Issue
Alberta’s long term economic resilience depends on balanced regional growth, yet mid sized municipalities and rural hubs operate within fiscal, regulatory, and infrastructure frameworks largely designed for metropolitan scale, limiting their ability to attract investment, diversify industry, retain talent, and respond quickly to economic opportunities despite their critical role in supporting provincial supply chains and regional services.
Background
Rural and regional economies play a central role in Canada’s overall economic performance. Rural municipalities manage extensive infrastructure networks while operating with comparatively small tax bases, creating long term capacity constraints.180 This imbalance affects their ability to support industrial growth, housing expansion, and service delivery at a scale that meets economic demand. In addition, changes to the funding model for Regional Economic Development Alliances have offloaded an increased economic development burden on small rural municipalities which often do not have the staffing levels required for such action, despite it being necessary to the continued viability of these communities.
Recommendations
That the Government of Canada:
- Work with Regional Economic Development Authorities, municipalities, chambers of commerce, and other regional economic development partners to develop a competitiveness strategy specific to rural and mid sized municipalities.
- Review changes to the REDA funding model in consultation with Regional Economic Development Authorities, municipalities, chambers of commerce, and other regional partners, with a focus on the downstream effects on rural municipalities.
- Work with Regional Economic Development Authorities, municipalities, chambers of commerce, and other regional economic development partners to develop place-based competitiveness tools to ensure that mid sized and rural municipalities remain competitive.
- Introduce municipal financial and regulatory flexibility pilots in select mid sized municipalities.
- Work with municipalities to have a coordinated approach for incentivizing skilled labour and healthcare professionals to settle in mid-sized cities and rural communities.
- Explore, in consultation with Alberta Municipalities and other municipal partners, the creation of a dedicated mechanism to advise government on the unique economic competitiveness needs of secondary municipalities.
