Carstairs Deputy Mayor Dean Allan said the tornado happened between Didsbury and Carstairs and damaged a dozen properties.
Some were completely destroyed. No one died, but some people sustained minor injuries, he said. He adds that animals died in the incident.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), 25 cows and 20 chickens died while one horse had to be euthanized.
Carstairs Fire Chief Jordan Schaffer says five homes were destroyed and rescue workers were able to extricate a woman from the rubble of one. When we dug under the rubble, we found her alive and well, he notes.
The total number of people affected by the tornado is not yet known.
An impressive tornado, witnesses say
Aaron Jayjack, a Manitoba tornado chaser, tracked the storm to the city of Didsbury on Saturday. This is where the storm began to grow, he says.
The tornado stayed on the ground for about 20 minutes, picking up soil and destroying homes, he adds. This is one of the most impressive tornadoes I have ever seen.
Carstairs resident Cheryl Beck saw the tornado from afar and then the damage it left in its wake.
The uprooted trees were huge and looked like someone had knocked them out like matches, she said, describing the scene as devastating. There were fallen hay bales, overturned farm vehicles, and the house was apparently badly damaged.
With information from Jade Markus, Omar Sherif and The Canadian Press