Township (Canada)

The term township, in Canada, is generally the district or area associated with a town. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semirural government within the country itself.

In Eastern Canada, a township is one form of the subdivision of a county. In Quebec, the term is canton in French.

Maritimes

Historical township boundaries are of interest in Atlantic Canada especially by those conducting genealogical research.

The historic colony of Nova Scotia (present-day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) used the term township as a subdivision of counties and as a means of attracting settlers to the colony. In Prince Edward Island, the colonial survey of 1764 established 67 townships, known as lots, and 3 royalties, which were grouped into parishes and hence into counties; the townships were geographically and politically the same. In New Brunswick, parishes have taken over as the present-day subdivision of counties, and present-day Nova Scotia uses districts as appropriate.

Ontario

In

forest fires or tornados, but are not political entities. Township municipalities, also called "political townships", are areas that have been incorporated with municipal governments, and are a lower-tier municipality (if located in a county or regional municipality, i.e. in Southern Ontario) or single-tier municipality (if located in a district, i.e. in Northern Ontario).^[1]

A township municipality may consist of a portion of one or more geographic townships united as a single entity with a single municipal administration. Often rural

reeve", not a mayor. However, the distinction is changing as many rural townships are replacing the title with "mayor" to reduce confusion. A few townships keep both titles and designate "mayor" as the head of the municipal council and use "reeve" to denote the representative to the upper tier (usually county) council.^{[citation needed}

]

The term "geographic township" is also used in reference to former political townships that were abolished or superseded as part of municipal government restructuring.^[citation needed]

Quebec

In

Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

regions.

Townships often served as the territorial basis for new municipalities, but township municipalities are no different from other types such as parish or village municipalities.

Prairies and BC

In the

Prairie Provinces and parts of British Columbia, a township is a division of the Dominion Land Survey. Townships are (mostly) 6-by-6-mile (9.7 by 9.7 km) squares, about 36 square miles (93 km²) in area. The townships are not political units (although political boundaries often follow township boundaries) but exist only to define parcels of land relatively simply. Townships are divided into 36 equal 1-by-1-mile (1.6 by 1.6 km) square parcels, known as "sections." In Saskatchewan, a political unit called a rural municipality

in general is 3 townships by 3 townships in size, or 18 miles squared, about 324 square miles (840 km²).

Three municipalities in

Spallumcheen, have "township" in their official names but legally hold the status of district municipalities

.