Photo Courtesy EGP Staff

By Tanner Smith

County Council

County of Grande Prairie Council approves tourism funding

Jun 25, 2025 | 7:00 AM

The County of Grande Prairie hosted its regular meeting yesterday. (Monday, June 23)

During the meeting, Council approved a $20,000 funding request from the Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association.

The goal of the funding is to develop an International Business Events Attraction Strategy, which County Council says “will help assess the region’s ability to host major business events by reviewing local infrastructure, marketing capabilities, resource needs, and opportunities for industry collaboration.”

According to County Council, GPRTA had already secured $50,000 from Travel Alberta in funding, with a contingency of both the City and County provide $20,000 each.

County Council added that all this work is part of “a broader effort to secure up to $1 million from Destination Canada’s International Convention Attraction Fund, which offers a high return on investment and long-term economic benefits for the region.”

During the meeting, Council also reduced the number of 2025 County Open House events from three to one, as the first two were postponed due to the Kiskatinaw Wildfire.

Now the one open house will run on August 13, at Saskatoon Lake Townhall.

Decisions around road construction were also handed out by Council.

A final reading was given to Bylaw #3240 – The Partial Road Closure of Undeveloped Road, which refers to the closing of a stretch of undeveloped road 2.6 miles northeast of Demnitt; This was approved.

Council reviewed two separate requests for new road access, one for 300 metres of road southeast of Township Road 730, and the other for 5.9 miles of road northeast of Bezanson, no action was taken for either.

Council invites residents to bring forward additional information on both requests at their next meeting, set for July 14.

At the same June 23 meeting, Administration was directed to gather more information on a future FCSS Advisory Board meeting on Policy G14, Seniors and Accessible Transportation Operating Assistance Grant.

“Specifically, Council is exploring whether the grant can help cover operating costs for organizations that own and operate accessible transportation services (such as buses or vans), as well as provide support to community groups that rely on these services to run their programs.”

Council also heard from two delegations “requesting partial tax relief on several grazing lease properties” during the day; No actions were taken at that time, but Admin was directed to “bring back information on the County’s Minimum Tax Levy and explore potential options for rebates or credits for the 2025 tax year.”

This information will be presented at their next Regular meeting, set for July 14.