More than 80% of residents identified as Christian at the time of the 2001 census while almost 17% indicated they had no religious affiliation. For specific denominations Statistics Canada counted 15,880 Roman Catholics (37.4%), 4,985 Anglicans (11.7%), 4,225 for the United Church of Canada (9.9%), 1,730 Pentecostals (4.1%), 1,195 Baptists (2.8%), 965 for the Salvation Army (2.3%), 900 Lutherans (2.1%), 690 Muslims (1.6%), 350 Latter-day Saints (0.8%), and 320 Presbyterians (0.8%). Economy The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is home to vast oil sand deposits, also known as the Athabasca Oil Sands, helping to make the region one of the fastest growing industrial areas in Canada. Attractions Wood Buffalo National Park is adjacent to the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo to the northwest. The following provincial protected areas are also within the RM of Wood Buffalo: Birch Mountains Wildland Provincial Park Birch River Wildland Provincial Park Dillon River Wildland Provincial Park Fidler-Greywillow Wildland Provincial Park Gipsy Lake Wildland Provincial Park Grand Rapids Wildland Provincial Park Gregoire Lake Provincial Park Kazan Wildland Provincial Park Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park Marguerite River Wildland Provincial Park Richardson Wildland Provincial Park Stony Mountain Wildland Provincial Park Whitemud Falls Wildland Provincial Park Government The municipality's current mayor is Sandy Bowman, who was first elected in 2021. Its first mayor upon its creation in 1995 was Guy Boutilier, who had previously been the mayor of Fort McMurray and was subsequently elected as the region's provincial MLA. Doug Faulkner served as mayor from 1997 to 2004, and Melissa Blake from 2004 to 2017. In the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, the municipality was served by the electoral district of Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo until 2010, when a second district, Fort McMurray-Conklin, was created due to population growth. The new riding then became Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche in 2018. Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo is currently represented by Tany Yao and Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche is represented by Brian Jean. Both MLAs are former members of the Wildrose Party and are current members of the United Conservative Party. As of 2016, the municipality is located in the federal electoral district of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. The riding has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada by former UCP MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche Laila Goodridge of the Conservative Party of Canada since 2021. See also List of communities in Alberta List of specialized municipalities in Alberta Notes References External