Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government welcomes every chance to connect with municipal leaders because they are partners. Through the combined efforts of the Alberta government and municipal leaders, Smith said they can “defend this province’s unparalleled quality of life and improve things for everyone who lives here.” “When I’m in a room with you and talking about Alberta, I know that we are all on the same side,” said Smith in a Tuesday speech at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) Fall Convention and Tradeshow in Edmonton. “There is something here for everyone.” She pointed out Alberta has world-class cities with several amenities, smaller cities and towns with close-knit communities, and a heartland with flat prairies, dark spruce forests, and rolling foothills. That is why millions of tourists come to Alberta every year. While some Albertans might prefer cities, she said others view rural areas as paradise. She added there are many reasons why people might prefer to live in rural areas. An example she offered was the residents in her riding Brooks-Medicine Hat. These residents have said they live where they live because they love the blue skies above them and the neighbours they know by name. She said Alberta is doing great right now. It has the highest per-capita business investment in Canada and has seen major spending on Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, which will help Strathcona County. A new data centre is being built in Rocky View County, and a new power plant has been slated for construction in Woodlands County. A large flour mill is being built in Red Deer County, a carbon capture facility being developed in Medicine Hat, and agri-food investments are coming to Brooks. While the economy is growing, she said all of Alberta is at the same time. If the benefits of living in Alberta were a secret, she said it is out now. Large numbers of people are moving to Alberta. Although this growth is fantastic, she said it is placing major strain on public services. The Alberta government announced the School Construction Accelerator Program (SCAP) to deal with exploding student enrolment growth. Over the next three budgets, it will prioritize the construction of 90 new schools and 24 modernizations or replacements, expand modular classrooms, and build more charter schools. She predicted the SCAP will create 200,000 new and modernized school spaces over the next seven years. Of course, she said it could not do any of this without its municipal partners. She had called for municipalities to do whatever they could to identify and prepare school sites for permitting, zoning, and servicing. So far, she said it has been impressed with the response it has received from municipalities about the SCAP. To elevate funding pressures on municipalities, she said the Alberta government is lowering the cost of borrowing. When its credit rating gets better, it receives lower rates. Now it will be passing on these lower rates to municipalities. She said it is committed to providing predictable, sustainable funding levels to them. That is why it replaced the Municipality Sustainability Initiative with the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF). The LGFF is tied into the Alberta government’s revenue changes, so it will keep funding levels sustainable. Smith concluded by saying Alberta’s quality of life “is among the best you will find anywhere on Earth, and our government is committed to defending it with everything we’ve got.” For rural Albertans, she said it means defending the way of life whose purpose has seldom changed in generations, which is to live freely on their own slice of Alberta. “And RMA does such important work to preserve this way of life, and you can count on our government to do the same,” she said. Smith followed up by saying when the Alberta government talked with the Quebec government about setting up its own provincial tax agency, it said it would cost $1 billion, which is the amount of money it wants to deliver in a tax cut. “So it doesn’t really make sense for us to have a separate tax collection system as a province when we’re able to piggyback on the federal, but we still have 320 different municipal tax collection systems,” she said. “I’ve had others talk to me in the past of whether there’s an opportunity for shared services.” She pointed out maybe Alberta does not require 320 property tax collection departments. Rather, she said there could be savings found this way. RMA President Paul McLauchlin started off the event by saying he was following the Alberta United Conservative Party Annual General Meeting last weekend. “And I’ve done the math at home, and there is no way that I can get 91.5% approval in my house,” said McLauchlin. “It’s because I have cats.” If people eliminate the cats, he said he has his wife, dogs, and two chinchillas and could not get 91.5% approval. He said Smith’s approval rating was an amazing accomplishment. Smith said at the RMA Fall Convention and Tradeshow in 2023 her government depends on rural municipalities’ knowledge of local issues to ensure it is meeting their priorities. .Smith says Alberta government committed to improving rural communities .“And your feedback is a big help when we explain to the federal government why its decisions are misguided, which seems to happen a lot these days as I’m sure you’re all aware,” she said. “There are also situations that call for a co-ordinated approach like this year’s wildfires.