Editing List of communities in Alberta (section)

==== Towns ====
{{main|List of towns in Alberta}}

According to Section 81 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), an area may incorporate as a town if:
* it has a population of 1,000 people or more; and
* the majority of its buildings are on parcels of land smaller than {{cvt|1,850|m2}}.<ref name=munact />

Essentially, towns are formed from urban communities with populations of at least 1,000 people. When a town's population exceeds 10,000 people, its council may apply to change its status to that of a [[List of cities in Alberta|city]], but the change in [[Municipal government in Canada|incorporated]] status is not mandatory.<ref name=muntypes />

Communities with shrinking populations are allowed to retain town status even if the number of residents falls below the 1,000 limit. Some of Alberta's towns have never reached a population of 1,000 people, but were incorporated as towns before the current requirement to have a population of 1,000 or more.

Alberta currently has a total of 107 towns, with a combined population totalling 466,470 as of 2019.<ref name=2019pop />

{{:List of towns in Alberta}}