The Government of Alberta recently filed the Provincial Priorities Regulation with the King’s Printer and intends to bring the Provincial Priorities Act and Regulation into force on April 1, 2025.
The Provincial Priorities Act, 2024 (formerly Bill 18) requires provincial entities to obtain approval from the Government of Alberta before entering into, amending, extending, or renewing an agreement with the federal government. The act’s details relating to the approval process, the conditions that must be fulfilled before a provincial entity can enter into an agreement with the federal government, and any exceptions to the legislation were left to the regulation, which was released by the province on February 21, 2025.
Based on RMA’s analysis of the regulation, some agreements will be exempt from requiring ministerial approval; this includes those valued under $100,000, or under $250,000 in the case of the construction, maintenance, or development of housing accommodations, as well as in-kind contributions. However, exempt agreements must still be submitted to the minister responsible for the provincial entity for the exemption to be valid, and any agreements exceeding $5 million will require the approval of cabinet, not just the responsible minister.
In 2024, the RMA participated in a province-led engagement relating to Bill 18, where RMA called for:
- “Provincial priorities” to be pre-determined, clearly defined by the Government of Alberta, and transparent to municipalities, to ensure a straightforward and accessible application process.
- Project applications that align with “municipal purposes” as defined under s. 3 of the Municipal Government Act to be excluded from provincial approval requirements.
- The Government of Alberta to work with municipal stakeholders on the development of the regulations and the creation of a list of federal program-based exemptions. From RMA’s perspective, municipal-federal agreements under most existing federal programs are not in conflict with provincial priorities.
- An increase to the project value threshold of $100,000 to better focus the approval process on larger-scale projects.
RMA has several concerns with the Provincial Priorities Act coming into force. The requirement for provincial approval of all funding agreements reduces municipal autonomy, increases red tape, and could delay or even exclude Alberta municipalities from receiving federal funding support for local initiatives.
At a time when municipalities of all types across Alberta are facing growing infrastructure deficits, heightened expectations to accommodate residential and industrial growth, and downloaded responsibilities from other levels of government, adding more red tape to funding access is counterproductive to the needs of Alberta’s municipalities.
RMA will work to gather more information in anticipation of the regulation taking effect, including how current funding agreements will be impacted, and keep members updated.
Jared Shaigec
Policy Advisor
825.319.2312
jared@rmalberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@rmalberta.com