Town of Banff

The Town of Banff

The Town of Banff is Canada's first incorporated municipality within a national park.

We are located in Canada's first and most visited national park. The park is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town is both a service centre for park visitors, and home to more than 8,000 local residents. The town was incorporated on January 1, 1990. But Banff has been around for 126 years, and prior to incorporation, the townsite was governed by Parks Canada.

No private property

Because the town rests inside the national park, there is no freehold land. The town pays $550,000 annually to the Government of Canada to lease the land within its municipal boundaries. There is no private ownership of land in the park.

Fixed boundary

Banff is 3.93 square kilometres in area. Its boundaries are fixed by federal law. The local government does not have annexation or expropriation authority to expand its land base.

Need to reside

By federal regulation, people must demonstrate a need to reside in any national park community, including Banff. Generally, individuals must be employed (or be a dependent of someone who is employed) in the park to be eligible to live in Banff. Population growth is limited by need to reside, commercial growth cap and fixed boundaries to approximately 10,000 residents.

Commercial growth management

Banff has one of the most vigorous commercial growth management strategies of any Canadian municipality. The rate and amount of commercial growth is limited to 1.5% per annum. Currently, a random selection draw for development rights is conducted annually when the amount of proposed development exceeds the maximum allowable growth. This type of growth management technique is the only one of its kind used in Canada.