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government welcomes every chance to connect with municipal leaders because they are partners. Through the combined efforts of the Alberta government and municipal leaders, Smith said they can “defend this province’s unparalleled quality of life and improve things for everyone who lives here.” “When I’m in a room with you and talking about Alberta, I know that we are all on the same side,” said Smith in a Tuesday speech at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) Fall Convention and Tradeshow in Edmonton. “There is something here for everyone.” She pointed out Alberta has world-class cities with several amenities, smaller cities and towns with close-knit communities, and a heartland with flat prairies, dark spruce forests, and rolling foothills. That is why millions of tourists come to Alberta every year. While some Albertans might prefer cities, she said others view rural areas as paradise. She added there are many reasons why people might prefer to live in rural areas. An example she offered was the residents in her riding Brooks-Medicine Hat. These residents have said they live where they live because they love the blue skies above them and the neighbours they know by name. She said Alberta is doing great right now. It has the highest per-capita business investment in Canada and has seen major spending on Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, which will help Strathcona County. A new data centre is being built in Rocky View County, and a new power plant has been slated for construction in Woodlands County. A large flour mill is being built in Red Deer County, a carbon capture facility being developed in Medicine Hat, and agri-food investments are coming to Brooks. While the economy is growing, she said all of Alberta is at the same time. If the benefits of living in Alberta were a secret, she said it is out now. Large numbers of people are moving to Alberta. Although this growth is fantastic, she said it is placing major strain on public services. The Alberta government announced the School Construction Accelerator Program (SCAP) to deal with exploding student enrolment growth. Over the next three budgets, it will prioritize the construction of 90 new schools and 24 modernizations or replacements, expand modular classrooms, and build more charter schools. She predicted the SCAP will create 200,000 new and modernized school spaces over the next seven years. Of course, she said it could not do any of this without its municipal partners. She had called for municipalities to do whatever they could to identify and prepare school sites for permitting, zoning, and servicing. So far, she said it has been impressed with the response it has received from municipalities about the SCAP. To elevate funding pressures on municipalities, she said the Alberta government is lowering the cost of borrowing. When its credit rating gets better, it receives lower rates. Now it will be passing on these lower rates to municipalities. She said it is committed to providing predictable, sustainable funding levels to them. That is why it replaced the Municipality Sustainability Initiative with the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF). The LGFF is tied into the Alberta government’s revenue changes, so it will keep funding levels sustainable. Smith concluded by saying Alberta’s quality of life “is among the best you will find anywhere on Earth, and our government is committed to defending it with everything we’ve got.” For rural Albertans, she said it means defending the way of life whose purpose has seldom changed in generations, which is to live freely on their own slice of Alberta. “And RMA does such important work to preserve this way of life, and you can count on our government to do the same,” she said. Smith followed up by saying when the Alberta government talked with the Quebec government about setting up its own provincial tax agency, it said it would cost $1 billion, which is the amount of money it wants to deliver in a tax cut. “So it doesn’t really make sense for us to have a separate tax collection system as a province when we’re able to piggyback on the federal, but we still have 320 different municipal tax collection systems,” she said. “I’ve had others talk to me in the past of whether there’s an opportunity for shared services.” She pointed out maybe Alberta does not require 320 property tax collection departments. Rather, she said there could be savings found this way. RMA President Paul McLauchlin started off the event by saying he was following the Alberta United Conservative Party Annual General Meeting last weekend. “And I’ve done the math at home, and there is no way that I can get 91.5% approval in my house,” said McLauchlin. “It’s because I have cats.” If people eliminate the cats, he said he has his wife, dogs, and two chinchillas and could not get 91.5% approval. He said Smith’s approval rating was an amazing accomplishment. Smith said at the RMA Fall Convention and Tradeshow in 2023 her government depends on rural municipalities’ knowledge of local issues to ensure it is meeting their priorities. .Smith says Alberta government committed to improving rural communities .“And your feedback is a big help when we explain to the federal government why its decisions are misguided, which seems to happen a lot these days as I’m sure you’re all aware,” she said. “There are also situations that call for a co-ordinated approach like this year’s wildfires.”
