Fourteen Manitoba municipalities have officially amalgamated under the Municipal Amalgamations Act.
Municipal Government Minister Stan Struthers made the controversial announcement on Wednesday.
“These amalgamations will ensure the newly created municipalities will be more efficient, which means more money invested into the services families count on,” he said.
But the amalgamations were contentious for many leaders and residents in the affected communities.
The newly amalgamated municipalities are:
• the rural municipalities (RMs) of Strathcona and Riverside to create the RM of Prairie Lakes;
• the RMs of Sifton and Oak Lake to create the RM of Sifton;
• the Village of Glenboro and the RM of South Cypress to create the Municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress;
• the RM of McCreary and the Village of McCreary to create the Municipality of McCreary;
• the RMs of Minto and Odanah to create the RM of Minto-Odanah;
• the RMs of Langford and North Cypress to create the RM of North Cypress-Langford; and
• the Town of Ste. Rose Du Lac and the RM of Ste. Rose to create the Municipality of Ste. Rose.
“Most of today’s municipal boundaries were established more than a century ago and we know municipal officials are looking for ways to modernize and evolve to meet today’s economic challenges,” said Struthers. “Through amalgamation, communities will have increased opportunities to attract business and economic development with streamlined and simplified processes, and be better able to take advantage of infrastructure funding from the federal and provincial governments.”
Struthers said some of the other ways municipalities would be strengthened through amalgamation include reinvesting administrative savings into better services; and reducing operational costs through sharing major assets like water-treatment and recreation facilities.
A total of 85 municipalities have fewer than 1,000 residents and are required to submit an amalgamation plan, Struthers said, adding it is anticipated that plans will result in a 30 per cent reduction in the number of municipalities outside Winnipeg.
– Compiled from a Government of Manitoba news release
