In Canada the granting of city status is handled by the individual
provinces and territories, so that the definitions and criteria vary widely across the country. In
British Columbia and
Saskatchewan towns can become cities after they reach a population of 5,000 people, but in
Alberta and
Ontario the requirement is 10,000.
Although it has numerous cities in the traditional sense of the term, Ontario also sometimes confers city status on primarily rural areas whose municipalities have been merged into a former
county government.
Nova Scotia has abolished the title of city altogether, with all local government taking place at the
regional municipality level.
In
Quebec, there is no legal distinction between a city and a
town, as both have the legal status of
ville. The province formerly differentiated between
ville (town) and
cité (city), but no longer does so.
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