Local government in Canada lies at a lower level than federal and provincial government. Local government includes general municipalities, as well as more specific bodies such as school boards, and regional health authorities. Local governments are administrative offices of an area smaller than a state or province. ... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... Generally a special-purpose district, also known as a special district, is a type of district differing from general-purpose districts like municipalities, counties, etc. ... This article or section should be merged with board of education A school board (or school committee) is an elected council that helps determine educational policy in a small regional area, such as a city, state, or province. ... Health regions of Canada are used to administer public health to Canadians. ...

Municipalities

Most local governments are formed by a charters or acts granted by the province or territory. Local governments are not mentioned in the Canadian Constitution other than to say they are responsibility of the provinces. Consequently, municipalities can be created, amalgamated, or disbanded at the whim of the provincial government which controls them. They are also limited in the amount of interaction they have with the federal government because this would infringe upon an area of provincial jurisdiction. A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... Regions Political culture Foreign relations Other countries Politics Portal      Canada is a federation which consists of ten provinces that, with three territories, make up the worlds second largest country in total area. ... The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Bold text The Canada wordmark, used by most agencies of the Canadian federal government. ...

Since each province is responsible for creating local governments in its own territory, the names, fuctions, and powers of local bodies vary widely across the country. Local governments generally have limited powers, namely creating local by-laws and taxation (property tax). A Bylaw (sometimes also seen as By-Law or ByLaw) is a rule governing the internal management of an organization, such as a business corporation. ... Property tax, millage tax is an ad valorem tax that an owner of real estate or other property pays on the value of the property being taxed. ...

Councils

Municipal governments are governed by elected councils. Some examples:

• county council
• city council
• borough council
• regional council

In the British Isles, a county council is a council that governs a county. ... A city council is the most common style of legislative government in a city or town. ... A borough is an administrative division used in the Canadian province of Quebec, in some states of the United States, and formerly in New Zealand. ... Map of Regional Council (Green) and Urban Council (Pink) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The Regional Council (區域市政局, RegCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services in the New Territories (excluding New Kowloon). ...

In specific provinces

• Local government in Quebec

The basic unit of local government in Quebec is the municipality, also called local municipality to distinguish it from the higher-level regional county municipality or RCM, which is said to be at the supralocal level. ...

See also

• Administrative divisions of Canada