Grande Prairie’s mayor running for a spot on FCM board at annual conference

Jun 6, 2024 | 7:00 AM

Civic politicians from Grande Prairie will be among those attending the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference in Calgary.

It will start Thursday, June 6 and run through Sunday, June 9.

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton says it is important to have someone speak about regional issues at the federal level, the same way Councillor Dylan Bressey does provincially in his role on the board for Alberta Municipalities.

“I sit on the Mid-Size Cities Mayor’s Caucus representing this region and having someone on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (board) to share concerns of this region, and really, to represent Alberta at that table with (the Federation of) Canadian Municipalities, I think is extremely important.”

Clayton adds being elected would mean she could “bring our conversation to the table federally.”

“Sometimes our voice doesn’t get heard at a federal table. This council has continually strived to tell our story better, so we’ve worked on telling that story better at all levels of government and this is a piece of that as well.”

Clayton says delegates will also discuss federal issues like housing.

“At FCM, we talk about housing on a regular basis. We also talk about sustainable communities, and we talk about growth in communities, and we talk about how we can learn from each other.”

“I’m optimistic that I’ll be elected to represent this region on the board, and we’ll find out on Sunday.”

The federation says on its website that more than 1,000 municipal politicians from across Canada are expected to attend the conference.

by Curtis Galbraith