The Rural Municipality of Lipton No. 217 (2016 population: ) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 6 and SARM Division No. 1.

History

The RM of Lipton No. 217 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 11, 1911. There are three historical sites located within the RM.

Fort Qu'Appelle-Touchwood Hills Trail

A section of the Carlton Trail from the Touchwood Hills to the Fishing Lakes in Qu'Appelle Valley was called the Fort Qu'Appelle-Touchwood Hills Trail and a portion of it passed through the RM of Lipton No. 217. The route was used regularly by traders, settlers, Métis, and First Nations from the 1850s until 1890 when the railway came through the area. The Dominion Telegraph line was built alongside the trail. In 1885 General Frederick Middleton used this trail with his column of militia en route to Batoche, Saskatchewan during the North-West Rebellion. After the completion of the railway, the trail continued to be used by locals. Eventually, though, with the introduction of the automobile, the trail, and many others like it, fell into disuse and were often ploughed over. A section of the Fort Qu'Appelle-Touchwood Hills Trail is commemorated as a historic site alongside Highway 35 north of the town of Fort Qu'Appelle in the RM of Lipton No. 217. The site has a cairn and is .13 ha in size. Ruts from the Red River carts can still be seen in the prairie grass by the site.

Geography

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM. It also surrounds the Village of Dysart.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the RM of Lipton No. 217 had a population of 388 living in 168 of its 191 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 381. With a land area of 805.35 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Lipton No. 217 recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a NaN% change from its 2011 population of. With a land area of 813.69 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

Government

The RM of Lipton No. 217 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the first Tuesday of every month. The reeve of the RM is Corey Senft while its administrator is Frank Kosa. The RM's office is located in Lipton.