Airdrie is looking like Mayor-central at the moment.
Today and tomorrow, two-dozen mayors from across Alberta are convening in Airdrie for a two-day session of the Alberta Mid-Size Cities Mayors' Caucus (MSCMC).
The group of mayors represents 24 Alberta municipalities with populations above 15,000 residents (exclusing Calgary and Edmonton) and a collective population of just over one-million people.
The inter-municipal conference comes on the eve of new Premier-designate Danielle Smith's unveiling of her provincial cabinet, which will be announced on Friday at the United Conservative Party's annual general meeting.
I’ve never seen so many mayors in one place at one time. #Airdrie is hosting the Alberta Mid-Sized Cities Mayors’ Caucus this week. Here’s a brief address from Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown to kick off the two-day conference. pic.twitter.com/TwXc69Hody
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) October 20, 2022
“The government is changing, and we’re just trying to pivot and change along with it,” said Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung, who is the caucus' chair.
According to a City of Airdrie press release, the reason for this week's meetings is for the caucus to refine collective priorities and "identify opportunities on which to partner with Premier-designate Danielle Smith" in the new political landscape of the province.
“I think what we’ve tried to do as a group is find issues we all have and work on those," Genung said. "There are other organizations across the province we belong to collectively that have other issues and [they] are working on those. We don’t need to re-create the wheel here. We just work on the things that are pertinent to our communities."
As an example of that common ground, the caucus announced a resolution sponsored by the City of St. Albert and the City of Airdrie last month for the provincial government to expand the funding pot of the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) in 2024, and increase the funding stream to a 1:1 ratio tied to provincial revenue.
Genung said the mayors will be watching keenly tomorrow to see which MLAs are appointed to each ministry portfolio. Once those positions are filled, he said the real advocacy work begins.
"We’re still adjusting and waiting for answers from the province, but as soon as those announcements are made, we’ll be pouncing with those questions,” he said.
Genung stressed the MSCMC is not adversarial and not looking for a handout.
“We’re wanting to collaborate with the province," he reiterated. "We want to work with the new government. We want to work together to find efficiencies.
"As the cliché is, there’s only one taxpayer and we want to represent our communities as best we can.”
Economic drivers
After a short series of speeches, Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown spoke to local reporters about the importance of this week's caucus meeting.
Brown noted he's been a member of the caucus for as long as he's been Airdrie's mayor, and said the MSCMC has evolved from a primarily relationship-building exercise to a more advocacy-driven organization in the last year.
"We’re now on the evolution of going into an area of advocacy together to figure out how we can get a better share of the pie," Brown said. "You know the charters Edmonton and Calgary have? We want one as well."
With large-scale capital projects on the horizon for Airdrie, including a new library, fire hall, and recreation centre, and with a provincial government surplus in this year's budget, Brown said there is opportunity for mid-sized municipalities to obtain a more fair share of provincial revenues.
"When you look at the new funding model – the LGFF – most of us in this room are actually penalized," he said. "For Airdrie, it’s up to 25 per cent less capital funding.
"We have all this stuff coming up [in Airdrie] that is in the tens, hundreds of millions of dollars. We need to make sure we’re getting that share of the pie. The consensus today is that we want to move toward that.”
Brown argued Alberta's mid-sized cities in Alberta are often not recognized enough a economic drivers of the province.
"We represent almost 25 per cent of the population, so we need to have our voices heard," he said. "I’m hoping over time, rather than compete with one another for a bridge, a water line, or whatever, that we’re working to prioritize everyone’s stuff and making certain no one is short-changed at the end of the day.”
Considering former Airdrie-area MLA Rob Anderson is working in Smith's office in a staff role, Brown noted there is possibly some opportunity for Airdrie-specific issues to reach the premier's ear.
“The premier’s office has our former MLA working there, Rob Anderson, so that’s very advantageous to our community," he said. "Based on our conversations today, we’re hoping everyone shares in the new wealth.
"Unfortunately, we’d usually have ministers here and possibly the premier here, but they have their caucus meeting today and their caucus meeting tomorrow. But at the end of the day, I see more opportunities than not. I’m looking forward to seeing where premier Smith and the rest of her team move.”
