Municipal Regional Counties (Municipalités régionales de comté, or MRCs) are Quebec's regional tier of government, providing planning and service coordination across groups of local municipalities. Quebec has 87 MRCs covering most of the province outside major urban centres. MRCs are governed by councils composed of mayors from member municipalities. Their responsibilities include regional land use planning (schéma d'aménagement), watershed management, property assessment, and sometimes shared services like emergency services or economic development. MRCs represent an intermediate level between local municipalities and the province, facilitating regional cooperation while allowing local municipalities to retain autonomy over purely local matters.