District Municipality

A district municipality is a designation for a class of municipalities found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa.

Under provincial law, municipalities in British Columbia are to be designated "district municipalities" on incorporation if the area to be incorporated is greater than 800 hectares (8 km²) and has an average population density of less than 5 persons per hectare (500 persons per km²). Municipalities may be incorporated under different classifications under the direction of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, as is the case with the District of North Vancouver.

In Nova Scotia, a district municipality is one of four municipal status types. District municipalities and county municipalities are further considered rural municipalities. The province's twelve district municipalities were created in 1879 from six historical counties. They are referred to as municipal districts by Statistics Canada.

Currently, only one district municipality exists in Ontario – District Municipality of Muskoka. It was formerly a district, but has undergone heavy urbanization and development, particularly from tourism, as it is the heart of Ontario's cottage country. As a result, it was "upgraded" from a district (such as neighbouring Parry Sound District) to having powers similar to a regional municipality, such as York Regional Municipality.

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