TAMRMS#: B06
8.1
REQUEST FOR DECISION
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Alberta Community Partnership Grant - Edmonton Region Collaboration Framework
Presented by: Christine Anderson, Regional Initiatives Strategic Advisor, Government/Indigenous Relations and Environment
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
recommendation
That Council supports the City of St. Albert’s submission of the proposed “Edmonton Region Collaboration Framework” grant application to the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) program with Strathcona County.
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SUMMARY
The objective of the Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) program is to improve the viability and long-term sustainability of local governments by providing support for regional collaboration and capacity-building initiatives.
The funding allocation for the 2025-26 ACP program in the Government of Alberta’s Budget is $13.4 million.
The Intermunicipal Collaboration (IC) component of the program requires managing partners, in this case the City of St. Albert as the lead applicant and Strathcona County as the supporting partner, to confirm Council resolutions in support of the application are in place by December 23, 2025.
The application deadline for 2025-26 IC component program was November 28, 2025.
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
N/A
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Since the dissolution of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB) in April 2025, the former EMRB members continue to evaluate how to advance regional collaboration in this new context to keep building a globally competitive region.
In July 2025, the Mayors of Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR) municipalities reaffirmed their commitment to work together and continue to build a strong and prosperous future for the region.
ACP grant funding will be used to support third-party facilitated sessions with regional Mayors and Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) to further explore priorities for regional collaboration. A consultant will be engaged to facilitate discussions with elected officials and Administrations to explore options and make recommendations on engagement and decision-making models to enable ongoing and effective regional collaboration.
The output of this project will be a new framework for regional collaboration that enables municipalities and elected officials to proactively engage on issues and opportunities related to investment attraction, infrastructure investment, and land-use planning.
The framework will include guidance on roles and responsibilities, decision-making models, dispute resolution, and cost-sharing.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
City of St. Albert Administration has been in communication with Strathcona County and the regional CAOs to coordinate this application.
If the City is successful in obtaining an ACP grant on behalf of the region to support this work, key messages will be prepared for the Mayor and Councillors at that time.
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
Status of the grant application approval should be received by the end of Q2 2026.
If grant funding is not received, participating municipalities will have to re-evaluate how best to advance future regional collaborative efforts.
Compliance & Legal:
None at this time.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
This project would be a shared responsibility of participating municipalities from a meeting logistics and planning perspective.
City of St. Albert Administration will be responsible for on-going grant management and reporting as the lead applicant. A municipality may only hold one ACP grant per year, as a lead applicant.
Risks
None at this time.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
Initiative aligned with Strategic Plan: Regional and Sub-Regional Economic Development
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
N/A
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternatives could be considered:
ALTERNATIVE 1: Council could choose not to provide a motion of support for the ACP application.
Financial:
If this was done, the City’s application to the ACP program would be nullified.
Compliance & Legal:
N/A
Program or Service:
N/A
Organizational:
N/A
Risks
The nullification of the region’s grant application could have reputational risks from an intermunicipal perspective, and participating municipalities would have to re-evaluate how to best advance future regional collaborative efforts.
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Report Date: December 16, 2025
Author(s): Christine Anderson
Department: Government/Indigenous Relations and Environment
Department Director: Trevor Duley
Chief Administrative Officer: William Fletcher