MD OF BIGHORN – A long-awaited review of the MD of Bighorn’s ward boundaries and council composition is gathering feedback from residents before any potential changes must be implemented and finalized in the fall.
A virtual open house is presenting three new ward boundary options, or a proposal to keep the status quo.
“It’s really important to get some feedback and to get the survey completed by our residents,” said Reeve Lisa Rosvold.
“The changes that are proposed are really impacting Ward 1 and Ward 2. So, that’s Harvie Heights, Lac Des Arcs, Dead Man’s Flats and Exshaw.”
The first option keeps the current four-ward system but sees Lac Des Arcs move from Ward 2 to join Exshaw and the former Seebe townsite in Ward 1.
This would retain two elected councillors for Ward 1, while the remaining three elected councillors continue to represent Wards 2-4.
A second option sees the MD adopt a five-ward system, moving Dead Man’s Flats to its own ward, and with each ward electing one councillor.
A third option keeps the four-ward system but Harvie Heights and Lac Des Arcs move to Ward 2 to join Exshaw and the former Seebe townsite in Ward 1. This would retain the same council makeup.
All three of these options would have Rafter Six Ranch move to Ward 3 from Ward 2.
The bulk of discussion around the review is to ensure equal council representation of Bighorn’s growing population. Between 2016 and 2021, when the last federal census was conducted, there has been a 20 per cent increase in population in the MD, from 1,324 residents to 1,598.
Most growth has been in Dead Man’s Flats, which saw a 201 per cent increase from 125 residents to 377. Ward 2 also represents Harvie Heights and Lac Des Arcs.
Rosvold is a resident of Dead Man’s Flats and was elected in 2018 to represent the ward.
“There’s been concern dating back to then about the number of residents, specifically in Ward 2, getting higher and higher with only one councillor,” she noted.
Rosvold has also flagged what she believes was a miscount of Dead Man’s Flats in the 2021 census during earlier discussions of the boundary review.
“The first thing that stood out to me was the number of people. Myself and two other residents were just curious one day and we did a little walkthrough of Dead Man’s Flats and between the three of us, we pretty much knew everyone living in all the households,” she said.
“We got to a population of about 400 people, so, I was surprised to see the census count was 377. That was, I think, in 2019, so by 2021, I was expecting the population to be well over 400.”
A deeper dive into the census revealed it counted 35 occupied single-detached houses, but Rosvold stands firm that more than that were occupied.
In 2013, development started on River’s Bend to build 75 single-detached houses in the hamlet. Those units were also zoned to include basement suites.
“It’s really hard to know how everything got broken out,” Rosvold noted. “Dead Man’s Flats was still growing at the time and lots of people were still moving into their new homes in River’s Bend.”
Statistics Canada states on its website that “data collected will inevitably contain errors,” which can occur at every stage of the census process, including creating the list of dwellings.
When Rosvold brought the issue to Bighorn administration, which included the former CAO who was let go in late 2022, it did not see the value in contesting Statistics Canada’s count or conducting its own municipal census at the time.
“Now that we’re going through these different processes where a lot hinges on our population, I think it really would have been of value to contest the census,” said Rosvold.
Any changes made to ward boundaries coming out of the review must be submitted to the province as per the Municipal Government Act by Dec. 31, 2024, in the year leading up to the next municipal election.
The review, which is being conducted by ISL Engineering, was approved at a cost of $30,000 and will also look at whether to keep the title of reeve for the MD’s chief executive officer, or change the title to mayor. The consultant has previously conducted boundary reviews for Rocky View County and Strathcona County.
If the MD keeps the status quo, Ward 1 will continue to represent Exshaw with two councillors; Ward 2 will continue to represent Harvie Heights, Dead Man’s Flats and Lac Des Arcs with one councillor; Ward 3, which is the West Jumpingpound region south of the Trans-Canada Highway and west of Highway 68, with lands between the Bow and Ghost rivers, will have one councillor; and Ward 4, which is comprised of Benchlands and MD land north of the Ghost River, will have one councillor.
Since the MD of Bighorn was created in 1988, there have been several annexations, with the last major one in 1993. The number of council seats and wards has remained the same since 1989, despite these changes.
To attend the virtual open house and complete the ward boundary survey by July 31, visit the MD’s project web page at: https://www.mdbighorn.ca/753/Ward-Boundary-and-Council-Composition-Re.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
