic Affairs. The Department of Economic Affairs was abolished in 1959 and full responsibility for the Housing Act (S.A. 1952, c. 38) was transferred to Municipal Affairs.
Metis were given land for settlement in 1938. The Metis Rehabilitation Branch was established under the Department of Public Health and Welfare in 1944. The responsibility for Metis settlement areas was transferred to the Department of Municipal Affairs in 1980 and the Metis Development Branch was formed.
In 1992, government reorganization dissolved the department, known since 1973 as
the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. Some of the functions of this department were transferred to the Department of Municipal Affairs. These functions became a division of the Department of Municipal Affairs.
In 1993, the government of Alberta consolidated and transferred the administration of legislation governing its major registries to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Alberta Registries became a division of Municipal Affairs. At the time of its formation, Alberta Registries included the administration of Motor Vehicles, Vital Statistics, Corporate Registry, Land Titles, Personal Property Registry, and Land Information Alberta. Alberta Registries was transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly created department of Government Services, renamed Service Alberta in 2006.
Municipal Affairs managed the function of information management and privacy within the government of Alberta throughout the 1990s. This function was transferred to the Department of Government Services in 2001.
Almost a century after its establishment, Municipal Affairs continues to have functional divisions related to property taxation, general administration, finance, and municipal services. The department has evolved over the years, increasing the number of divisions administered to accommodate expanded functional responsibility.
Predecessor and Successor Bodies:
The Local Improvement Branch under the jurisdiction of Public Works administered functions that in 1912 would become the functions of the Department of Municipal Affairs.
Administrative Relationships:
The Minister of Municipal Affairs is a member of the Executive Council appointed by the Premier and is responsible for the Department of Municipal Affairs and the Municipal Government Board. The Minister of Municipal Affairs reports to the Legislative Assembly.
Administrative Structure:
The Department of Municipal Affairs has had a hierarchical structure since its inception. The administrative structure evolved from branches reporting to the minister to more complex reporting lines that included branches, divisions, and other entities administered by the minister, associate minister, or deputy minister. The first twenty years were spent organizing the first four branches of the department. At the end of the century, the department had eight functional divisions and several other ministry entities. The department's major reorganizations occurred in 1973 and 1994.
By 2001, the Department of Municipal Affairs included two major divisions, each with a number of branches. Local Government Services is responsible for providing support and advice to municipalities and Improvement Districts to help them develop sustainable and effective local government for Albertans. Public Safety is responsible for providing a framework of safety codes and standards to ensure that buildings, facilities, and associated equipment are built, operated, and safely maintained. It also provides disaster services programs that help Albertans prepare for and recover from disasters and emergencies.
Names of the Corporate bodies
Department of Municipal Affairs 1911-2006
Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing 2006-2008
Department of Municipal Affairs 2008-present
Also referred to as Alberta Municipal Affairs
Names of Chief Officers:
Ministers of Municipal Affairs
Archibald J. McLean 1911-1912
Charles Allan Stewart 1912-1913
Wilfrid Gariepy 1913-1918
Alexander Grant MacKay 1918-1920
Charles Richmond Mitchell 1920-1921
Richard Gavin Reid 1921-1923
Herbert Greenfield 1923-1925
Richard Gavin Reid 1925-1934
Hugh Wright Allen 1935-1935
Charles Cockroft 1935-1937
Joseph Lucien Paul Maynard 1937-1943
Clarence Edgar Gerhart 1943-1954
Edgar W. Hinman 1954-1955
Alfred John Hooke 1955-1967
Edgar H. Gerhart 1967-1968
Harry Edwin Strom 1968
Edgar H. Gerhart 1968-1969
Frederick Charles Colborne 1969-1971
David John Russell 1971-1975
Archibald D. (Dick) Johnston 1975-1979
Marvin Everard Moore 1979-1982
Julian Gregory Josaphat Koziak1982-1986
Neil S. Crawford 1986-1987
Dennis L. Anderson 1987-1989
Raymond Albert Speaker 1989-1992
Richard D. Orman (Acting) 1992
Richard S. Fowler 1992
Stephen C. West 1992-1994
Thomas G. Thurber 1994-1997
Iris Evans 1997-1999
Walter Paszkowski 1999-2001
Guy Boutilier 2001-2004
Rob Renner 2004-2006
Ray Danyluk 2006-present
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