Strathcona County 3.79

Strathcona County is a specialized municipality in central Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park.It is located in Division No. 11 and is also part of the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area. More than half of the population lives in Sherwood Park, a large community east of Edmonton that has opted to retain hamlet status. Strathcona County was designated as a specialized municipality on January 1, 1996, in order to accommodate the specific needs of an area that includes both urban and rural territory.HistoryFirst officially recognized in 1893 by the territorial legislature as Statute Labour District #2, Strathcona County has changed immensely since its inception. In 1913 Statute Labour District #2 was renamed to Local Improvement District #517, which then, in 1943, merged with Local Improvement District #518 to become Municipal District #83 . By joining with local school divisions in 1962, Municipal District #83 officially became a county. County status was subsequently revoked in 1995 when the County Act was repealed by the provincial legislature, but was quickly returned in 1996 when the County of Strathcona #20 officially changed its name to Strathcona County and received Specialized Municipality status.On March 29, 2007, Strathcona County announced plans to create an entirely new urban community from scratch to complement Sherwood Park. This development is supposed to be more dense and pedestrian friendly, and could hold up to 200,000 people. However, opponents have pointed out that the development will destroy land of high agricultural value.