DEFEATED - Advocacy for the Exploration of a Federal Lobby Association for Rural Municipalities

Rural municipalities across Canada face unique challenges due to their smaller populations, geographic dispersion, and reliance on local economies. These challenges are often overlooked in broader municipal advocacy efforts at the federal level, as urban municipalities dominate the focus of organizations like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

The need for a unified rural voice is demonstrated through the following examples:

• The most recent FCM conference held in Calgary, Alberta: During advocacy meetings with federal representatives, there was an absence of a coordinated approach, limiting the effectiveness of messaging for rural municipalities. While provincial and municipal associations represent rural interests within their jurisdictions, there is no formal mechanism to coordinate these efforts nationally.
• FCM’s lack of advocacy and support for two highly significant industries impacting rural municipalities in Western Canada, one of them being natural resource development, and the other being agriculture. This lack of focus directly led to the MD of Bonnyville cancelling its FCM membership at the end of 2019.

In the time between the MD of Bonnyville’s initial decision to withdraw from FCM and the ongoing lack of rural-focused advocacy at the 2024 FCM convention, significant dialogue on FCM and rural-focused federal advocacy took place between several Alberta rural municipalities.

The MD further expressed its concerns in January 2021 by sending a letter to all rural municipalities in Alberta voicing frustrations about FCM’s inability to effectively advocate for Western Canada in securing support for the development of the natural resource industry, further proposing the idea of forming a western Canadian advocacy group due to the disappointing lack of results from the recently launched FCM WEST initiative.

Several responses were received across Alberta from rural municipalities in support of the MD’s introduction of a Western Canada advocacy group in response to issues and concerns regarding FCM’s lack of effectual advocacy for Western Canadian municipalities.

Wheatland County sent a letter to all RMA members in November 2024 in an effort to initiative a unified stance across all rural municipalities to forego attendance to the 2025 FCM Conference as well as initiative discussions on “the possibility of establishing a federal advocacy group or association that could more effectively amplify the voices of rural municipalities”.

The County of Stettler responded to Wheatland County’s letter in December 2024 with a notice to FCM of the withdrawal of their membership indicating concerns that “FCM has increasingly moved away from adequately representing the unique challenges and priorities of rural municipalities” and that “the needs and voices of rural communities like ours are being overshadowed by those of larger urban centers.”

The MD of Bonnyville also responded to Wheatland County’s letter in December 2024 with a letter to FCM indicating support for Wheatland County’s letter and reaffirming the MD’s position that the structure and priorities if the FCM does not effectively reflect the unique needs and challenges of rural municipalities.

The response received by the MD from FCM in response to its letter sent in December 2024, being a copy of the response letter sent to Wheatland County, was very disappointing and did not really appear to legitimately address any of the concerns presented other than identifying intentions to attend rural municipality events.

Potential Rural-Focused Federal Advocacy Association

The proposed Rural Canadian Municipalities Association would address this gap by providing a dedicated platform to:

1. Aggregate the perspectives and priorities of rural municipalities across Canada.
2. Advocate directly with federal policymakers on issues such as equitable funding, infrastructure needs, economic diversification, and access to services.
3. Foster collaboration and information sharing among provincial and territorial municipal associations.

Engaging in this process requires a thoughtful and iterative approach. The exploration phase would involve consultations with existing municipal associations, rural leaders, and stakeholders to define the scope, structure, and membership criteria for such an association. Key considerations include the definition of “rural,” the alignment of advocacy priorities, and the sustainability of the proposed organization.

The Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) is uniquely positioned to spearhead this initiative, leveraging its existing expertise in advocacy and its strong relationships with member municipalities. By initiating this process, the RMA can ensure that rural municipalities in Alberta and across Canada have a stronger, unified voice in federal decision-making.