Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35

The Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35 (2016 population: 472) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 1 and SARM Division No. 1. It is located in the southeast portion of the province.

Benson No. 35
Rural municipality
Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35
Location of the RM of Benson No. 35 in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 49.392°N 103.016°W / 49.392; -103.016[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Census division	1
SARM division	1
Federal riding	Souris—Moose Mountain
Provincial riding	Cannington Estevan
Formed[2]	December 13, 1909
Government [3]
• Reeve	David Hoffort
• Governing body	RM of Benson No. 35 Council
• Administrator	Chantel Walsh
• Office location	Benson
Area  (2016)[4]
• Land	836.39 km2 (322.93 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[4]
• Total	472
• Density	0.6/km2 (2/sq mi)
Time zone	CST
• Summer (DST)	CST
Postal code	S0C 0L0
Area code(s)	306 and 639

History

The RM of Benson No. 35 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 13, 1909.^[2]

Heritage properties

There is one historical property within the RM.

• St. Luke's Lutheran Church - Constructed in 1929, in the hamlet of Woodley, Saskatchewan.^[5]

Geography

Communities and localities

The following unincorporated communities are within the RM.

Localities

• Benson
• Bryant
• Cullen
• Woodley

Demographics

Population history
(1981–2016)

Year	Pop.	±%
1981	651	—
1986	595	−8.6%
1991	496	−16.6%
1996	435	−12.3%
2001	387	−11.0%
2006	434	+12.1%
2011	490	+12.9%
2016	472	−3.7%
Source: Statistics Canada via Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics[6][7]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the RM of Benson No. 35 had a population of 450 living in 171 of its 212 total private dwellings, a change of -4.7% from its 2016 population of 472. With a land area of 808.53 km² (312.18 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.6/km² (1.4/sq mi) in 2021.^[8]

In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Benson No. 35 recorded a population of 472 living in 177 of its 196 total private dwellings, a -3.7% change from its 2011 population of 490. With a land area of 836.39 km² (322.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.6/km² (1.5/sq mi) in 2016.^[4]

Economy

Agriculture plays an important role in the rural municipality with 207,200 acres (95%) of land in under cultivation. There are also 300 oil wells in the municipality.^[9]

Government

The RM of Benson No. 35 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the first Friday of every month.^[3] The reeve of the RM is David Hoffort while its administrator is Chantel Walsh.^[3] The RM's office is located in Benson.^[3]

Transportation

The two airports within the rural municipality are the Estevan (Blue Sky) Aerodrome and Estevan/Bryant Airport.

References

1. "Pre-packaged CSV files - CGN, Canada/Province/Territory (cgn_sk_csv_eng.zip)". Government of Canada. July 24, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
2. "Rural Municipality Incorporations (Alphabetical)". Saskatchewan Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
3. "Municipality Details: RM of Benson No. 35". Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
4. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Saskatchewan)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
5. Horizon St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6. "Saskatchewan Census Population" (PDF). Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
7. "Saskatchewan Census Population". Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
8. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
9. Sask Biz