Municipal Government

Municipal governments are local authorities created by the provinces or territories to provide services that are best managed under local control. The federal or provincial government isn’t able to know what the needs are of each community, so by letting each community have decision making control, they are able to act accordingly to each community's needs. The administration of the municipal government is handled by the municipal public service, made up of officials and employees elected or appointed by a council and organized into departments. Citizens of Canada who are over the age of 18 are able to vote. The municipal government provides management of the local police and firefighters, public health services, transportation, education management and funding school boards, local parks and recreation centres, planning and development, finance and collecting municipal taxes, public utilities and other services. In Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, the range of the municipal government has broadened to include electricity, telephone and gas services. The municipal government is made up of one mayor and multiple councillors. Each councillor represents a geographical area or neighbourhood. The number of councillors varies according to the population and geography of the area they represent. The terms of the councillors vary from province to province. There are four kinds of municipal governments; regional municipalities, local municipalities, sub local divisions, and unincorporated areas. The municipal branch, like the rest of the government of Canada, was modelled by the medieval English government.

~Veronica

Sources: Historica Canada