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Preamble:
WHEREAS the Municipal Government Act (MGA) currently includes provisions under Part 17.1 enabling the establishment of growth management boards (GMBs); and
WHEREAS in 2025, the Government of Alberta (GOA) discontinued funding of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) and Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB); and
WHEREAS the CMRB and EMRB voted to cease operations; and
WHEREAS in 2025, the GOA repealed regulations establishing the CMRB and the EMRB; and
WHEREAS intermunicipal development plans (IDPs) and intermunicipal collaboration frameworks (ICFs) are mandated in the MGA to address planning and shared services among municipalities;
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate to the Government of Alberta to amend the Municipal Government Act to repeal all references to growth management boards.
Member Background:
The regulations governing the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB), Alta Reg 190/2017 as amended and the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB), Alta Reg 189/2017 as amended were repealed effective April 30, 2025, under Alta Reg 42/2025 and 41/2025 respectively. Additionally, the Minister of Municipal Affairs issued Ministerial Orders No. MSD:016/25 and MSD:017/25 rescinding the Growth Plan and Regional Evaluation Framework for each region (EMRB MSD:064/22 and CMRB MSD:064/22). The regulations came into effect following the province’s announcement that funding of regional board operations would cease.
As a result, the CMRB voted to cease its operations as of May 1, 2025, and the EMRB voted to do the same by March 31, 2025. Moving forward, member municipalities are expected to utilize intermunicipal development plans (IDPs) and intermunicipal collaboration frameworks (ICFs) to guide regional growth initiatives and collaborative efforts. This transition signifies a shift towards more localized and intermunicipal approaches to regional planning and development, emphasizing cooperation among municipalities without the overarching regulatory framework previously prescribed by the CMRB and EMRB, effectively protecting local autonomy and enhancing accountability of elected, rather than unelected, levels of government.
Despite these recent developments, Part 17.1 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), which outlines the establishment and operation of growth boards in the province, has yet to be amended to reflect the decision of the Minister to cease funding and repeal establishment of existing growth management boards.
RMA Background:
12-23F: Growth Management Board Voluntary Membership
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) advocate that the Government of Alberta (GOA) remove mandatory growth management boards (GMBs) from the Municipal Government Act (MGA); and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that should the GOA fail to abolish GMBs, the RMA advocate to amend the MGA to change the membership in GMBs from mandatory to voluntary.
Click here to view the full resolution.
ER1-23F: Limiting Third-party Services in ICF Agreements
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) advocate to the Government of Alberta (GOA) that third-party services should not be included in intermunicipal collaboration frameworks (ICFs) and should be left to each ICF negotiation partnership to determine external to the ICF process.
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT the RMA advocate to the GOA to limit the funding demands by urban municipalities, particularly when these demands arise from their independent decisions and are based on an assumption that rural municipalities will subsidize a portion of their costs or shortages.
Click here to view the full resolution.
Alberta Municipal Affairs
Regarding Resolution 7-26S on references to growth management boards (GMBs) in the Municipal Government Act (MGA), the repeal of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board and the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board regulations in 2025 removed mandated GMBs for the two regions. The provisions in the MGA make participation in a GMB possible on a voluntary basis, which requires the governing provisions for GMBs to remain intact.
Development:
RMA members submitted a clear, practical, and easily achievable resolution to remove outdated Growth Management Board (GMB) provisions from the Municipal Government Act (MGA). The resolution reflects the functional reality that GMBs are no longer operating nor desired within Alberta. Mandatory participation in GMBs has been excised, existing boards were defunded and dissolved, their regulations and Growth Plans were repealed, and municipalities now rely on updated intermunicipal tools such as Intermunicipal Development Plans and Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks. Given this context, updating the MGA appeared to be a straightforward matter of legislative housekeeping.
The Ministry’s reply, however, indicates an intention to retain the GMB framework to preserve the possibility of voluntary participation – a possibility that the actions of municipalities have shown to be increasingly reduced. Rather than offering a substantive rationale for maintaining these provisions, the response appears to submit little more than a statement of preference, leaving municipalities without a clear explanation for why the obsolete legislation must remain.
This approach is inconsistent with the government’s stated commitment to red‑tape reduction and legislative modernization. Choosing to leave unused and unenforced provisions in place – despite a substantiated and direct request from rural municipalities – signals a reluctance to align legislation with current practice and a willingness to dismiss constituent concerns haphazardly.
As the Government of Alberta has indicated that GMB provisions will remain in the MGA for the foreseeable future, RMA has assigned Resolution 7‑26S the status of Intent Not Met.
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