Fort McMurray, once named McMurray, is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality (R.M.) of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. Formerly a city, it became an urban service area when it amalgamated with Improvement District No. 143 on April 1, 1995, to create the Municipality of Wood Buffalo (renamed the R.M. of Wood Buffalo on August 14, 1996). Despite its current official designation of urban service area, many locals, politicians and the media still refer to Fort McMurray as a city.